A message to our loyal customers and friends -

A wise man once said, “The Dude abides.”  After a lot of soul searching and analyzing of the continuing challenges of surviving in an unpredictable economy, we have come to the heartbreaking decision to close our doors. Kokoborrego abides too.

None of us ever believed that being the first producer of sheep milk cheese in Ohio - especially in a country still largely confused by sheep milk cheese - was going to be easy. Sometimes, and often cruelly, the universe showed us that we were correct. But it has been 100% worth it. If you are taking the time to read this, you are a big part of the reason why. Not just because you bought our cheese at a farmers market, in a shop, or for your store or restaurant. In the months leading up to Ben Sippel’s passing in 2020, donations to a Go Fund Me did far more for him than dollars. He was able to see in a rare, albeit unfortunate, real-time manner how much people appreciated his work and his friendship. More important to him was knowing there was a community out there who would be looking out for us when he was gone.

We have fought since then to do everything we could to keep this thing going, because it’s what we - and he - wanted. However, making this decision now, when it’s so clear to us, he would undoubtedly agree. 

So here’s the plan - we’ll be at the Worthington farmers market for the remainder of the indoor season, and hope to be at both the Worthington and Clintonville markets through most of the spring and summer for you to purchase your favorite cheeses. We will continue to serve our wholesale customers during this time as well. While it’s hard to predict a detailed timeline, our goal is to communicate any changes to our plan along the way.

Our goal is to donate a large portion of our inventory of aged cheeses (several hundred pounds) to the Mid-Ohio Food Collective. The generosity others have shown us exemplifies that it truly does take a village, and we’d like to do the same in return for our community. As a business, we may not have the financial means to help, but we certainly do have cheese - and we can use your help to make this happen.

If you are interested and able, we could use your help with this effort. Your donation will be used to purchase specific new packaging and labeling supplies that maximize shelf stability/space at the food bank, as well pay for labor to make our donation to the MOFC happen. 

We want to be clear that, this is not an Empire Records-style “Save Kokoborrego” campaign—our decision is made with clarity and peace. 

Thank you all again for 15 years of ups, downs, growth, and changes. We will never fully be able to show you how much we appreciate you. Stay safe yourself, and look out for the safety of our neighbors.

-Lisa Sippel & Ben Baldwin