Great news for people in eastern Iowa, like me, who LOVE cheese curds... you'll be able to get them again soon.

It might be a stretch to call fresh cheese curds a delicacy, but that's how I feel about them. Now, to be fair, I don't believe "fresh" cheese curds will be returning to Kalona real soon. But this is a start.

The Kalona Creamery Shop and Deli will be opening its doors this fall just a few miles north of Kalona on Highway 1, in the former Kalona Cheese House location. There will be plenty of Iowa-made products available including squeaky cheese curds (YES!), everything from Greek yogurt to cottage cheese, butter and organic dairy milk, hummus, and even baked goods. They'll also have soups, salads, and sandwiches. Current plans also include the Kalona Creamery starting to crank out its own products next year.

This is certainly welcome news to eastern Iowans and especially those in the Kalona area. The Kalona Cheese House closed 17 months ago. When it closed, a couple of other things happened too. The flashing yellow light at that intersection was taken down, which speaks volumes to the amount of traffic that was lost. I know I changed my driving route heading back home to Sigourney. No longer did I have to consider the day and time before I made the trek. You see if I knew the Kalona Cheese Factory, as I called it, was open I'd take Highway 1. Sure it was a bit out of the way, but fresh cheese curds were totally worth the extra miles.

This news may bring one other change to Highway 1... the flashing yellow at that crossroads just may have to be reinstalled. If not now, certainly next year when they plan to start making fresh cheese on-site once again. I can't wait. Cannot wait!

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