Renard’s Cheese

In the mid-1800s, as Wisconsin became a dairy powerhouse, cheese curds were simply the solid clumps that separated from the liquid whey during cheese production. As cheese factories became more widespread, they began selling excess curds to local establishments, where they were soon deep-fried and served hot. Their popularity at fairs and other events helped make them the now iconic Wisconsin snack. One of Northeast Wisconsin’s largest producers of cheese curds is Renard’s Artisan Cheese at 2189 County Road DK just off WIS 57, 12 miles south of Sturgeon Bay. Howard and Angela Renard founded the company in 1961, according to current co-owner, Chris Renard. “In 1966, my dad, Gary, and mom, Bonnie, started the second location where our current store is,” Chris said. His wife, Ann, joined the firm in 2010, and the couple bought out the other family members in 2014.

“Ann takes care of all the leads on the sales for our business,” Chris explained. “She is also, what I say is the driver of where our business has grown. I take care of the cheese-making side of it, but Ann takes care of all the marketing to get our name out there to get us known. Since we’ve grown in popularity, she has taken care of setting up the store and the bistro. When we built the store in 2012, our goal was to make it a destination—not just some place to stop on the way to Door County—and I think we’ve achieved that. She keeps everything running. She oversees financing, the store and bistro, marketing and sales. We rely on her a lot.”

Renards also own Rosewood Dairy near Algoma, where Chris is Master Cheesemaker, making the cheeses sold at the main store just off WIS 57. Over the years, Chris has seen changes in the cheese business. “We used to do everything in bulk, retail and food service which has grown a lot,” he recalled. “Compared to 1961, we sell a lot of fresh cheese like cheese curds. Cheese curds are one of our biggest sellers, especially in the summer months, it’s about 30 percent of what we produce. The flavors we produce often come in by request. Ann has done a great job of bringing those flavors in and adding them to the mix.”

“We’ve also grown our breaded cheese curd line. When we took the store over in 2010, we probably breaded about 200-300 pounds a week, and now we’re probably breading 5,000-6,000 pounds a week.”

Most retail outlets offer fresh, day-of-sale curds one day per week, but Renard’s offers them daily. “You get that real bright squeak when you bite into them,” he said. Renard’s biggest cheese curd sellers are the yellow curds followed by the white curds then ranch and cajun. They also sell curds in flavors of garlic and dill and ranch as well as string cheese.

“String cheese was a line I introduced to the business in 1997. One trend now is on the artisan end—the blending of flavors and flavor-infused cheeses. For example, our Terrific Trio, which is a blend of cheddar, gouda and parmesan; and our Legacy, which is a blend of cheddar and gouda.” Renard’s also makes cheeses with many flavors blended in—Door County Cherry Cheddar, Bacon Bread Cheddar, Balsamic and Caramelized Onion, and Buffalo Wing Monterey Jack are a few. The Morel Leek Cheddar is their most popular flavored cheese.

“We have a contract with a spice company,” Chris said. “All the ingredients we add need to be cleaned and aerated. One, for food safety, and second, so they don’t affect the cheese. You don’t want to add a flavoring that counteracts the cheese, or you’re going to get some bad flavors. That’s why we do trials. All of a sudden I’ll get an off flavor, and I find out it’s from one of the seasonings. A good example is our Door County Cherry Cheddar. There’s a vanilla flavor that comes through in the end but there’s no vanilla added. It’s something with the cherry flavoring and the cultures that create that flavor.”