A new artisanal cheese store is coming to downtown Orillia this spring.
The Rind & Truckle is preparing to open at 153 Mississaga St. E., and is expected to open near the end of May or the beginning of June.
Owner Amy Robert, a Toronto native, has spent the last 12 summers at her cottage in Orillia, and just recently moved to town permanently after retiring a year and a half ago.
“Anytime I would come up here from Toronto I would always bring cheese, and I would think this is so silly. Orillia is such a fantastic place and the one thing they are missing is cheese,” she said.
“Having spent the past summers in Orillia and getting to know the stores, the people, the community, it’s such a vibrant community that is so supportive, so kind, and so friendly, so it just seemed like a really great fit to start my own business.”
Robert’s store will not only sell cheese but also everything that goes with it, from crackers to honey to cutting boards.
“This is my first jump at something like this, so it’s quite exciting,” she said.
“I’m going to mostly focus on artisanal Ontario and Quebec cheeses from small fromageries who have a bit of a story to them, something that you couldn’t go find at a grocery store.”
This past September, Robert spent time driving through Quebec visiting fromageries where she spoke to the people who make the cheese and learned their stories. Robert is now in the process of completing her schooling at George Brown College to become a fromager.
Despite the COVID-19 pandemic continuing to financially strap local businesses, Robert wanted to chase her dream of opening up her own cheese shop in Orillia's downtown.
“I have been sort of dreaming about this for a while. I’ve been working toward it slowly because of the pandemic, and I was hoping for this summer,” she said.
“When I saw the place open up on Mississaga, I thought OK, this is a great location, it’s a perfect size for me. Could there be a better time? Possibly, but I don’t think it’s a bad time.”
Recently, Robert created an Instagram account for her business, where her future customers have already been welcoming her to the community.
“People are so beyond welcoming and lovely. Everyone I have talked to is excited, which I appreciate.”
