by James Watts, Weaver Street Market Head Merchandiser
As many of us already know Maple View Milk Co. will cease milk production in early September. Maple View will continue to produce ice cream for sale at the Farm and at Weaver Street. Also, the Maple View Farm Ag Education Center will continue to provide service to the community for many years to come.
We spoke with Roger Nutter, our close vendor partner for the last 25 years, and he shared that they did not make this decision easily. The Maple View family had been working to find ways to continue the business, but that proved impossible. Finding parts for their aging equipment was getting harder and harder, and changing any aspect of the operation would require new inspections (and expenses) for this small farmstead operation. Selling to or hiring a new operations team was also explored but deemed not possible. So, they made the decision to close operations in an orderly fashion.
Roger remembered that the very first delivery of Maple View Milk was made to the Carrboro store, and that our two companies have collaborated on many things over the years. They’ve loaned us trucks, we’ve helped shovel feed when their silo collapsed, they participated in the first Piedmont Farm Tour, etc. By being Maple View’s first customer, Weaver Street helped them to become a larger regional supplier with their dairy products ultimately landing in all the grocery stores around us.
Please join Weaver Street in appreciating what the entire Nutter family — Roger, Mr. Bob, Mrs. Chris, Muffin, Allison, Mike Strowd, Russ Siebert, Ross, and a team of workers at the farm, dairy plant, drivers — achieved for 25 years. They’ve built a legacy of service to Orange County that showcases what so many small farmers achieve for their communities every day and is at the heart of what drives Weaver Street Market.
I’m sure that we’ll find more milk to sell, but it will be impossible to replace the great partnership Weaver Street shared with Maple View.
The last deliveries of Maple View Milk will come to our stores on September 7. The team at Maple View wants to have all returned glass bottles to their facility by September 20. Weaver Street will continue to honor returns on Maple View bottles through September 18, so that we can get the bottles back to them on time.