That’s why Philadelphia is the number one city in America for cheese emergencies

It’s not hometown bragging rights to say that Philadelphia has a very diverse and innovative food community. Get a sudden craving for world-class cheese in the middle of the night and Yoav Perry, founder of Perrystead Dairy, has it covered. His 24-hour automated cheese dispensary offers round-the-clock access to Perrystead’s four signature selections (three annuals and one seasonal), which together represent 16 national and international awards received since 2022, including multiple Silver and Bronze 2023- The 2024 World Cheese Awards, and the 2024 trifecta from in the American Cheese Society: Gold, Silver, and Bronze.

His nine-shelf stock vending machine, housed in a bright red case topped with a glowing neon “CHEESE” sign, is more than a novelty. Perry designed it as an efficient yet hospitable solution to the frustrations he and his staff face every day when people knock on the dairy’s glass doors expecting to buy cheese.

Because Perrystead is located in Philadelphia’s industrial area, Olde Kensington (which is slowly developing into a modern mix of suburban housing after decades of recession), customers think they stop by the bill and buy from the source, as with other remodelers. warehouses and factories. However, as a highly regulated, inspected, and third-party inspected facility, the dairy is not prepared for sale.

“We’re tight on what we can do here,” Perry said. “Also, if you make cheese, that cheese is the cheese. It has its own schedule and will not stop while we complete the sale. Germ cultures wait for no one.”

It says cheese

With its fun aspect, the dispensary attracts foodie tourists looking for selfies. But most customers live within 15 blocks. “Shopping in this area has not progressed at the pace of real estate,” said Perry, who also stocks the vending machine with specialty charcuterie items that he ships in his direct-to-consumer (DTC) gift boxes, which are filled with perishables. natural sheep’s wool that protects the cheese with twice the amount of 1-inch Styrofoam. “There are times when people stand in line to get to the booth, and we tend to fill up a lot on weekends. I think it’s something this neighborhood didn’t know it needed.”

Like many professional artists, Perry brings a lifetime of skills and interests to the work he does today. When his hobbyist passion for fermentation turned to cheese making, he used his 17 years as a technical designer to launch an e-commerce service for specialty European ingredients. “It was 2012, and there were things to make cheese—just not to the level of depression that I had gotten myself into,” he says. “I already had the technical tools to design and create DTC infrastructure, automated shipping, manage compliance, import/export, and logistics. That was the easy part.”

Even more challenging was the rapid growth. By 2014, he was shipping to cheese producers in over 36 countries from his New York apartment building; he later leased a warehouse and hired an out-of-town fulfillment company to take over. “I was tired of chasing packages,” Perry said. “DTC has many uses, tracking and traditions. You have to be an expert to make a living, and it’s not exactly fun to make cheese.”

Urban Creamery

By the time he closed the e-commerce business in 2017, Perry had immersed himself in the world of cheese as a respected consultant and maker. At a request from Eleven Madison Park in New York, recipient of three Michelin stars and named one of the “Best Restaurants in the World,” he made a cheese that stayed on the menu for three seasons.

Because the operating numbers did not support opening an urban dairy in New York City, Perry moved his family to Philadelphia, the state that ranks second in the nation in the number of dairy farms. “I wanted to start an urban cream in the economy of our community, and there are many good opportunities here,” he said. “From the beginning, my plan has been to break new ground and add new value to Pennsylvania milk by creating a business model that benefits our hard-working farmers.”

Perry’s support of small family dairy farmers who prioritize innovative and animal husbandry practices is essential to the long-term supply of the quality milk required to produce hard cheese. “You cannot make world-class cheese without world-class milk. It might sound pretentious, but I call it a series of beauty,” Perry said.

To demonstrate its importance, he ensures that these farmers are paid a premium for their milk, even if it means paying double the regulated variable rate. “We then launched our high-value Perrystead products (processing and development of milk beyond the plain liquid state) here in town where we have culinary talent, suppliers, newspapers and magazines, and restaurant tours to promote sales and build recognition. ,” he says.

Truly an American cheese

In building his business, Perry applied for and received two important grants: The green light to start a dairy operation came from a Pennsylvania Dairy Investment Program grant, approved in 2020 for $126,000. Moving quickly, he found product line and market equity, gained media coverage, won awards, achieved national distribution, and established the DTC program.

In 2023, he was awarded a Dairy Farming Grant from the Northeast Dairy Innovation Center, receiving an allocation of $170,000 in 2024, which allowed him to move from farmstead-style equipment to setting up automated equipment for process efficiency. “We can do a lot more with a lot less resources, fulfill orders from coast to coast, and grow our DTC business,” he says. “In the next 18 months or so, we’re looking to achieve five to six times our current capacity, which means bringing in more growers, new packaging, and expanding the sales organization.”

Because America doesn’t have the limitations and advantages of traditional cheese culture like Greece with feta or Italy with Parmigiano-Reggiano, Perry is free to find inspiration wherever he goes. His Atlantis, a cured cheese washed in North Atlantic seawater and speckled with edible seaweed, reflects the diversity of marine life and gives the cheese a real sense of place. Intergalactic, a soft cheese set with cardoon thistle flowers instead of animal rennet, redefines the ancient Roman recipe for modern America.

“It’s time to make our own cheese-making tradition,” Perry said. “I love the Mona Lisa, but do we need to keep recreating it?”