Alma Creamery: A Grate Place for Cheese Lovers

When you think about relaxing at a bar after a long day on the road, do you picture popping a handful of squeaky bits of cheese in your mouth to savor their salty goodness? Maybe you should. Because the Alma Creamery retail shop (in the Plaza of the Flint Hills at exit 328 along Interstate 70 and Kansas Highway 99) features the first cheese curd bar.

If you’ve heard the phrase “Nibblin’ Good,” then you’re probably familiar with the pleasure of biting into an Alma Creamery cheese curd. If you’re unfamiliar, get a taste of all this Kansas company has to offer.

About the Creamery

Alma Creamery was founded in 1946 when a group of local dairy farmers decided to join forces and make cheese using milk from their dairies. They established a small factory in Alma, the seat of Wabaunsee County, where they made cheeses by hand. That tradition continues today as the company, led by the Hansen family, uses local milk to handcraft their signature cheese curds, cheeses and newly created cheese spreads.

“All of our milk is sourced from dairies within 75 miles of the plant,” said Cody Dillon, director of sales and business development. “It’s a very small operation, very hands-on.”

And Cody means it. They stir, salt and pack their cheeses by hand.

“Any cheese you see with an Alma Creamery label was put into that package by hand,” he said. “We cut each of our 40-pound blocks with two harps, which is hand-controlled. All of our labels are put on by hand.”

They work in small batches of about 5,000 pounds of milk each, which can produce about 500 pounds of cheese. The creamery can make about 4,000 pounds of cheese per day, with four people on the production side and four people on the packaging side. That adds up to more than 21 million individual curds each year!

“We get a lot done with six to eight people,” Cody said.

Interstate Storefront

This popular storefront opened its doors in September 2022. That’s where you can find the cheese curd bar — a special section where you can select one of three sizes of fresh, squeaky cheese curds and choose your own seasoning like bacon ranch, pizza or sweet jalapeno for a tasty, custom snack on the go.

“I believe it’s the world’s only cheese curd bar,” Cody said. “It’s a unique experience that draws the customer in.”

Cheese curds sales account for most of the creamery’s business, with the signature golden yellow nuggets being the No. 1 seller. Cody’s personal favorite is the pepper cheddar cheese curds, which are flavored with jalapeno and pimento peppers for an extra kick.

And if you want a traditional block of cheese? Well, you have that option, too. Plus, the company is introducing new products, like the cheese spreads, which come in eight varieties.

“Having a location on the interstate has allowed us to explore new items,” Cody said. “We’re really happy to be there.”

Not only does the interstate store feature three times the cooler space to store cheese, it gets a lot more traffic than the original store in Alma, which is three miles down the road. Cody said they can try new products, see what’s popular and use that information to expand their offerings to retailers across the state.

If you want to share Alma Creamery cheeses with loved ones outside of Kansas, you can shop online, where they sell cheese and other locally produced foods like summer sausage, jerky and jam. Their online store has shipped to all 50 states.

Cody is excited about the growth opportunities for the company and personally finds it rewarding to be involved in all aspects of the business. Every day is different.

“It’s a fun operation to be involved in,” he said. “I cannot sit in a cubicle all day. I’m very hands-on, very active.”

To learn more about Alma Creamery, visit their website, check them out at a store near you or sidle up to their one-of-a-kind cheese curd bar the next time you’re driving through the Flint Hills and looking for a tasty, Kansas-made snack.