PROCTORSVILLE, Vt. – In the cheesemaking world, the word “cheddar” is a verb. The process of flipping and stacking cheese curds to remove whey, cheddaring is a blending technique used to further acidify the curds, giving the cheese a tangier taste, a denser, flakier texture, and a longer shelf life.
Grafton Village Cheese Company first began cheddaring in 1892. While the company has since expanded beyond its early roots, now producing an award-winning line of artisanal, cave-aged varieties, the tradition of making handcrafted cheeses using premium raw milk from local, family farms continues.
Recently, the village of Proctorsville became the latest home to the acclaimed cheesemakers. In the former location of Black River Produce at 2568 Route 103, with a newly restored and renovated warehouse, Grafton Village Cheese Company held a soft opening of their brand-new retail shop on Saturday, March 9.
Since 2008, the cheese company had maintained a retail store and their “cut and wrap” operation in Brattleboro. Due to the expansion of Retreat Farm, Grafton Village Cheese needed to vacate that space, and look for a new, suitable location. As Grafton Village Cheese CEO Curt Alpeter explained, “Our options were limited.”
Alpeter said the Brattleboro team was excited for their friends at Retreat Farm, who plan to launch a new kind of farm market. But finding a spot where retail sales and the cutting and packaging production process could coexist was challenging.
At the March 9 soft opening, store manager Sherry DiBernardo remarked, “I really felt that if we didn’t take this space, we were crazy.” DiBernardo managed the Brattleboro store, as well as overseeing the retail shop in downtown Grafton.
The building had taken on water during Vermont’s recent extreme flooding events, and that was addressed straight away, with an upgrade to the foundation, and extensive improvements and repairs.
With its gleaming floors, tidy display cases of cheeses and other gourmet items, and neat shelves lined with locally crafted products, the company’s own soup and dip mixtures, colorful wicker baskets, and a wide assortment of unique gifts, the new retail space is a testament to the monumental team effort it took to open to the public.
The Proctorsville shop will carry the same selection of artisan cheeses and carefully curated goods that the Brattleboro store stocked. And, as always, free cheese tastings offered any time of the day.
“I am excited that we have the opportunity to put down roots in another vibrant community,” Alpeter commented.
DiBernardo and her staff are busily stocking and organizing, unpacking boxes, and building displays, even as the retail store will stick to an operating schedule of 10 a.m. – 6 p.m., seven days a week. As DiBernardo described, it will be a bit of an interactive experience awaiting shoppers, as wine racks are still being filled, new coolers will arrive to be plugged in and stocked, and customer feedback is encouraged.
Amazingly, DiBernardo reported that they didn’t need to buy any new shelving or displays for the new space, because “everything [from Brattleboro] fit perfectly! As if it was meant to be.”
Alpeter stated, “Sherry and I are working to decide on when the grand opening will be, but it will be sometime in late spring or early summer.”