SOUTH BEND — Seeing the front facade of Oh Mamma's On The Avenue cheese shop and deli, not much can be seen of the local cheese-making family passion and experience that began 17 years ago with a cheese stand at the South Bend Farmer's Market.
Customers cannot see Jody and Joe Klinedinst's Walkerton farm with their goats.
Also not seen at the Mishawaka Avenue storefront is the historic 100-year-old downtown Walkerton building that now houses the creamery, J2K Capraio, where the Klinedinst family spends their lives making cheese and products that are sold locally, in southwestern Michigan and in Chicago. They hope to offer a future retail spot there as well.
Spend a few minutes with the owners and the passion over being part of a cheese-making family — a small fraternity of worldwide creators of dairy products that they feel need to be supported — comes through.
"We've been making cheese for 13 seasons. We were born in that market over there," Jody said, looking to the nearby Farmer's Market building.
When asked why they began their business making cheese, Jody said, "Why not cheese? It's not something everybody does."
Joe agreed. "We're both raised with a farming background with different cultural backgrounds. It's just through farming and the production of milk. You're only as good as your next best cheese. So every batch of cheese is different, and the unique pieces will relate to the customer side of it," he said.
Inside, the cases teem with the many types of local cheeses: hard, blue, stinky, spreadable and soft, ripened cheeses. Some of the more popular ones include the Casper camembert, blank slate and Barkley rindless cheddar.
Joe said, however, the education and the creating process for making cheese is always evolving.
"When you are in a specific area and you try the cheese, you are trying the flavors of the area," Joe said. "One of the most unique things that I find about cheese, similar to wine, is that you can make the exact same recipe the exact way here, or 100 miles or 1,000 miles away, and the cheese will taste different. Literally, you are getting the taste of place."
The shop offers a wide variety of cheeses in many formats — from cut-to-taste cheese and charcuterie to small-batch prepared foods, the shop also serves a variety of deli offerings that includes farmhouse and Italian subs, paninis, cheese sandwiches using cured meats that the Klinedinsts say are sourced from meat producers who stress quality over quantity.
Both Jody and Joe Klinedinst believe their attitudes and actions to continue the creamery using sustainable and local farming practices are being passed on by two of their children. They have been instrumental in helping with the goats on the farm and in selling cheese products here and in Chicago.
Their daughter Josie, is a recent food and dairy science graduate from the University of Wisconsin at River Falls. She currently is in The Netherlands studying for an international food and trade degree.
And their son Joey, currently a junior at the River Falls campus, has set off to London for an internship with Neal's Yard Dairy, a cheese preservationist group in Great Britain whose mission is to "improve British and Irish cheese by sharing information, fostering community, and prioritizing sustainability," according to its website.
"When somebody comes into a specialty shop they want to find something special for their plate or their party or their event or their special occasion," Joe said. "They want to find something that they can't find anywhere else, and we're always on the search for something that's special and really good."
Jody said the fact that they have expanded their farm to give their goats more room in their pastures can only be good for the overall quality of the cheese they produce.
"We're just trying to walk it back to a traditional way of life, and, hopefully, for community," Jody said. "Getting our Walkerton building open (for retail) is a dream, a goal, and it's a dream because that's the community we live in. That's where we make our cheese, and that's who we can lift up."
Oh Mamma's On The Avenue
• What: Cheese shop and deli
• Where: 1202 E. Mishawaka Ave., South Bend
• Hours: 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Tuesdays; 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Wednesdays through Fridays; 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturdays; closed Sundays and Mondays
• Prices: Cheeses - Individual- cheese plates $150-$9; Deli paninis subs and sandwiches - $12-$9
• For more information: Call (574) 276-6918; https://oh-mammas.square.site/
If you know of a restaurant that should be featured in an upcoming Taste column, email Tribune staff writer Greg Swiercz at [email protected].