Great News from our CreekSide Board of Directors

We have very good news! CreekSide Co-op's primary lender has agreed to accept a 

dramatically reduced pay-off of our debt obligations.  If we are successful (which we think we 

will be), we will reduce the Co-op's debt by almost two-thirds!  One of the principal problems that 

caused CreekSide to struggle financially since its opening is that it was burdened with more 

debt than we have been able to support. We believe we have solved that problem.

We have a strong expression of interest from The Reinvestment Fund for a new, manageable 

mortgage.  The Reinvestment Fund is our current equipment lender and was our original 

acquisition and construction lender. While they are familiar with our financial situation, the 

agreement is not yet finalized.  We are optimistic that we will get a deal done.  We expect our 

new debt to be $1.5 million (as compared to just over $3.5 million today). Our new monthly 

mortgage payments will drop from almost $30,000 to about $10,000.  This is a level of debt 

service that should be sustainable and allow CreekSide to prosper, so long as sales continue to 

grow.  We hope to have the new mortgage in place by May 1.

We are planning a meeting of our member-owners in the coming weeks to provide the details of 

our new financing.  We will announce a date and time as soon as possible.

We owe great thanks to you all. CreekSide has asked for the support of our community and you 

continue to respond. Our work at the board level is successful in partnership with your 

continuing support, shopping in the store, spreading the word and volunteering your time.  

Thank you again, for your steadfast support and commitment to the vitality of our 

community.Thank you.

CreekSide Board Directors

All Your Snacks for the Big Game are at CreekSide Co-op!

This week CreekSide Co-op demos will be all about THE BIG GAME! Come to the store and check out our display tables chock full of party snacks, dips, sodas and seltzers... all great suggestions for your Big Game Party!

Our list of Big Game Party Snacks is extensive! We have:

• Tortilla chips & salsa - several brands and varieties of each!
• Chips and dip - all flavors, dips made in-house or buy a packet to make your own!
• Crackers and cheese - from basic snack crackers to high end flat bread, and so many delicious cheeses to choose!
• salamis, deli meats and salads

Or, consider ordering a party tray or two - our catering is always crowd pleasing!

Our scheduled demos up until the Big Game:

Wednesday, January 28th, from 4 to 6 PM – CreekSide kitchen's kickin' chili

Thursday, January 29, from 4 to 6 PM – Come in to try some of our freezer appetizers!

Also on Thursday, Burt, The Big Cheese, Siegel will demo some lovely softer cheeses

– if you have any cheese related questions, Burt is the man to see!

Friday, January 30 from 4 to 6 PM – Sample from our Big Game Deli platter!

Saturday, January 31 from 2 to 4 PM – Salsa/ guacamole & CreekSide tortilla chips anyone?

Look for additional information about our demos on our FaceBook page and on Twitter!

CreekSide is CLOSING TONIGHT!! And Opening Tomorrow at 8AM

You might have heard one of several rumors that CreekSide is about to close for good.  Pretty scary, right?   For the record there is no truth to it, and in fact it’s clear that our community is not going to let that happen.  The last few weeks were the best we’ve achieved together since opening day.  In short, our strong core of members and shoppers are stepping up beautifully in response to The Declaration of Interdependence and taking action to Rediscover and Share what we love about CreekSide.   Email and social media are lighting up with valuable discussion, and there is evidence that this is not a “bump” but a sustainable commitment.  We can’t account for how rumors get started, we can only chalk it up to the excitement being stirred up and folks actively engaging in what the Co-op means to the Community. 

All along the way we have heard and will continue to address the things our beloved Co-op could do better.  While CreekSide is a work in progress and will always be, we do take these concerns seriously as demonstrated by the changes we are making every day in response to customer requests. 

See you at the Co-op!

Calkins Creamery Cheeses - By Burt "Big Cheese" Siegel

With the growth of “craft” or small batch products coming on the scene in recent years those of us who enjoy variety, freshness and the idea of supporting locally produced foods to eat and drink can easily be overwhelmed by all that is out there. But it wasn’t all that long ago that no matter what brand of beer you bought they all pretty much tasted the same and few of us knew the difference between an ale or a lager. In fact, while brewers may have claimed that they employed ancient old country recipes or used only clear, cool, mountain water, these beers were made to please any and everybody and the cans or bottles simply were labeled “beer.”

