Founded in 1997
Cowgirl Creamery makes cheese with heart. In 1997, we started with a dream shared between two college friends and business partners, Sue Conley and Peggy Smith: To celebrate organic practices and spotlight the craftsmanship of local sustainable agriculture in Marin and Sonoma counties. Today, we’re carrying the torch of the food revolution that started in our backyard. Organic. Farm-to-Table. Delicious, award-winning cheese. It’s in our DNA. And it defines our famous creations, including the beloved triple cream Mt. Tam.
Our organic cheeses are available nationwide wherever fine cheese is sold, including restaurants, as well as our retail and cafe location in Point Reyes Station and our online shop.
At Cowgirl Creamery, we believe in organic dairy as a force for good. We know firsthand the power of organics and its role in sustainable agriculture to support healthy communities and delicious food. We believe that the secret ingredient to delicious cheese starts with the land. That’s why we partner with local dairies in Marin and Sonoma counties to source the organic, pasture-based, cow’s milk for everything we make.
Twenty-five years after our founding, we’re carrying the torch for the food revolution that started in our backyard and inspired our founders. We’re still using it to cultivate goodness in the people, land and communities around us.We uplift our communities.
When we grow, we help others grow – our Cowgirl family, our community partners, and the causes we believe in. We hold ourselves to the highest standards as cheesemakers, food safety guardians, and champions of sustainability in agriculture and business. We blaze new trails. We’re always forging ahead, committed to always finding ways to be better. We do what’s right, prioritizing courage, integrity, and advocacy, even when it’s difficult.
Our Creameries
We make all of our cheeses just north of San Francisco, California, within a short distance of our partner dairies in Marin and Sonoma counties.
Point Reyes Station Barn
Our original home and creamery sits in the heart of West Marin’s beautiful and historic dairy country. It was the place where many of our cheeses – including our popular Mt. Tam – were created. Today, the Barn is dedicated solely to making our iconic Red Hawk cheese. It’s also the location of one of our shops, the popular Barn Cheese Shop & Cantina cafe.
The Barn is the only place where our Red Hawk cheese can be made. Why? The unique California coastal landscape of sea, chaparral, and cypress groves and the microcosms all influence our signature washed rind cheese. Every week, organic, pasture-based milk from our friends and neighbors at Bivalve Dairy is transformed into Red Hawk.
The historic hay barn was lovingly renovated by our founders, Sue Conley and Peggy Smith, to cultivate Cowgirl Creamery’s dream of showcasing the region’s organic dairy production, local food producers, and traditional cheesemaking. In addition to the creamery, the barn is now home to our shop and Cantina Cafe and office space.
Due to its location and historic nature, the Point Reyes Barn creamery produces a limited amount of Red Hawk every year. Our creamery process conserves water, a precious resource in California.
Cader Lane Petaluma
Our other creamery is a short drive from Point Reyes Station. Located in Petaluma, California in Sonoma County, our Cader Lane Creamery gives us the space we need to make all the Mt. Tam, Devil’s Gulch, Chimney Rock, St. Pat, Pierce Point, Wagon Wheel (shown here), Hop Along, and fresh cheese our fans want.
Like our original creamery, Cader Lane receives organic, pasture-based milk from our nearby dairy partners. Our talented cheesemakers craft every step of the process here – from forming the curds, shaping the wheels, to affinage (aging) – for most of our cheeses (only Red Hawk is made in Point Reyes).
Our commitment to sustainability lives through out composting/recology program that reduces landfill waste and energy efficiencies that save 80 tons of CO2 emissions every year.
