Talk Curdy to Me: The Creamery of Beaver, Utah

Sweet Dreams are Made of Cheese

Let’s face it, you can’t make everyone happy. After all, you’re not cheese.

We all love cheese. Even if you say you don’t, I know deep down you do. Seriously, I have issues with dairy and I still swoon over cheese. So naturally when I saw a billboard with a giant photo of cheese curds or something like that along Interstate 15 in southern Utah, I immediately put the name into Google Maps and insisted on a dairy detour.

In the Old West of Beaver, Utah, home to under 4,000 people, a stately metal-roofed barn fronts the freeway, with a large metal silo serving as a beacon to dairy-depleted travelers. It’s the kind of structure that would make Joanna Gaines proud: modern yet true to the West. Open the front door, and enter the full immersion of a cheese-lover’s paradise. Straight ahead busy cheese handlers cut, sort and wrap bricks, curds and sticks of cheddar, gouda and all the jacks. If you cannot overcome the temptation, they will happily point you to the wall fridge stocked with wheels of freshly-made cheese all from local farms and processed in the dairy plant next door.

No Whey…

Started in 1952, The Creamery is operated and supplied by local dairy farmers. Dubbed the “Curd Capital of Utah,” they have been fueling cheese addictions ever since. Locals stop by to get their weekly fix, and easily swayed travelers such as myself cannot resist the call of the curds. Oh, and those curds come in a range of styles, from traditional to green onion or jalapeño…I dare you to only buy one bag.

Directly behind the grand display of cheese in the center atrium, kids will love the Farm-to-Table room, where Lily the Cow invites them to learn all sorts of fun facts about milk and cheese. They can even get behind the wheel of a tractor cutout, imagining they are cruising through their own farm.

Lunch is a Grate Choice

Head back to the center of the building and walk south, where you’ll find the Creamery Kitchen, offering a delectable spread of fresh breakfast and lunch options, all featuring their own cheese. We noshed on the Avocado Bacon Cheddar Grilled Cheese with a side of tomato soup. In some sort of cheese euphoria, I just had to go back and try one of the flatbreads, opting for the Signature Cheese Curd Pizza. This ended up being one of the tastiest pizzas I’ve had in recent memory. Though I was stuffed afterward, I seriously considered going for thirds and ordering a mac ‘n cheese; I suppose there’s always next time! Foodie tip: Check out the recipes tab on their website for inspiration for your own culinary creations.

After Pizza, Ice Cream is Secondairy

Back at the other end of the building, the Creamery Parlor looms like the pearly gates of Dairy Heaven, with sandwich board signs guiding the way to ice cream. In the cases, spy 24 flavors of frozen goodness in such flavors as Birthday Cake, Coconut Castaway, I’m Your Huckleberry and Maple Nut. Despite our full stomachs, we just had to share a small cup of deliciousness. Ice cream is offered in cups or cones, along with shakes and floats.

Before leaving, be sure to hang right into the merch center, where you’ll find all the cheese stuff you didn’t know you needed, including hats and tees, and even cheese planers and ice cream spades. A variety of snack items fills the shelves just outside.

Though we could hardly pull ourselves away from the satiating food options, and our little guy didn’t want to loosen his grip on a stuffed cow, we had to continue on our journey, snagging some curds on the way out to eat during the next leg of our drive.

The Creamery is open daily, though hours differ day-to-day. They are also closed for select holidays.

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