Springbank Cheese

Springbank Cheese Marda Loop owner Shawn McDonald answers some questions about his business with a "no." No, Springbank Cheese has nothing to do with the community of the same name just west of Calgary. And no, Springbank doesn’t make cheese – it's strictly a purveyor.

With those two misconceptions out of the way, Shawn will happily tell you that Springbank Cheese is named after the famous milk-cow, Springbank Snow Countess, a picture of which is at the centre of their logo and a statue of which can be found in Woodstock, Ontario. Fifty years ago, that's where Frank Helmsworth started a business to collect, warehouse, age and distribute cheese from a plethora of small producers in southern Ontario. Once Frank's kids were grown, they pushed for a retail outlet in Calgary. To this day, the question of “Why Calgary?” has no set answer, but that first store, located in Calgary's northwest, has been a recognizable landmark in the city for decades.