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Cheese House closes at Kalona Cheese Factory
KALONA - Some people spent the final day of 2014 saying goodbye to one of their favorite places.
A few months ago the Twin County Dairy's production facility, also known as the Kalona Cheese Factory, shut down.
Now, the other side of the business, the cheese shop or Cheese House, is closed for good.
The man who ran the business for decades says he sold the facility a couple of years ago to a company based in central Iowa. The owners said they decided to close the dairy because they would have had to spend a significant amount of money to comply with safety and environmental regulations.
One after another, people filed in the door to make their final purchases.
'It's really weird because of the 22 years that I've been in Kalona, it has been here,” said Cheese House Customer Amanda Zvacek.
'It's something that they feel is here or was here and it won't be here anymore,” said former dairy CEO John Roetlin.
Roetlin said he was in charge of the facility for more than 50 years before the current company, Ankeny-based Proliant Dairy Ingredients, took over. He worked in the store up until the last day and has a lot of memories here.
'The cheese plant in 1947 - my dad and 32 Amish Mennonite farmers started it,” Roetlin said.
Now that the place is going dark, concerns are growing.
'It'll definitely be an impact. There will be an impact on tourism,” Roetlin said.
'I'm sure it's going to be kind of empty because it was a big draw, but I'm hoping that's not going to happen,” said customer Oneth Lovetinsky.
So, many are making the best of it and getting the most popular item …
'The cheese curds, squeaky cheese as I used to call it and that's what I still call it,” Zvacek said.
It's a cheese they'll miss and a place they'll miss even more.
'It's really sad, yeah,” Lovetinsky said.
'We didn't expect it to happen this way, but it did,” Roetlin said.
Roetlin said this will mean a loss of about 75 jobs, including both the factory and the store.
He also said he's looking into options for opening a new place to sell cheese curds, but doesn't have definite plans yet.
Melissa Jensen of Iowa City makes a cheese purchase at the Kalona Cheese Shop on its last day of business in Kalona on Wednesday, December 31, 2014. Ankeny-based Proliant Dairy Ingredients, which shares ownership with owners John and Joanne Roetlin of Kalona, decided to close the shop, John Roetlin said. 'It isn't closing because we didn't have the business.' The shop had been operating since 1954. The Kalona Cheese Factory closed its doors in September. (Adam Wesley/The Gazette)
1 pound bags of cheese curds are shown at the Kalona Cheese Shop on its last day of business in Kalona on Wednesday, December 31, 2014. Ankeny-based Proliant Dairy Ingredients, which shares ownership with owners John and Joanne Roetlin of Kalona, decided to close the shop, John Roetlin said. 'It isn't closing because we didn't have the business.' The shop had been operating since 1954. The Kalona Cheese Factory closed its doors in September. (Adam Wesley/The Gazette)
The Kalona Cheese Shop is shown on its last day of business in Kalona on Wednesday, December 31, 2014. Ankeny-based Proliant Dairy Ingredients, which shares ownership with owners John and Joanne Roetlin of Kalona, decided to close the shop, John Roetlin said. 'It isn't closing because we didn't have the business.' The shop had been operating since 1954. The Kalona Cheese Factory closed its doors in September. (Adam Wesley/The Gazette)
Kalona Cheese Shop employee Mischa de Jesus hands a box of cheese to a customer on the shop's last day of business in Kalona on Wednesday, December 31, 2014. Ankeny-based Proliant Dairy Ingredients, which shares ownership with owners John and Joanne Roetlin of Kalona, decided to close the shop, John Roetlin said. 'It isn't closing because we didn't have the business.' The shop had been operating since 1954. The Kalona Cheese Factory closed its doors in September. (Adam Wesley/The Gazette)
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