SELMA, Calif. — People shop at outlet stores for clothes, toys and kitchen appliances — so why not cheese? Picking up on the ongoing outlet store craze, three California cheesemakers have teamed up to open "The Cheese Factory Outlet" here in California's Central Valley.

Russ Poe, investor in Mt. Whitney Cheese, Bill Boersma, owner of Bravo Farms, and John Fagundes IV, operator of Fagundes Old-World Cheese Co., formed a corporation earlier this year and opened a retail store in October. The store, which features signs declaring it's owned and operated by cheesemakers, carries specialty cheeses from 15 California cheesemakers.

"That's the important thing. It's important that this is owned and operated by cheesemakers," says Poe, who came up with the idea of the store.

The store heavily promotes California cheese and has received support from the California Milk Advisory Board which has provided a variety of its "It's the Cheese" promotional materials as well as demo support for the store's sampling program.

The store won't be completely devoted to California cheeses, though, says Poe, who notes that not all of the varieties of specialty cheese he wants the store to carry are made in California. Still, the store has a definite California flavor about it, something that the cheesemakers hope will make the store — and their cheese — a success.

"Everyone else is world renowned and we're not," says Boersma, noting that other states — and particularly other countries — have a much longer cheesemaking heritage.

However, with the California dairy industry booming and more and more specialty cheesemakers coming onto the scene in the state, Poe, Boersma and Fagundes believe that the store can help spread the word about California cheese.

"There are more smaller artisan cheesemakers coming out. They're milking cows and they're making cheese — but nobody knows how to market anything," says Poe, noting that it can sometimes be difficult for small cheesemakers to get distribution going. He hopes the store will go a long way in getting the word out about the variety of cheese being produced in the state.

• Car dealerships make good neighbors

Driving into the parking lot of the outlet store, one might not suspect the variety of handcrafted cheese that awaits just inside. The area where the store is located is decidedly urban and commercial — next door are a restaurant, a hotel and seven car dealerships.

Step inside the former coffee shop, though, and the warmth and character of a specialty cheese shop are immediately felt. Open for just two months, the store still is in the process of being fully decorated, but one is immediately drawn to the big cheese display with bottles of nonalcoholic wine nestled among the cheeses. The store has applied for a liquor license, but until one is granted the display helps suggest the legendary pairing.

And the neighbors are helping spread the word about the store, too. All of the property in the complex is owned by one entrepreneur — including The Cheese Factory Outlet's space. So the cheese store is negotiating a deal with the car dealerships to provide gift packs and gift certificates to the dealerships' clients, Poe says.

The restaurant, a steak house called Spike & Rail, also is featuring more cheese on the menu, including an "It's the Cheese" fondue, Poe says.

Not only that, the whole complex, which features a small green space and a miniature railroad, is being featured on four northbound and four southbound billboards on the nearby freeway. The Cheese Factory Outlet is a prominent part of those billboards, and as they have just gone up, Poe is confident they will drive more traffic to the store.

• Building a presence

Sales at the store have been good, even if word about it is just getting out, says Boersma, who also operates his own small farmstead store and hopes to expand that store someday along with an expansion of his cheesemaking facility.

Boersma notes his cheese can't compete on price with commodity Cheddar, but it can compete on quality.

Poe agrees, although he notes that consumers can still get some high quality cheese at lower prices at the store.

"Our cheese isn't cheap, but the price is less than a chain," he says.

The fact that the company buys directly from the different cheesemakers and picks the cheese up in its own truck helps keep prices down, Poe says. In addition, picking up the cheese has other fringe benefits — it enables the cheesemakers to make deliveries directly to some California wineries.

Poe says the cheesemakers whose cheese the store carries won't see tremendous volume moved through the store, but he expects the store to be a boon to them in more ways than one.

"The store can't do volume like a 30-store chain," he adds. "But it's a steady source and it's an image builder. People see your name and then retailers get interested."

The store gives consumers a chance to really learn about the cheeses and find out what they like, Poe says. Sampling is key, he adds.

"How do you know what it is until you taste it?" he says, noting that this is particularly true of some of the uncommon specialty cheeses.

Besides just tasting the cheeses, though, consumers get to know more about the cheeses because of the operators. Bill Boersma's wife, Patt, who also is involved in Bravo Farms' operations and knows many of the cheesemakers personally, manages the store on a day-to-day basis along with assistance from part-time employees. Decorations in the store include newspaper articles featuring the specialty cheesemakers as well.

With the holidays now here, The Cheese Factory Outlet also has put together theme gift boxes featuring a few different cheesemakers. For example, one box called the "Tangy Taster" features Fagundes' St. Jorge cheese, Bravo Farms' Sharp Cheddar and Sequoia Baby Swiss.

• Branching out

However, the cheesemakers' goals extend beyond one store, some deliveries and gift boxes.

"We have real hopes that it's more of a launching zone for us," Fagundes says.

For one thing, The Cheese Factory Outlet is available to put together cheese and cracker trays for events, Poe says.

In addition, the store is trying to establish airport displays to give travelers the opportunity to take some California cheese home with them.

A Cheese Factory Outlet display also has been set up in the entrance of Pea Soup Andersen's restaurant in Santa Nella, Calif. Remaining true to the cheesemakers' belief that sampling is important, the display often is staffed with a person offering samples on the weekend.

Poe would like to pursue additional relationships with other Pea Soup Andersen's as well.

"They're a known California tourist entity and I kind of like that image," he says.

Continuing with that theme, Poe also says he currently is in negotiations with a theme park.

In the midst of these efforts, the cheesemakers also are busy developing their individual brands. For instance, Boersma spends a great deal of time attending craft shows and farmers markets, developing a growing image for his Cheddars, Edam and a more recent development, a double cream blue. He also continues to anxiously await the resolution of environmental lawsuits that have tied up expansions of many dairy operations in California's Central Valley, including his cheese plant expansion which is on a dairy farm site.

Fagundes only recently started making cheese and is developing "old world style" cheese made with milk that is still warm from the cow, focusing on his family's roots by styling his first two cheeses after traditional Portuguese varieties. St. John, his first release, is similar to a young English Cheddar and has excellent melting properties. The St. Jorge cheese, the second one Fagundes created, was developed to capture the essence of Sao Jorge, imparting a complex taste that he says is perfect for hors d'oeurvres or served alone. He has since developed other cheeses as well.

Poe, a fourth generation cheese-maker, continues to work on the Mt. Whitney brand as well as serve as an advocate for the state's cheesemakers as a whole. He has developed another line of cheese called Slim that he hopes to bring to market soon. This line will include a wide variety of slightly lower fat cheese made by many of the specialty cheesemakers the store represents.

"It will be added business for everyone," he says.

CMN