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Our Story

In 2003 Johann Englert had a flash-back to her college years abroad, while visiting Manchester, Vermont.

A cluster of fresh mozzarella balls sitting on the counter of an Italian specialty shop brought her back to a tiny groceria she and her mother visited while traveling through the Napali countryside.

To her surprise, these Vermont cheese artisans produced genuine, Old World mozzarella.

Since Johann could not find such quality cheese in Boston, she bought 20 balls of mozzarella on the spot. Before she left that shop, she asked the owner’s son, third generation cheesemaker Mike Scheps, if he would supply her with more small quantities in future. 

Little did they know, a business was born.

When 5 out of 6 gourmet shops in Boston wanted more of this genuine mozzarella, Johann and Mike knew they were onto something. Shops sold out of cheese as fast as they could supply it, and business boomed. Soon their operation moved from a kitchen to a small store to a 50,000 sq. ft. building. What began with 3 local Vermonters has grown to include 65 employees making small batches of cheese and wrapping them by hand every day of the week. 

From those first 20 mozzarella balls to the current 40,000 pounds of cheese produced weekly, Maplebrook Farm has established itself as a premier producer of handmade artisanal cheeses in the Green Mountains of Vermont, distributing unparalleled quality cheeses throughout the country.