Founder's Circle
Seven years ago, I left a tech career of more than a decade to open a cheese shop.
People told me it wouldn't work, that I was crazy. Why would I leave a tech career to open a cheese shop? And even worse, a vegan cheese shop?
Even finding a space was hard. Every landlord we met thought we'd lost our minds. Then we met with the executives at Texas Mutual. They saw our vision and believed in us, and that's how we ended up in their space.
We spent months developing our recipes and menu. When we finally opened, we had no idea what to expect. There was a line down the street. I was shocked and relieved, I guess you could say.
Not long after we opened, COVID hit. Like every small business we knew, we started pivoting and trying everything we could think of to keep going.
It's why our cheese club exists today, and we never planned to do that. It's also why we sell in retail, which we never planned to do either.
I'm forever grateful to The Vreamery and the other retailers who were patient with us while we figured out how to ship perishable cheese. They helped us work out which insulation held up and which boxes to use. It's a big part of why we can do what we do today.
We also applied for every grant and competition we could find, including every program for veteran-owned and women-owned businesses. That's how Shark Tank happened. We never thought for a moment we'd end up on the show, so we applied anyway, and kept applying until we did.
Through all the pivoting and hustling, we managed to grow, and Fred and I got our first kitchen. It was out by the airport in the middle of nowhere, across from a property with donkeys and horses. We found snakes and scorpions outside on a regular basis.
Fred and I put the fridges together ourselves. We'd bought a used one, of course, and it didn't come with a manual. We got to the last panel, it didn't fit, and we took the whole thing apart and started over. I still don't know how we survived that.
It got there, though. And it was good practice for the facility we're in now, where we built every fridge and room ourselves again.
Fred and me, building our current facility.
Fred, prepping the floors for our cheese cave.
We've owned every step of the process from the start. A co-packer couldn't hold our standards, and they certainly wouldn't age a wheel in a cave for weeks.
Our custom blend of cultures comes from Europe, and we've been refining it for years. Fred designed our caves with help from Dr. Vegan Cheese. Our team has been making this cheese for years, and you need your own place to do any of that.
When I step back and look at all of it, I'm blown away by our team and our customers. We built this panel by panel, pivot by pivot, hustle by hustle.
Fred and I aren't chefs or food scientists, and we'd never owned a restaurant. We went for it anyway. We wanted to bring gourmet plant-based cheese to the masses. So you can have picnics again with pears, cheese, and wine, or a charcuterie board with friends, no matter your diet or allergies.
So we're celebrating all month with limited drops. Watch your inbox for limited edition cheeses, upgraded versions of a few old favorites, and some new releases. There will be some special flash sales too, so stay tuned.
I'm grateful for every wheel, every team member, every customer who helped us get here. Here's to seven years.
Thanks for being on this journey with us,
Kirsten,
Co-founder, Rebel Cheese