Estimated read time: 3-4 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
UINTAH — Salt Lake City, in the 21st century, can be home to the modern rat race.
"I went to Weber State, got a technical sales degree," said Pat Ford.
He had bosses, deadlines, the constant conveyor belt of traffic.
"Just tired of it," said Ford.
Enough to make anyone feel trapped — even a patient man like Ford.
"I was a real estate developer, and we developed property," he said.
Smelling the aroma of a midlife crisis — never-ending commutes grating on his nerves, making his blood curdle, an idea came from Ford's brother-in-law.
"He says, 'I think you should quit your job,'" said Ford.
Ford hit the button for the ejection seat and called his wife.
"I said, 'Hey, I think I'm going to quit my job, we probably won't get paid for at least two years, and we're going to make cheese.' And she's like, 'Oh, really?'"
That's right, cheese.
"So we started Beehive Cheese Co.," said Ford.
It's a place where they don't just sell cheese, they make it.
"We had no idea what we were doing," said Ford.
They took a class to learn — but on this ejection seat, there was no parachute.
"Self-funded," said Ford. "Our family's been involved, and we don't want to have people telling us what to do."
They had the knowledge, owned the equipment and were off and — well, crawling.
"We didn't get a penny for two years," said Ford. "I remember at one farmer's market, I was like, 'If I don't sell this cheese today, I don't know if we're going to be able to buy milk tomorrow.'"
Eventually, their profits began to stir. Ford said part of his success comes from keeping the cheese in the family — many of the company's employees are family members, and even those without curds in their veins are still treated like wedges from the same block. Ford mainly handles sales now, but still tries to chip in.
Like a wheel of cheddar, the company aged and matured. Ford is shipping his cheese across the country and all over the world. He said it wasn't just skill that led to his company's success — it also had a lot to do with timing.
"Specialty food in America is booming right now," said Ford. "Cheese is the No. 1 category in the specialty department, so people are just starting to figure out that there's more cheeses out there than just your basic cheddar."
You got to live your passions and your dreams. Make a good product and do what you say you're going to do, and somehow, it's just worked for us.
–Pat Ford
Business may be great, but for Ford, the best thing about this cottage of cheese is no more traffic.
"We live half a mile up the road," he said.
Ford jumped off the conveyor belt and became his own boss — proof you can have your cheesecake and eat it too.
"You got to live your passions and your dreams," he said. "Make a good product and do what you say you're going to do, and somehow, it's just worked for us."
Ford and his brother-in-law have been at this for 10 years, and they're melting top-notch taste buds. Just a few weeks ago, their coffee-flavored cheese took home first place at a competition in Rhode Island. Their cheeses are available at most local grocery chains in Utah.
