When He Came to Wisconsin, Widmer Built His Name on Aged Brick Cheese. 102 Years Later, That Name Lives On
April 13, 2024 | 1 min to read
In the village of Theresa, the Widmer family has been creating artisan cheeses for over a century, with a focus on aged brick cheese as their signature product. The founder, John O. Widmer, emigrated from Switzerland at 18, honing his cheesemaking skills in Wisconsin. After apprenticing in Kekoskee, he established Widmer’s Cheese Cellars in a former cheese factory, ensuring the tradition of high-quality cheese-making continued along the Rock River.
THERESA ‒ For over 100 years, the Widmer family has been crafting artisan cheeses in a small cheese plant along the banks of the Rock River in the small village of Theresa.
At the age of 18, John O. Widmer, the founder of Widmer’s Cheese Cellars, left his home in Switzerland and emigrated to Wisconsin where he learned the art of cheesemaking. While apprenticing at a cheese factory in Kekoskee he learned to make brick cheese, created by fellow Swiss immigrant John Jossi at a Dodge County cheese plant in Lebanon.
When Widmer set up shop in the small cheese plant, formerly the Riverside Cheese Factory, he decided that aged brick cheese would become the family’s signature cheese.
To read the rest of the story, please go to: Wisconsin State Farmer
70 of 140 article in DeliBusiness Spring 2024
