Klondike Cheese Company
& Buholzer Family History

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The history of the Klondike Cheese Co. is also the history of the Buholzer family and its commitment to excellence in the Cheese industry. Klondike Cheese has been producing award winning cheese at the same location since the late 1800’s.

In 1925 Ernest & Marie Buholzer settled in Green County Wisconsin after arriving from Switzerland and Ernest began making Swiss cheese for the Farmers Cooperative. Alvin X. Buholzer began making cheese with his father in 1946. Al and his wife Rosa with their sons Ron, Dave, and Steve formed a family corporation and purchased the assets of the Klondike Cheese Factory in 1972, naming their new corporation A.X. Buholzer and Sons, becoming the Klondike Cheese Co..

Since 1925 the family has been creating fine cheeses to suit the tastes of each particular era. Today Klondike Cheese Co. is home to five Master Cheesemakers.  The three brothers of the third generation – Ron, Dave and Steve Buholzer, along with Adam Buholzer, son of Steve and representing the fourth generation, as well as Matt Erdley and Ron Bechtolt, have all achieved Wisconsin Master Cheesemaker® status. They have all been recognized as successfully completing the advanced training program administered by the Wisconsin Center for Dairy Research. The Wisconsin Master Cheesemaker® program is the only one of its kind in the United States. The secret to Klondike’s quality is the combination of using state-of-the-art equipment, our own very special recipes and time-honored traditions of cheesemaking.

At this time, seven members of the Buholzer family work together at Klondike. Ron, Dave and Steve, follow in the footsteps of their father, Alvin, as well as their grandfather, Ernest. The fourth generation of the Buholzer family includes Ron’s son Luke as well as Steve’s son, Adam and his wife Teena, and daughter Melissa (Buholzer) Erdley and her husband Matt.

While we’re proud of our history, we know our reputation depends on the quality cheese we produce today. All told, our cheeses have earned many awards but our greatest joy is when we hear from someone how much they have enjoyed one of our cheese’s. Today, Klondike Cheese produces award-winning Feta, Muenster, Brick and Havarti cheeses.

Klondike, which markets about 80 percent of its Feta for foodservice, also sells its Feta at retail using the Odyssey® Feta Cheese brand name.