LEBANON, Ohio — Cecilia Garmendia Torres the owner and cheesemaker at Lamp Post Cheese in Lebanon — a business she takes great pride in as an immigrant of Spain.  

“Proud of what we’ve managed to do with our budget and all the help we’ve had from the community as well,” she said. 

Garmendia Torres is one of only three artisan cheesemakers in the greater Cincinnati area, but that could be changing. Due to the pandemic, Lamp Post Cheese has had to adjust their business model — cutting staff and reducing their hours of operation from five days a week to just two. 

And that’s mainly because Lamp Post Cheese typically sells to local restaurants, but with fewer people dining out, sales are down. 

“Things are getting hard,” she said. “The sales from the restaurants are not getting back as they should be, so it is a little hard to last so many months like that.”  

The impact has caused Lamp Post Cheese to halt cheesemaking. What you see on the shelves is part of the aging process that takes at least 60 days to complete — which makes it very hard to project for future sales. 

“Any small producer that’s business depends on selling to restaurants are having the same problem,” she said. 

Garmendia Torres said she’s concerned that if things don’t change soon, Lamp Post may have to close. But she’s hopeful the holiday season can provide a boost.

“The holidays are coming and those are the best months for us selling cheese,” she said. “But at the same time, I’m worried of what is going to happen and what is going to be the effects of the pandemic.” 
 
Garmendia Torres said Lamp Post Cheese is celebrating their second anniversary in two weeks, and with some much needed support from the local community, maybe they can make it to three. 

“I’m hoping that they will stop by and see what we sell and hopefully they like it,” she said. 

Lamp Post is taking online orders and also delivers. For more information on how you can try their cheese, visit their website: LampPostCheese.com.