There's optimism as Gay Lea finds a buyer for northern Ontario's Thornloe Cheese factory
Gay Lea is selling the facility to Triple “A” cheese for ‘an affordable price’
Supporters of the Thornloe Cheese factory in northern Ontario's Timiskaming district are optimistic now that it's about to have a new owner, after shutting down most of its operations last fall.
"We're very optimistic. We were glad to see that they're moving ahead and working towards getting it open again," said Robin Flewwelling, a member of the Save Thornloe Cheese Committee.
Flewwelling and other concerned community members formed the committee when Gay Lea Foods announced in October that it was ending most operations at the plant.
Since then, the facility has continued to process milk from grass-fed cows, which is transported to a facility in Alliston, Ont., where it is churned into butter.
Gay Lea purchased the facility in 2019.
On Tuesday the company announced that it has entered into a letter of agreement to sell Thornloe Cheese to Triple "A" Cheese, based in Mississauga.
"We have committed to selling the plant for a very affordable price, selling the quota for an affordable price and trying to give Triple "A" Cheese the best chance to succeed," Mike Langdon, Gay Lea's vice-president of corporate and co-operative affairs, told CBC News.
Stefano Camaiani, the president and CEO of Triple "A" Cheese, says he has ambitious plans for Thornloe Cheese.
"We're looking for, you know, pretty much a state-of-the-art facility, which is a tourist attraction, manufacturing the different cheeses like it used to," he said.
Camaiani's plans include a brand new facility located near the old building, which could be used for cold storage. If it comes to fruition, the new facility would be able to accommodate visitors for tours, and have a farm-to-table restaurant attached to it.
"It all depends on obviously the amount of support we can get, the government funding and whatnot," he said.
If all goes well, Camaiani says he hopes to close the deal with Gay Lea next year, and to have the new facility built by 2027 or 2028.
Timiskaming-Cochrane MPP John Vanthof, a former dairy farmer, says there's still a long road ahead to get the support and funding needed for a new facility.
"I'm looking forward to working with everyone to try and make this process go as smoothly as possible," he said.
With files from Erika Chorostil and Jonathan Pinto