Q: At a recent Christmas party, I sampled some cheeses from CalyRoad Creamery. Can you tell me about it?
A: CalyRoad Creamery began as an adventure between two sisters on a 16-acre goat dairy and produces handcrafted Georgia cheeses.
After successful careers, marriages and raising kids, owner Robin Schick and her sister, Cathy, found themselves in another phase of life and kicked around many ideas of what might be next.
Their mutual love of pastures from years past and the enjoyment in watching a nanny goat and two wethers frolic on Cathy’s horse farm gave them direction.
Crafting of soap had become a popular business. One night on the phone with her sister, Schick said, “Let’s milk that goat and make soap.”
They researched and interned at different farms.
“We quickly realized that raising goats for two women who were past middle age was probably not a great idea,” Schick said. “It meant 365 days-a-year and morning and evening. We learned that with animals it’s not all fairy tales.”
“At the same time we had already started looking into cheese making and at that point, really fell in love with that too,” she said.
At the Vermont Institute of Artisan Cheese they learned how to make cheese. The plans for the business were in motion. From the first two letters of their names, Cathy Lynn and Robin Adair, CalyRoad was born.
Sandy Springs is the home of the creamery. With three aging rooms, up to 300 pounds of different cheeses can be made daily with “fresh Georgia milk,” according to their website.
A variety of cheeses are crafted from cow’s milk, goat and sheep. Each cheese is named after a place in Georgia, like Black Rock, Little Stone Mountain or Red Top.
The most popular is WayPoint, their Brie-style, and their Bit O’Blue won the 2019 Silver Medal in the U.S. Championship Cheese Contest.
The process varies: WayPoint takes 14 days, while their Heritage cheddar requires 9 months, with others in between.
The shop also offers a selection of mostly Georgia grown items.
Cheese and wine pairings, private parties, cheese making classes and tours are offered. A Charcuterie class is coming up close to New Year’s.
A lot of things makes Schick happy in this journey, like her employees working in the back singing, but the one absolute is her customers.
“The people who come in here share themselves and it’s so nice,” she said.
Address: 227 Hilderbrand Drive, Sandy Springs (678-773-1629).
For more information and reservations, visit calyroadcreamery.com.
New to the area or simply have a question about this place we call home? Email us your request to atlactualfact@gmail.com.
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