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WHO: |
CannonBelles Cheese |
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| BUSINESS TYPE: | Locally-sourced cheese makers and Coffee Shop | ||
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SIGNATURE PRODUCTS: |
Queso fresco, Cheese Curds, Artisan Cheddars |
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WHERE: IN-PERSON: WEBSITE: |
Cannon Falls Visit their Coffee and Ice Cream shop in downtown Cannon Falls |
By Michelle M. Sharp, Founder and Content Creator of Meet the Minnesota Makers
Forget debating whether Minnesota or Wisconsin has the most lakes.
It’s time to dig in on a cheese competition.
CannonBelles in Cannon Falls, Minnesota has been producing hyperlocal cheese for nearly ten years. Using milk from the Square Deal Dairy, located five miles from their plant, their cheese 
bursts with flavor whether it’s their MN State Fair top scoring cheese curds or their internationally celebrated queso fresco.
In fact, CannonBelles Cheese’s cheese curds were the top scoring cheese entry in the Minnesota State Dairy 2025 cheese competition. Their Gouda took third place in its category the same year. Their Grim Reaper Cheddar took State Fair honors in 2024.
LOCAL CONNECTIONS
With all these awards under their belt, Kathy Hupf’s greatest joy comes when she sees school kids enjoying their cheese through the Farm to School program. “The schools that we work with will oftentimes invite us to join them for lunch on the day that they’re serving our cheese, whether it’s on pizza or burgers or just cheese curds in their meal. That has been so fun to go in and talk with the kids as they’re eating their lunch or serve cheese to them as they go through the line,” smiles Kathy. “It’s just really, really rewarding. It’s the connection that we make with the families and knowing that so many children are getting a good product.”
Kathy, along with partners Deeann Lutkin and Jackie Ohmann, founded CannonBelles cheese in Cannon Falls. These creative dynamos met as members in PEO International, a philanthropic educational organization for women. With life experience including dairy farming, children’s ministry, hunting hurricanes as an Air Force meteorologist, and brewing beer and wine, these Three Chicks of Cheese (a proposed name for the business), started using milk from Jackie’s farm to make their original cheeses.
It was actually at a PEO meeting that Deeann and Jackie asked Kathy if she’d be interested in making cheese. Kathy was thrilled to return to her roots in the dairy industry, having grown up on a farm. The first few years held a lot of kitchen experiments with sampling assistance from friends and family. “There was a lot of inventing going on during that time period,” reflects Kathy as she shares about their creative equipment adaptations and the temperamental nature of some of their tools—so much so that some earned their own personified names.
LAYING THE CORNERSTONE
A fundamental turn in their story came from their introduction to Ray Miller, the emeritus Coordinator of the Pilot Plant Services at the University
of Minnesota and a second-generation cheesemaker. Working with Ray and meeting with cheesemakers throughout our region taught them what they needed to build their own plant. “We’re really grateful to the University of Minnesota for teaching us how to make cheese, it really gave us a good base. We truly felt confident when we started in our own plant,” shares Kathy. “We still have Ray Miller on speed dial when we have issues with our cheese makes.” CannonBelles spent six years making cheese at the U of M’s St Paul campus, an extended timeline in part due to COVID-related construction delays for their plant.
With the surprise triumph of their queso fresco in its first entry in an international competition in 2017, the Belles had their foot in the door to start selling their cheese. Best sellers include their many flavors of curds, their Gouda, the queso fresco and cheddars, including the richly-flavored Painted Desert.
HOME IN CANNON FALLS
Since 2022, all these cheeses come to life at their Cannon Falls plant. They produce 800-1000 pounds of cheese a week, using milk from the fifth 
generation Otte Family’s Square Deal Dairy in nearby Randolph. Square Deal’s happy cows produce a milk that’s higher in fat and protein than typical. This means that CannonBelle’s cheese yield is greater than the typical ratio of milk to cheese.
In addition to their plant outside of town, CannonBelles serves fresh sandwiches, coffee, and ice cream at their downtown Cannon Falls shop. Having opened in 2019 while still making cheese at the U of M, the trio remains in awe of the community support that kept their store and their cheese afloat during COVID.
“We wouldn’t be CannonBelles without the support and generosity of our local communities. The people we work with, the people we serve, our fellow makers have become like family to us,” says Kathy. “I am excited and surprised that we are building and growing two businesses at the same time. We love that we all have the same goal in mind – to provide delicious, locally grown and made products for our families and communities.”
Know that when you enjoy CannonBelles cheese that Deeann, Kathy and Jackie treat every batch with great care and attention. It’s truly a Minnesota flavor that makes a wonderful locally-made, consumable gift that is always the right size.
FIND A NEW FAVORITE CHEESE
CannonBelles Cheese is available in over 100 locations around Minnesota including Fresh Thyme, Hy-Vees, co-ops, Ferndale Market, the Northfield farmers market, local meat shops and the 
CannonBelles Coffee and Ice Cream shop in Cannon Falls. Visit www.cannonbelles.com to find all of their locations.
CannonBelles is one of three makers presenting at the September 20 Taste Makers Class at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum. Sample their new collaboration with Ferndale Market, go behind the scenes for their local sourcing roster and taste their award-winning cheese. Register through the Arboretum website.
GET IN TOUCH
Follow CannonBelles on Facebook and Instagram for seasonal releases and cafe specials.
Explore more of their journey into cheese at https://cannonbelles.com/cheese/
Sample and purchase cheese at Nov. 1 – FEAST! – a large and local food market at the Civic Center in Rochester, MN.
Visit meettheminnesotamakers.com or follow @meettheminnesotamakers on Facebook and Instagram to discover the small business owners leading Minnesota on a tasty sustainable path forward. Meet the Minnesota Makers is a news site that connects you to the local food, farms, artists and artisans that make Minnesota thrive.
