Factory or dairy visit · Fresno
Pearl Valley Cheese
Pearl Valley runs a free factory tour every Wednesday morning at 9:30. The retail store at 54760 Township Road 90 in Fresno is open Monday to Friday 8am to 5pm and Saturday 9am to 4pm, closed on Sundays and holidays. Cheese is made Monday to Friday, best seen between 8am and noon.
- Tour
- Wednesdays 9:30am, free
- Store
- Mon to Fri 8 to 5, Sat 9 to 4
- Best viewing
- Mon to Fri, 8am to noon
- Since
- 1928
The Tour
The free Wednesday tour explains how the factory turns milk from about 50 small family farms, all within 50 miles, into cheese. Each of the four stainless steel vats holds 35,000 pounds of milk, enough for about 3,500 pounds of cheese. Swiss curds go straight to the presses and spend the night there, then the blocks are cut into 200-pound pieces and brined. Colby curds are drained on a long table, salted and pressed. Pearl Valley now makes more than 10 million pounds of cheese a year.
History
Ernest Stalder, a Swiss immigrant, bought the Pearl Cheese Company in 1928: a single building making one 200-pound wheel of Swiss a day in a copper kettle. During the war the factory switched partly to brick cheese, because the big Swiss wheels were hard to move with the men away, and colby later grew to half of production. One of the original copper kettles is on show in the store.
The Store
Free samples and in-store specials, with Pearl Valley's Swiss and colby varieties and gift boxes. Phone (740) 545-6002.
Getting There
Fresno is in Coshocton County at the southern edge of Ohio's Amish Country, about 30 minutes from Sugarcreek and 40 minutes from Berlin.
Nearby
Broad Run Cheesehouse near Sugarcreek and Bunker Hill Cheese near Berlin make an easy afternoon loop. Sugarcreek holds the Ohio Swiss Festival each autumn.
Cheeses to Taste Here
Where to Stay near Coshocton
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Questions People Ask
Does Pearl Valley Cheese give tours?
Yes. Free factory tours run every Wednesday morning at 9:30.
When can you see cheese being made at Pearl Valley?
Monday to Friday, best between 8am and noon.
Official site: pearlvalleycheese.com/. Dates, hours and prices checked 22 October 2026; confirm on the official site before you travel. See all cheese factory tours.