We're Building a Creamery!
Welcome to our blog! We’re excited to share news with you as establish our facility and grow our business, starting with this final update from our 2022 Crowdfunding Campaign. Want to make sure you don’t miss exciting news, delicious events, and cheese nerd-ery? Sign up for our newsletter, coming soon!
Hi Everybody! We've got an update, and it's a big one.
But before that, we want to take a minute to apologize that our crowdfunding campaign perks didn't ship sooner. Many of you took the chance to reach out with questions, and we're extremely grateful for the grace, forgiveness, and understanding you all have shown as we navigated a truly intense year. We are honored to have you as customers, friends, and family, and we hope - with good cheese and hard work - we can continue to earn your business, and your friendship.
Now, on to the good stuff.... The big update has finally come! We've had setbacks and triumphs along this very winding road to a creamery of our own, especially where financing and location are concerned. We've had a string of successes recently and are thrilled to finally be making the announcements below!
1. Campaign merch has arrived and will ship shortly (for real)!
It's been a hot second (ok, months) so in case you need a reminder of your perks or need to update your shipping information, please feel free to reach out at saltlesssea@gmail.com. Pictured are the shirt and tote bag, and we hope you think they're as gorgeous as we do. We worked with local graphic designer Brittany DeFillipo and the printing was expertly done by TeeSeeTees right here in TC on super-comfy cotton blend shirts and organic cotton totes.
2. We got a (different) grant!
We're extremely excited to announce that after taking applications from hundreds of businesses spread over 11 states, the Dairy Business Innovation Alliance selected our proposal for a Dairy Business Builder Grant! We'll be receiving $86,500 in grant funds to purchase the cheesemaking equipment to outfit our own facility! We're so honored and grateful to the DBIA for seeing the value this will bring to our company and our dairy community here in northern Michigan. In additon to our grant, we are working with business coach Annie Olds of Venture North to secure a business loan for the remaining funds.
3. We "found" a location!
Joy has tirelessly worked to find our project a home. The real estate market here (and everywhere else) has been going bonkers, and we were really concerned that we wouldn't find ourselves a spot. After 18 months of searching, the the universe gave us a huge vote of confidence; we finally got approval to put our creamery on our home property! Right across the driveway from the house! Being able to have our creamery at home is a huge deal for us, and we couldn't be more grateful to Claire Karner, Director of Planning and Zoning at East Bay Township, for having the foresight to greenlight our out-of-the-box idea.
4. Our creamery is (almost) being built!
So, it's technically not being built yet, but thanks to the grant and initial site approval, we were able to put a deposit down on a 40-foot shipping container as described in the original campaign. The deposit secures our place on the build list, with estimated completion and delivery by the end of the year! We've started working with MDARD on our designs and will soon be prepping the site, hiring contractors, digging sewer lines and all the other things that need to be done before the container arrives. Don's Dairy in upstate NY are the amazing company behind our creamery. and they'll give us a more detailed time frame for delivery in the coming months. In the meantime, we invite you all to follow us on Instagram to get updates and see pictures of what's to come.
There's no way for us to thank you adequately for all the support and love we've received from you since we started this crazy dream of ours, especially over this last year. We cannot wait to celebrate with you all in the creamery you've helped us build.
All our thanks, and then some,
Dave, Joy, Sami, and Milo