Two area companies are set to honor a cheesemaking pioneer with the opening of a new store.
Sargento and Baker Cheese have announced that they will be opening the Francis Baker Cheese Store on Tuesday (April 28th) in St. Cloud.
The store will be located near the Sargento St. Cloud Facility at N5292 County Road G. Upon its opening, the store will feature a wide variety of Sargento-branded items, Baker-branded products, and various other unique merchandise.
The store’s namesake, Francis Baker, was instrumental in the creation of string cheese in the 1970s, drawing his inspiration from seeing mozzarella cheese spreading inside a California deli.
He took this idea and innovation back home here to Wisconsin, where Baker Cheese became the first Midwest company to produce the now-iconic cheese product.
Recalling Baker’s impact, Chairman and CEO of Sargento, Louie Gentine, said, “His innovation created opportunities for people at Baker Cheese, and his strong commitment to supporting his community made a real difference. He left a legacy that we continue to build on today. We are proud to honor Francis with this new store, which will serve the Sargento Family and the wider community.”
To Gentine’s point, that impact is still felt today as Baker Cheese still produces over 17 million pieces of string cheese every week.
The Francis Baker Cheese Store will officially open its doors at 10:00 a.m. on Tuesday.
