THE COMPANY LEELANAU CHEESE

Operating Partners: Gary Smith and Joshua Hall

The Story: It’s the 1980s, and Detroit native John Hoyt is living in the Swiss Alps learning how to make traditional cheese. He meets his soon-to-be wife, Anne, a fellow cheesemaker. They dream of making cheese together. In 1995 they launch Leelanau Cheese Company, making small batch artisan cheese. Their signature cheese, the Raclette, becomes a beloved staple for the community and around the world, winning revered awards. In 2021, after 26 years, the Hoyts can retire, finding the perfect buyers with a shared passion of cheesemaking, passing the torch to a new generation.

Today: With the help of some amazing investors, Gary and Joshua packed up their families and headed north to take over operations. Both bring extensive knowledge and experience from working alongside each other running the dairy farm at Michigan State University in East Lansing. Joshua is also an award-winning cheesemaker. So far, they have given the building some love, installing new floors and adding larger capacity equipment. And the smiling faces of their wives, Meghan Hall and Rachel Smith, welcome you in the store, now open year-round.

What’s Next? “We want to put our own flair on things and add some other cheeses: Gouda, aged traditional, Cheddar. Josh even has ice cream making expertise! What’s fun about our storefront is you can come watch us make it. It’s all about connecting the community to our food source,” says Gary.

Fun Facts:

Leelanau Cheese is housed in an abandoned church building that John and Anne converted to their cheese production facility by adding solar panels in the gardens and building an underground cellar.