When it opens later this spring in the Reading Terminal Market’s newly expanded Avenue D aisle, New Jersey-based Valley Shepherd Creamery’s outpost will offer a couple of firsts for the historic market. One is, it’s the first time a dairy has joined the ranks of vendors, and the other is, it’s the only operation to ever attempt cheese making there. “Yeah, this is something that’s unique as far back as I can recall,” Reading Terminal Market’s GM Paul Steinke told Grub Street. “We’re hoping they will be open by Memorial Day or sometime shortly after.”
Once operational, Valley Shepherd Creamery will bring weekly shipments of fresh milk to the market from its farm in Long Valley, New Jersey, and turn it into cheese in the stand’s cheese production facility, a glass enclosed workspace, where customers can see the entire operation on full display. In addition to making and selling cheese on site, Steinke said the creamery will offer a broad range cheese other cheese products, yogurts, cream and milk.
It’s not known yet whether Valley Shepherd will extend the hands-on cheese making classes it hosts at its farm to the market, but Steinke said he sees a possibility for what he described as “higher level customer participation opportunities.”
Valley Shepherd Creamery is one of several new tenants coming to the market in coming months. Wursthaus Schmitz, an offshoot of South Street’s Brauhaus Schmitz is currently working on opening a stand, as is Head Nut, which will replace the recently closed Spice Shop.
