Where Can I Bury Cuba Cheese From Cuba Ny
CUBA — The Cuba Cheese Shoppe receives all manner of calls in a given day, but a good number aren't inquiring about its signature lines of cheddars and curds.
The Cuba Cheese Shoppe will often get calls meant for the Great Lakes Cheese manufacturing plant in Cuba, Empire Cheese. Some prospective employees will even dial the Shoppe hoping to update their job applications at the plant.
"People call all the time thinking we're the plant," said owner Sarah Bradley. "Everybody thinks that we're connected."
The confusion has only grown in recent months as Great Lakes Cheese announced its intention to relocate the Cuba operation to a new facility. The Hiram, Ohio-based company determined the Cuba plant had reached the end of its useful life after decades of service. Great Lakes Cheese initially planned its new Allegany County operation for the Crossroads development area a short drive up I-86 in the towns of Amity and Angelica, but that course of action fell apart last week due to infrastructure issues at the site. The company is now considering secondary options in Allegany County while exploring other sites in Western New York and possibly beyond.
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The amalgamation of the Cuba Cheese Shoppe and the Cuba cheese plant in the minds of many is understandable, given the close relationship between the two.
Cuba Cheese Inc. started a retail division in 1975 to open up sales to the general public, with the Cuba Cheese Shoppe opening for business on Genesee Street in the summer of 1976. The Cuba plant was sold to HP Hood in 1983 and rebranded Empire Cheese, Inc. Great Lakes Cheese later acquired the Empire Cheese operation in 1993. In the interim, though, Jeff Bradley purchased the retail division and the Cuba Cheese Shoppe remains a small, family-owned business today.
No matter where the new Great Lakes Cheese plant ultimately lands, the Cuba Cheese Shoppe isn't going anywhere.
"Everyone thinks we're moving or closing, but we're not leaving, we're not moving, we're not shutting down," said Sarah Bradley, who owns the Shoppe with her father Jeff and brother Justin. "People come in all the time and say I'm so sad you're closing, I can't believe it. We tell them no, that's not the case."
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Many signature Cuba Cheese Shoppe products are made and packaged by the nearby Great Lakes Cheese plant, including the cheddars, cheese curd and blue cheeses. The Cuba Cheese Shoppe sources other products like meat, salt rising bread and maple syrup products from different vendors. The Cuba Cheese Shoppe brand can be found in the Cuba storefront and stores across New York state and Pennsylvania. Bradley said the mail-order operation "went through the roof" during the COVID-19 shutdown.
While the Great Lakes Cheese plant may be moving in the coming years, fans of the Cuba Cheese Shoppe don't have to worry about any changes to the menu.
"We'll still get our cheese from them no matter where they go," said Bradley. "If they move out of state we might have an issue, but we don't foresee them moving out of the state. If they go north, we'll just have to go get it up there."
The cheese industry in Cuba dates back to the 1870s. At one time Cuba was known as the "Cheese Center of the World," shipping countless pounds of cheese by canal and railroad to New York City and other markets while playing a role in setting the price of cheese across the nation.
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Though the industry will continue to have a presence through the Cuba Cheese Shoppe, Bradley is sad to see that manufacturing legacy potentially depart the area.
"It's above our control, but it would have been nice if they would have gone to the Crossroads. It would have been close and great for their employees, but that's not our decision, obviously," she said. "It's unfortunate. It's definitely going to be different not having a plant here, for sure. We've had a cheese plant for a very long time."
Chris Potter can be reached at cpotter@gannett.com or on Twitter @ChrisPotter413. To get unlimited access to the latest news, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.
Where Can I Bury Cuba Cheese From Cuba Ny
Source: https://www.wellsvilledaily.com/story/news/local/2021/06/08/great-lakes-cheese-leaving-cuba/7546465002/