LaClare Family Creamery’ — known for its world-class hard, aged and fresh goat cheeses — launching a seasonal Greenhouse & Garden Center, which is just one of the expanded family-friendly attractions the farm debuts this spring.
Visitors will see the changes immediately when they arrive as LaClare’s trademark goats greet them from atop a relocated century-old wood silo overlooking the world-famous cheesemaking facility.
“We’ve created a destination that appeals to everyone in the family — mom, dad and the kids,” said Jessi Schoof, retail manager. “Whether sampling our cheese, shopping for the home garden or getting an up-close look at our animals, we wanted to create a quality on-the-farm experience that will leave everyone talking.”
Among the new attractions at the creamery:
Greenhouse & Garden Center: Gardeners will find an expansive selection of annuals with a variety of petunias, begonias, bedding plants, tomatoes, herbs, succulents and more. In addition, the center will offer common perennials, such as Black Eyed Susan, Hostas, etc. “At the core of LaClare is a heritage of farming … and no one knows plants better than farmers,” said Marji Lechner, LaClare’s supply chain manager. “We felt this was a very natural extension of what we do.”
Animal Experience: In addition to the goat tower — built from the timber of a 110-year-old Watertown, WI, silo — visitors also may get an up-close look at other common farm animals in a new viewing barn.
Celebrating Great Cheese: With expanded outdoor and indoor dining and buying options, guests will have more opportunities to sample LaClare’s award-winning goat and cow cheeses. “We’ve always believed in ‘try before you buy,’” Schoofs said. “We call it ‘the Cheese Experience.’”
The new features come in the wake of a major 2019 expansion, which doubled LaClare’s cheesemaking space as well as launched a one-of-a-kind Visitors Center that allows guests to take a self-guided tour, learn about LaClare’s (and Wisconsin’s) agricultural heritage and watch world-class cheesemakers in action from special viewing windows.
LaClare Family Creamery will host ENVISION Greater Fond du Lac’s Breakfast on the Farm on Sunday, June 27.
