Expanding upon and reinforcing its slogan, "Milk like it used to taste," Arethusa Farm Dairy owners George Malkemus and Anthony Yurgaitis closed on the purchase this week of the old firehouse on Route 202 in Bantam. It will become the farm's new creamery.
"I think it's perfectly suited to the character of what Arethusa Dairy stands for, which is embracing local products, and that was an old firehouse [so we are] bringing back tradition to what was a traditional place," said Mr. Malkemus in a phone interview Monday.
Mr. Malkemus and Mr. Yur-gaitis are also the top executives and co-owners of Manolo Blahnik USA, the couture shoe company made famous on the HBO show "Sex and the City."
According to Chris Casiello, the dairy farm manager, the location for the creamery re-presents a right-place, right-time situation. "It's an historic build-ing; they like the historic value to the building," said Mr. Casiello.
The building will be dedicated to both dairy processing and the bottling of the milk, along with the processing of artisanal cheeses, yogurts and ice cream. There will also be a retail operation at the front of the building.
Mr. Malkemus explained that the expansion can be credited in part to the terrific response by area residents to Arethusa's milk-so the advent of the creamery is both a local thank-you and an evolution of Arethusa's business model.
Arethusa Farm Dairy has filed a change-of-use application with the Planning and Zoning Commission in the Bantam Borough, and a public hearing is scheduled for Jan. 5.
"It's all been positive; it's a good thing for downtown Bantam, I think," said Mr. Casiello.
Planning and Zoning Commission chairman John Langer said that he has heard a lot of positive feedback from business people in town. Mr. Langer, who works part-time for Arethusa Farm, will not be voting on the application.
"It's all high-quality designer milk," said Mr. Langer. "I personally think it would be a good thing for Bantam and Litchfield to have a business like this. They are a reputable business in Litchfield."
In June, Mr. Malkemus and Mr. Yurgaitis had guests over to the farm to try their milk and tour the facility. The milk is currently available at New Morning Natural and Organic Foods in Woodbury, Whole Foods Market in West Hartford, LaBonne's Markets in Salisbury and Watertown and The Market in Litchfield.
The all-natural farm-fresh products are made from milk produced by Arethusa's herd of award-winning Holstein and Jersey cCows, and the milk is currently being processed and bottled at Fish Family Farm in Bolton. The line currently includes whole milk, 2 percent reduced fat milk, and half-and-half.
The Arethusa milk is vat-pasteurized in small quantities using a low-temperature, long-duration, slow-heat and quick-cool process that preserve the milk's rich, natural flavor. Adding to the quality and the taste is the fact that every drop of the milk comes from 80 ladies in the milking barn-part of the herd exceeding 400 cows.
"In these economic times, when the dairy industry is having a hard time, it's great to see someone making an effort to expand, keeping it in Connecticut," said Mr. Casiello.
Most milk produced comes from cooperative dairies that blend milk from as many as 30 farms. Arethusa milk is the only one on the shelf to display "bottled-on" date next to the "sell-by" date.
"Everything comes from Litchfield," said Mr. Malkemus with pride.
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