The Tradition of Empire Cheese

Empire Cheese Co-operative in Campbellford, Ontario has roots that date back to 1876. At that time, Cheese Factories were commonplace; farmers would deliver their excess milk via horse and wagon to be made into cheese, so these factories were located every couple of miles in rural areas.

In 1952, the neighbouring cheese factory, Kimberly Cheese burned down and instead of rebuilding, they amalgamated its members and the members of Empire Cheese and a new plant was built in its current location. In 2003, the factory expanded to add a new storefront to the existing building.  Since that time, regular upgrades have consistently been made to comply with all modern environmental, health, and accessibility standards.  

Empire Cheese is a farmer owned co-operative, which means all members of the co-op must hold milk quota, and be a working dairy farm.  If a family decides to retire and sell off their dairy quota, they relinquish their shares in the cheese factory as well.  At its conception, Empire had over 40 members holding ownership in the factory.  Today there are eight families who together own Empire Cheese.  

Empire Cheese is sold in their factory store (along with a lovely selection of specialty food items to compliment) and distributed to over 300 businesses stretching from the east side of the GTA to Ottawa. 

All of the cheeses manufactured at Empire are made traditionally in open-style vats with only whole milk, culture, microbial enzyme (to coagulate the milk) and salt.  Colour may be added, depending on the product being made, as well as other ingredients to create a selection of flavourful cheeses for every palette. 

As a must-stop location in Trent Hills, Empire Cheese in Campbellford invites you to visit them for the best in local cheeses! Fresh curd is made daily from Tuesday to Saturday, and is perfect for a road trip snack; find a thoughtful gift basket for a hostess gift, and finish off the visit with a nice big Kawartha Dairy ice cream cone. 

Open 7 Days/Week!

8am-5pm Monday – Saturday 

9am-5pm on Sunday

1120 County Road 8, Campbellford, ON

705-653-3187

Fundraising? Empire Cheese can also be sold as a fundraising tool to raise money for schools, church groups, sports teams and community organizations! Contact them for more information.