Buy Local: Rigby’s Manwaring Cheese

Eyewitness News is ready for another installment of our “Buy Local” series. It’s a chance to showcase local businesses making a splash here and outside the region.

Last week we took you inside the Grand Teton Brewing Company in Victor.

Now, it’s time to take a trip to Rigby, and Manwaring Cheese — a handmade, locally produced, artisan cheese brand with a little shop and factory in one. It’s just barely visible from the Highway 20 corridor, and there’s no way around it — owner Blake Manwaring is admittedly, “cheesy.”

“Actually that was my nickname in high school,” he said.

The Manwarning family has been in the cheese business for generations. From grandpa, to dad, Manwaring grew up around cheese. But in the modern age, he’s taking the Manwaring name to a new level, based on an old idea — the three-peg-milking stool.

“Through the Internet, through your front door sales, and a little bit of wholesale,” Manwaring said. “All of those combined would give you a sturdy platform to sit on.”

Manwaring said his three-peg-stool is getting stronger.

Manwaring’s grandpa operated the company, and later handed it down to his father. It didn’t reach him right away though. There was a several year Manwaring hiatus from the business, while he tried his hand at jobs in television and even as a funeral director in Utah. But 7 months ago, mature enough to collect Social Security, Manwaring decided to apply a more high-end, artisan feel to the brand.

“At my age, it’s hard for me to grasp I can be sending cheese to Nevada, and Florida, and places like that,” he said.

His cheese is shipped around the country, but made right in Rigby, from the cow to the cooler.

Manwaring and dairy farmer Tyler Mortimer are in business together. Mortimer raises the 100 percent certified Jersey cows who make the Manwaring milk.

“A Jersey has a lot more butter, fat and protein than a Holstein does,” said Mortimer.

So the cheese, said Manwarning, is simply better. He hauls milk from the farm to his factory each morning he makes cheese — Tuesdays and Fridays. From a little window in his Rigby shop, patrons can watch everything, from unsalted cheese curd to finishing touches.

Manwaring said his location along Highway 20 attracts a lot of out-of-state customers passing through.

Customers can taste cheeses before they buy, and Manwaring said it keeps repeat business thriving.

After just 7 months in business he said he’s doing well, but most of his business comes from out-of-state patrons.

Manwaring offers online ordering and contact information at www.manwaringcheese.com