The same was true, of course, for cheese. You went into the supermarket and bought something called Swiss, mostly an American made poor imitation of the Swiss Emmentaler or perhaps you came home with pre-sliced bland Muenster which has nothing to do with real Munster cheese, a pungent, washed rind cheese from France. Back then even small dairy farms tried to imitate the flavor and look of the major national producers. By the late 50s and until fairly recently most shoppers would have avoided cheese marked “raw milk”, turned up their noses at anything with a robust aroma and thought that a cheese with a rough rustic looking rind had turned “bad.”  Thankfully, both beer and cheese have returned to what made them so enjoyable.

While alas CreekSide doesn’t (yet, we hope) sell beer, we do carry some truly outstandingly tasty cheese. Most of us like the idea of supporting local enterprises, that is one of the reasons we belong to and shop at our co-op, in spite of the fact that there are any number of mega chain supermarkets nearby. Among the items you will find in the cheese case are several delightful raw cows milk made by the good people at Calkins Creamery in Honesdale, Pennsylvania. Like many of the artisanal cheeses currently being made, Calkins products are the result of two well educated people who left their rural homes for the big city (if you can call Bakersfield, CA big) but eventually felt lured back to their roots. When Emily Bryant and her husband Jay Montgomery came back to Wayne County, in the north east tip of the Poconos, they promised to use only milk from a herd of Holsteins they raised themselves. Like many of the newer generation of dairy farmers they believe that, “well cared for and comfortable” cows produce the sweetest, richest milk. While I know nothing about comfortable cows I do know something about cheese and from the taste of Calkins’s products these guys are very much onto something.

Calkins makes over a dozen cheeses, quite a wide range for a small producer. They have come up with perhaps some overly cute names for what they make, but their cheeses taste so good and they work so hard making them, let them have some fun. CreekSide doesn’t stock all their cheeses at the same time but I want to tell you about three of my favorites:

Vampire Slayer is a flavorful yellow cheddar style cheese. But keep in mind that the word cheddar doesn’t actually describe a taste but rather a process by which the whey, or liquids are pressed out. What makes Vampire Slayer especially good is what is added to it. The makers refer to it as an “anti-garlic cheddar,” which makes absolutely no sense because it is redolent of garlic, thus the name. Garlic, ginger, onion, paprika are all blended in. The odd thing is that I have had Vampire Slayer several times and at least once the paprika flavor was more pronounced but another time it was the garlic that jumped out with the first bite-maybe they were experimenting with the recipe? While all cheeses should be eaten at room temperature, the mix of flavors in this one really comes out in full bloom if you don’t eat it right out of your refrigerator. 

Cow Tipper, the name is probably a joke based on an urban legend that farm kids would sneak up on an unsuspecting cow and tip her over. My farm raised friends assure me that no cow was ever tipped but since this Gouda style cheese is bathed in Yuengling Porter the name might refer to a tipsy cow. Whatever its name’s origin, Cow Tipper both looks, smells and tastes great. The brown rind looks earthy and quite artisanal. While the porter flavor is upfront, it isn’t in your face, but then you will notice a nice, almost sweet caramel undertone, a bit of malt from the porter and some say that they taste a hint of chocolate. While this is a beer washed rind cheese it isn’t as pungent as other beer anointed products like Chimay.

Old Man Highlander is also a Gouda type but quite different from either the Cow Tipper or what you are probably used to: the stuff that comes in the red plastic wrapper that is called Gouda. In the first place the Calkins version is nicely cave aged which gives it a somewhat spicy bite. It is milky and has a slight hint of a rustic Italian cheese like a well aged Provolone but without a Provolone’s texture.  Like many of the other Calkins Cheeses, Old Man Highlander looks kind of rough around the edges which is, of course, part of its charm. Slice it thin and melt it on a hamburger for a special treat. Both this and the Cow Tipper go well with a nice hoppy beer.