Springside Cheese dates back to at least 1908. The original creamery was located about 5 miles north of their current location, near a local fresh spring -- hence the name, Springside Cheese. Springside Cheese is tucked in amongst the rolling hills and valleys north of Green Bay. Originally, the ownership of Springside Cheese went back and forth between a farmer-owned co-op and a cheesemaker. Eventually, it was bought by a family in the 1940s, and they ran it until 1973.
Wayne Hintz, son of dairy farmer Alfred Hintz, is a passionate cheesemaker who started worked in a cheese factory at age 15. Wayne married into a cheesemaking family, and earned the trade of cheesemaking from his father-in-law, Eugene Winter, one of three brothers who each ran their own cheese factory. Hintz combined his upbringing in rearing cattle and producing quality milk with the art of milk preservation by creating high quality, award-winning Wisconsin cheeses.
In the fall of 1973, Wayne bought his own small factory -- Springside Cheese. His father's homestead dairy is currently owned and operated by Hintz's brother, and provides Springside Cheese with fresh, rGBh-free milk daily. In the begining, Springside Cheese turns 17,000 pounds of milk daily into 1,700 pounds of Cheddar blocks, 7 days a week.
In 1982, construction of a new manufacturing facility and retail store begins. The new facility, and added wholesale accounts, allowed Springside Cheese to increase cheese production to 4,000 pounds daily, and add Colby and Monterey Jack to their product line. Since then, they have continued to expand their operations and cheese production volumes.
Cheesemaking continues to be a family tradition at Springside Cheese. The Hintz family's passion for cheesemaking continues with a fourth generation as Hintz's two eldest sons join Springside Cheese to learn the trade and continue the tradition. In 2012, Springside Cheese expanded to Colorado, where they opened a retail store managed by Keith Hintz, Wayne's eldest son.
Springside Cheese remains one of Northeast Wisconsin's longest running factories, and looks forward to continuing to provide quality Wisconsin cheeses for years to come. They produce hand-crafted, natural cheeses, and their passion for cheesemaking is incredibly apparent in the taste and quality of the products they produce. Try some today!
