KALONA
Since the Kalona Creamery moved into the brick Swiss chalet once home to the Cheese Factory, the business has worked hard to maximize their use of the space. Today when you go inside the …
This item is available in full to subscribers.
We have recently launched a new and improved website. To continue reading, you will need to either log into your subscriber account, or purchase a new subscription.
If you had a login with the previous version of our e-edition, then you already have a login here. You just need to reset your password by clicking here.
If you are a current print subscriber, you can set up a free website account by clicking here.
Otherwise, click here to view your options for subscribing.
Please log in to continue |
|
KALONA
Since the Kalona Creamery moved into the brick Swiss chalet once home to the Cheese Factory, the business has worked hard to maximize their use of the space. Today when you go inside the gift shop and store, you’ll find the familiar viewing windows, where you can observe employees making and packaging products, a range of cow-themed gift items, and house-made foods, ranging from ice cream to fudge.
When you enter in mid-March, you’ll find something new in addition: a coffee shop.
“When you first walk in, it’s going to be small, but it’s more going to be to-go,” says manager Beckie Ward. “I’m hoping to catch people who are zipping to Iowa City and just want to stop in and grab a coffee.”
Although all the details haven’t been worked out, the plan calls for app-based ordering so drivers can run in and collect their brew from a pick-up window without a wait, although ordering at the shop will be possible too, and tables and counter space will be available for those who wish to linger. Initially coffee service will be offered in the morning hours, likely 6-10 or 11 a.m., with perhaps longer hours on Fridays.
And what sorts of drinks might the coffee shop sell? Moo Mochas and Lona Lattes?
Exactly, Ward says.
“We’re going to theme it around cows, like our mascot, Lona,” she says. “We’ll do cow names for our specialty drinks. We’ll have lots of different options.”
Among those options are ice cream frappes that make use of the creamery’s own ice cream and energy drinks.
Supervisor Joy Franckowiak is looking forward to the coffee shop, as well as a new door for Kalona Creamery, as days earlier the current sliding door froze open, which was not a good thing when temps plunged below zero. When her mind isn’t on such things, she works on sourcing new locally made items to stock in the retail area.
She’s got lots of new items coming in, from Annika Gingerich’s freeze dried meals to Sweet Doe’s natural goat milk skin care products.
“We’ve had a lot of interest in goat milk products,” Franckowiak says, describing the hand balms, body butters, and sugar scrubs that are on their way. “I haven’t smelled them yet, but the names of them just sounded amazing.”
“I would love to have more local vendors in here,” she continues as we walk through the shopping area. She points out the freezer case of Yotty’s Kalona Bars, a recent addition. “We have people that come through and they’ll buy 10 of them. They’re like, ‘Oh, we didn’t know we could get these out of season.’”
Other specialty products on the shelves and in the cases: various meat sticks and salamis from Thoma’s Meat Market of Iowa City; shortbread cookies from The Perfect Blend Shortbread Company of Mount Vernon; and honey and honeycomb from the Van Donselaars of Mahaska County.
The Creamery is also still in the cheese-making business. Every Friday morning the fresh, squeaky cheese curds land on the shelves; white cheddar is in production; and cream cheese spreads, a newer product, are being made and packaged as we speak. “It’s really good,” Franckowiak confirms. All can be found in the shop’s refrigerated cases.
Kalona Creamery is just one business in the Open Gates Group, which includes the milk-producing Farmers Creamery; Kalona Organics, which brings to market organic brands including Kalona SuperNatural; and Kalona Direct, which distributes Midwest-made products throughout the region.
It’s a progressive company worth watching. As Ward says, “There’s a lot going on.”