“Nobody ever made a difference by being like everybody else.” —PT Barnum, The Greatest Showman The summer season is rapidly approaching, and our little shop on Main Street in Maquoketa, Iowa, has been preparing!

Heather Moore

We found a dipping cabinet on Craigslist and now serve hand-dipped ice cream from a family creamery a couple hours away. We serve eight flavors of WW Homestead ice cream, homemade waffle bowls, homemade ice cream sandwiches and soon, extreme milkshakes.

Our storefront has had a myriad of uses since it was built in 1896. In fact, a room once used for a tanning bed during its stint as a salon is now our small kitchen. That meant more permits and visits with inspectors.

One of the many questions we’ve had in this process is the type of permit required to properly store and sell our cheese as a wholesaler and as a retailer. We also had to check out the requirements to distribute cheese and move the cheese and milk between states. Originally, we started as a retail food establishment, but with the addition of ice cream, we had to get a food service license as well. Now, we serve grilled cheese sandwiches (my favorite includes pecan whiskey infused bacon jam and Moore Family Farm cheddar), homemade macaroni and cheese, and are looking forward to adding salads and baked goods as we add full-time hours in the summer.

We’ve added more products, all sourced within 100 miles of our hometown. It’s been so amazing to see all the products that are produced locally. From cheese and meat to barbecue sauce and candy, and even peanut butter. I seem to find something new every week! It’s been a lot of fun to offer a venue for local entrepreneurs.

Brandon and I have been doing all of the farm work (50 cows, plus 800 head of feeder cattle) by ourselves, in addition to Brandon’s full-time job. During the holiday season, we kept the store open Friday and Saturday. I worked at the store after morning chores and our neighbor was gracious enough to milk in the evenings. The first quarter of the year is tough for the retail sector, so when we decided to stay open, we decided to cut back hours so that I could do chores on Friday, and we hired Brandon’s sister to work on Saturdays.

With the coming of spring, we expanded hours, hired a part-time high school kid to milk two or three nights a week and another part-time worker at the store. This summer, we will be open seven days a week, and we have an intern hired for both the farm and the store, in addition to a couple more part-time workers at the store. We’re looking forward to going into summer with a complete workforce at the store and on the farm, and Brandon and I are looking forward to being able to work on a business plan and meet our goals for both businesses. We just sent our third load of milk for cheese, which will make over 2,000 pounds of cheese under our Moore Family Farm label.

It’s been quite the adventure so far, and we are so thankful for everyone who has made it possible!  

Heather Moore is a dairy farming mama herself, raising three little boys with her husband, Brandon. The Moore family has a 50-cow dairy and custom feeds 800 head of beef cattle near Maquoketa, Iowa. When she is not chasing around cows and kids, you'll find her volunteering, cooking and very occasionally, sleeping.

PHOTO: Heather Moore takes orders behind the counter of her store. What began as a holiday cheese shop will now be a summer stop for ice cream and other local products. Photo provided by Heather Moore.