Do you remember the cream receiving station in Mildmay, Ontario?
Do you recognize the name Canada Packers & Bieman's Creamery Ltd.?


The Story of the Mildmay Cheese Haus
This new owner began a renovation process that would progress to present day.
There was one apartment above the business and immediately upon purchase the apartment was renovated and two more apartments were added. In the rear of the building there were freezer rooms containing 120 lockers, which were rented to individual customers and commercial businesses such as Bruce Packers of Paisley, Bruce Fur of Walkerton and St. Mary's and Doug Crawford's Fur Farm of Walkerton and throughout the years many other business names were added to the list. Office space was rented out to Vern Inglis Insurance, South Bruce Telephone, Bruce McDonald Insurance & financial advisor Tony Morris.
A butter patty machine and a reddie butter machine were installed shortly after the 1972 purchase under the Mildmay label. Later Swift's was sold to Gainer's Inc. and butter was made for this company and Gay Lea Foods.
In 1973 Ice cube machines were added and they began to supply to camp grounds, hotels and restaurants.
When a small cheese outlet was added, in 1974, butter and cheese were sold out of a wooden, upright, cooler A few years later a specialty cheese section was brought in and a 2' by 8' glass showcase was installed. The cheese tradition was on a roll now and the business name became The Mildmay Cheese Haus.
As renovations enlarged the original showcase and two more showcases were added the store section of the building began to grow and the exterior of the building underwent updating as well as the interior. A kitchen was installed in 1986 and the old washroom was moved and a new one was put in, with the addition of hot and cold running water. But the renovations continued in to the next year when the building underwent a reconstruction process for the retail store. The existing wall was moved back six feet in this large undertaking to expand the store and showcase area.
In 1990 Tom Fischer joined Burton Pinder as a partner and more renovations began. The front of the building needed alterations because of the presence of a loading dock. It did not seem to work well with the retail portion of the business and was removed. A wooden ramp and steps replaced the dock, in 1995, making the access much more appealing to walk-in customers. Because of this new front door service, the office space was moved to the North end of the building and the remainder of the front was utilized for resale, doubling the floor space.
Through the years, as the cheese portion and retail grew, the remainder of their ice and butter operation also expanded and their products, service and delivery covered both a wholesale and retail market. In addition to their large cold storage facilities a cheese cutting room, a butter processing room as well as aging rooms, where the cheese can and is aged up to six years, were added and have led to the present popularity of The Mildmay Cheese Haus.
Now, with over 200 varieties of cheese, ice cubes and blocks, butter patties and a large selection of retail products, such as nuts, candies, specialty beverages, yogurts, chocolates, crackers and spreads, frozen and bulk foods and more, Burton Pinder, his wife Marya Pinder and their son-in-law, Tom Fischer have established a family name in the cheese industry and remain a vibrant part of the quaint community of Mildmay, Ontario.

Hwy 9., Mildmay, Ontario, Canada, N0G 2J0
(519) 367-2678 e-mail: chezhaus@wightman.ca