Say ‘Cheese:’ Tillamook opens its new visitor center
TILLAMOOK, Ore. — Members of one of the Northwest’s largest dairy cooperatives, the Tillamook County Creamery Association, cut the ribbon to their new visitor center June 19 with fanfare that included politicians, employees and dairy farmers.
Eight-year-old Juliana McCoy traded in a day at camp for a visit to the grand opening with her mom that included a picture with Oregon Gov. Kate Brown. Her visit was sweetened with one of Tillamook’s famous ice cream cones, and in the visitor center’s Farm Room, Juliana tried to beat the average 21 seconds it takes a professional to prep a cow for milking.
“It was worth it,” Juliana declared.
Those activities, and more, are now open to the estimated 1.3 million visitors expected to walk through the doors of the new facility, better known as the Tillamook Cheese factory.
With $778 million in gross revenues last year, the Tillamook County Creamery Association is the largest co-op in Oregon, employing nearly 900 people. Its approximately 90 farm families — mostly from the Tillamook area — own the cooperative and provide the milk for the cheese, ice cream, yogurt and other products.
At the ribbon-cutting, Brown tossed out a question to the audience: “What’s the state drink?”
The front row of dairy farmers had the answer: “Milk!”
State Sen. Arnie Roblan praised dairy farmers for their commitment to the cooperative that has endured for more than 100 years. He jokingly suggested that the name of the new 38,500-square-foot center should be called “Are we there yet?” for the backseat questions excited children have asked on their way to Tillamook since the original center opened in 1949.
As demand grew, the creamery’s board has expanded, remodeled and rebuilt the visitor center. It is one of the Northwest’s biggest attractions, rivaling Seattle’s Space Needle in the number of visitors it draws, according to association CEO Patrick Criteser.
The new building opens to the public June 20, and is open each day from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. through Labor Day, then 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. through mid-June.
Inside the new building, visitors are greeted by pictures and displays of the Tillamook dairy’s history, which began when local farmers shipped their dairy products on the Morningstar, a two-masted ship built by residents to transport goods to Portland. The ship’s image adorns packages of Tillamook cheese and other products.
A staircase at the entryway leads to a long hallway divided into farm education rooms, a viewing gallery overlooking the cheese production facility and the popular cheese-tasting room.
Downstairs are roomy food halls and a marketplace. Visitors can order from three stations that feature yogurts, pastries, ice cream or cheesy meals and snack selections that can be eaten in the cafeteria or on an outside patio.
In the marketplace, visitors can take home cheese and other Tillamook products along with a wide variety of memorabilia.