Our "Short" Story

An obsession with good food and great ingredients is at the heart of everything we do. From the beginning, handcrafting true artisan cheese was always our goal. Our long journey to cheese making took us on an unintentional path that would lead us to create our first products, fruit preserves. Much to our surprise it was not cheese, but was created with cheese in mind.

In 2011, we left the Hudson Valley and returned to Ohio to begin our creamery. But first on the schedule was our wedding. Some of our favorite food memories while living in New York were akin to artisan cheese. For our “big day” we wanted to create a one-of-a-kind cheese plate that would revive those memories for us and also introduce them to our closest family and friends. Unable to find anything in the local market that matched our creative tastes and high standards for ingredients, we hit the back roads of John’s hometown in Amish country. It was there that we found a few small fruit farms harvesting perfectly ripe fruit. We then took to our kitchen, fruit in hand, and unknowingly, began crafting the very first product for Black Radish Creamery. That day we created, an intensely concentrated blend of strawberries, rhubarb, Beaujolais wine reduction, and vanilla bean.  “Billionaire” was born.

With much success at our reception and noting the frequent requests that followed, we realized that not only did we create something that exceeded our demand for a premium, yet unique local flavor; but we created something that others were searching for as well. That summer we set up as Black Radish Creamery at the Granville Farmers’ Market and sold our only product, “Billionaire”. At the time, we truly believed that our cheese would not be far behind.

For the next few years we became popularly known as the local misnomer. “A creamery that doesn’t make cheese.” This title, while funny, was one that we quickly wanted to lose and so we tirelessly reminded people who purchased our fruit preserves that "the cheese is coming!" Behind the scenes we were endlessly dealing with set backs on our facility, but it was still slowly coming along. Meanwhile, our fruit preserves where getting national recognition by winning three Good Food Awards.

In the summer of 2016 another serendipitous event happened for us when we found out that there was an opportunity to open a cheese shop inside the historic North Market in downtown Columbus. We did not hesitate for a moment and after a tremendous amount of work in a very short time frame, we opened our retail shop that fall. Even though we still did not have our own cheese to sell, we knew it wouldn't be long!

Six short years later, we finally shook that "misnomer" title. In the summer of 2017 we began handcrafting all of our artisan food products in our state-of-the-art facility near Granville, Ohio. Not only does our facility host a creamery, complete with two custom cheese caves, it also features a versatile commercial kitchen where we make our preserves. All of this sitting on 18 beautiful acres of untouched land- which of course, we have BIG plans for! Stay tuned...

Now, with a tremendous amount of pride, we can finally say, “Our cheese is here!”

All along, our greatest intention has always been, and continues to be, to provide people with the kind of outstanding food that has fueled our biggest dreams and fondest memories—

food made with love, science, and soul.