Ashe County Cheese Store, LLC

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Ashe County Cheese was started in 1930 by the Kraft Corporation. Kraft helped consolidate several small community cheese plants in the area and provided the means and expertise to produce cheddar daisy wheels for distribution nationwide. They operated the plant until 1975 when they sold it to then manager, Chesley Hazlewood. Mr. Hazlewood operated the business until his death in 1980. In 1981, Mrs. Hazlewood sold Ashe County Cheese to Jerry Glick and Doug Rudersdorf, two cheese men from Wisconsin. Glick and Rudersdorf remodeled and upgraded both the cheese plant and the cheese store, located across the street. They also added a viewing room to the plant. It was at this point that Ashe County Cheese became one of the most popular tourist attractions in North Carolina. In 1986, Ashe County Cheese was sold again, this time to the investment firm of Finevest Services Inc. of Greenwich, Connecticut. Then in 1991 Finevest Services was reorganized and Ashe County Cheese became a part of Interlaken Capital, also an investment firm out of Greenwich, Connecticut. Finally, in 1994 Interlaken Capital sold the assets of Ashe County Cheese to Newburg Corners Cheese Inc., a Wisconsin Corporation owned by Mike Everhart and Tom Torkelson, the current owners. Everhart moved here with his family in 1995 to manage the company, while Torkelson remained in Wisconsin and has since become one of the nations finest cheese makers. ...

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