One among America’s oldest small companies is up on the market. It may very well be yours—in case you have sufficient cheddar.

Crowley Cheese, based mostly in Healdville, Vt., has been round for greater than 200 years, and the property of Galen Jones and his spouse Jill Jones for the previous 16. Now the corporate is on the block, with Galen, who’s 68, able to step away from the enterprise of churning out handcrafted artisanal American cheese.

“I am an previous man, and I’m able to retire,” he mentioned. 

The asking value, $2.5 million, would get a purchaser the manufacturing facility, about 16 acres of surrounding land, cheesemaking tools, the model, and a few 50,000 kilos of aged cheese. The enterprise, which employs 5 folks, is “rising and worthwhile,” based on Galen Jones. 

A purchaser would additionally get the recipe for Crowley’s cheese, described as having yogurt-like qualities that distinguish it from different cheddars. It sells in blocks and wheels; an 8-ounce block begins at $10, whereas a 2.5 pound wheels begins at $50.

Making Cheese ‘Is Not For Everybody’

The Crowley facility, which is taken into account Vermont’s oldest energetic cheese manufacturing facility and one of many oldest within the nation, produces 30,000 to 40,000 kilos of aged cheddar cheese yearly utilizing a recipe that hasn’t modified since 1824. Its cheese is shipped nationwide from Healdville, a few 150-mile drive northwest of Boston. 

The Joneses purchased Crowley Cheese in 2009. Galen Jones knew individuals who have been a part of the earlier investor group, he mentioned, and occurred to cross paths with the lead investor whereas working in digital media. (He declined to reveal the acquisition value.) Reminded of the enterprise, he appeared it up on-line. 

“We had a fairly horrible economic system in 2009, and Crowley Cheese was additionally struggling,” Jones mentioned. Unable to cease fascinated by it, he reached out to the homeowners and shortly visited the manufacturing facility.

“Six weeks after that, my spouse and I have been working this singular enterprise, which was a easy manufacturing facility in the midst of the countryside,” he mentioned. “It was serendipity, if you’ll.”

The “manufacturing facility,” a two-story historic farmhouse inbuilt 1882 the place cheese is handmade utilizing uncooked milk with no components or preservatives, features a retailer and is open to guests. The Joneses renovated the property and labored to enhance manufacturing processes.

Jones mentioned he’s acquired loads of inquiries concerning the enterprise since asserting its availability earlier this month. “Some individuals are within the thought however not effectively geared up to tackle the enterprise,” he mentioned. “With others, there’s severe curiosity.”

The best purchaser, he mentioned, can be somebody who may take “what we’ve been doing for the final 16 years to the following stage,” he mentioned. “Cheesemaking shouldn’t be for everybody. From my standpoint, it’s crucial we discover possession that may efficiently take the enterprise ahead.”