GRAFTON-The nonprofit entity that owns the Grafton Village Cheese Company (GVCC) is looking for either a partner or a new owner as the next step in the award-winning cheesemaker's future.
The nonprofit Windham Foundation has operated GVCC for over a half century, having resurrected the 132-year-old company in 1967.
Last year the Foundation brought in new CEO Curt Alpeter, a seasoned business leader with experience at IDX Systems Corp., Runamok Maple, and other startup companies.
In addition to the GVCC, the Foundation owns the Grafton Inn, which has been open for over 200 years, and the Grafton Trails & Outdoor Center, which employs several dozen local people. It also supports philanthropic, charitable, and educational programs centered on community, land preservation, and historic preservation.
The Windham Foundation's goal is to steward "these social enterprises to ensure the economy of the region, and the state, remains vibrant."
To that end, one of Alpeter's goals was to make sure that GVCC was positioned for long-term success. He said that the brand's current situation - producing award-winning, handcrafted aged and infused cheddar and cave-aged sheep-milk cheeses - was ideal for expanding its market.
And he said that this might also be an opportunity to pass the company on to a new, qualified owner.
Alpeter and a committee of the Foundation's board of trustees determined that taking advantage of the company's current position with the goal of growing the GVCC will "require either new investment to grow the company or a sale to a better-positioned partner with access to larger markets."
The Windham Foundation states that part of its mission "is supporting Vermont rural towns economically and culturally," with GVCC an example of a local food company that benefits both agriculture and employment.
The Foundation also offers philanthropic, charitable, and educational programs, having given out $12 million in various regional grants. These include recent grants to the Montgomery Center for the Arts; Food Connects, based in Brattleboro; and Vermont Works for Women, in Winooski.
This year, 15 Vermont-based nonprofits throughout the state, including four in Windham County, received $43,500 in financial support for causes that have included support for seniors, a community bike project, youth programming, community education initiatives, rural farms support, and historic preservation.
The list of recipients includes Age Well, Bellows Falls Community Bike Project, Ethiopian Community Development Council, Okemo Valley TV, Rural Arts Collaborative, Vermont Historical Society, Vermont Humanities Council, Vermont Land Trust, and Brattleboro Memorial Hospital.
It supports the village of Grafton through its preservation of historic buildings, open land stewardship, and financial support in the form of taxes and grants. The foundation owns nearly 1,200 acres of nearby forest and open land.
The Foundation has purchased numerous houses around the village, which have been preserved and restored. Many of these are rented as part of the Inn.
Alpeter said that he sees the Grafton Village Cheese Company as "an iconic Vermont brand with a great deal of potential. It has been built over years with so much love and commitment by our employees."
Lisa Ventriss, incoming chair of the Windham Foundation board of trustees, shared that the decision was based on the company's considerable potential and the resources needed to meet that potential.
"After thoughtful consideration of Curt's analysis," Centris said, "the Foundation has determined it is no longer the right partner to take advantage of this next level of exciting growth."
She called it a "difficult but necessary step forward to capitalize on the potential of the business and ensure its future success."
"We have a great team, an award-winning product, and a dedicated customer base which we are very proud to serve," Alpeter said.
'A bright future'
The Windham Foundation was established in 1963 by millionaire Dean Mathey, a New York financier who vacationed in Grafton. A student of architecture, Mathey felt that the preservation and restoration of historic buildings was central to the revitalization and economic and social well-being of small towns like Grafton.
The Foundation's first project was to restore the historic Grafton Inn, which had entertained a number of notable guests over the decades, including Rudyard Kipling, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and Henry David Thoreau. The Inn was reopened 1966.
In 1967 the Foundation restarted GVCC, with the goal of "returning cheese-making to Grafton and helping keep dairy farms in operation."
In addition to production in Grafton, the Foundation opened a 29,000-square-foot production site and cheese store in Brattleboro in 2008. Production at the Brattleboro plant ended in 2020, and the building was sold to the Retreat Farm in 2022.
The Foundation closed GVCC's cheese shop earlier this year and relocated it to Proctorsville. The cheeses are sold around the country and featured in many restaurants.
The chair of the Foundation's committee overseeing the Cheese Company, Tim Briglin, said that he is hopeful a partner or buyer will emerge who values the enterprise and sees the opportunity as much as the Foundation has over the years.
"GVCC has a bright future with the right partner, resources, and access to larger markets," Briglin said. "We look forward to the conversations we will have with interested partners and exploring the next chapter of this great organization."
In a release, the Foundation said it credits the skilled staff and artisanal cheese makers of GVCC for its many awards, including multiple first, second, and third place awards in recent years at the American Cheese Society, The Big E, and the International Cheese & Dairy Awards.
"We believe this record of achievement will carry it forward into its next chapter," Briglin said.
This News item by Robert F. Smith was written for The Commons.