June 2, 2017
CapitalPress.com
3
Tillamook’s new visitor center to open in 2018
By GAIL OBERST
For the Capital Press
Tillamook County Creamery Association
coffee and retail areas; en-
hanced viewing of the cheese
making and packaging area;
interactive exhibits; a small
theater; a workspace where
Tillamook staff can conduct
focus groups to get feedback
on new products; a private
event room for small parties;
and improved parking.
In the meantime, a small
temporary visitors’ center
combines some features of
the old and new: the smell of
waffle cones greets visitors
at the door, just as before.
The sound of mooing cows
and calves fills the main hall,
where children push buttons
to hear and see the variety of
sounds a cow makes.
Visitors can check out —
and play with — the latest
milking parlor equipment and
tractors and can watch a video
of the Seals family’s dairy, a
multi-generational operation
in Tillamook County, or look
at educational displays of
farm life.
There’s the popular line
of cheese samples, just as in
the old center. Racks of jams
and jellies and local goodies,
T-shirts, stuffed cows, color-
ing books and jewelry, fudges
and candies fill the temporary
gift shop.
From the refrigerators,
visitors can still purchase Til-
lamook products — from cot-
tage cheese to smoked ched-
dar. As before, they can buy a
scoop (or two or three) of Til-
lamook’s famous ice cream,
packed into fresh waffle cones
or served in a dish.
Coffee, fancy or plain,
with real Tillamook cream or
not, is also available at the
temporary center café.
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enclosed patio for the atrium
and a new upstairs observa-
tion deck.
In 2003, the center got an-
other makeover — its last one.
The Tillamook Cheese
Factory’s visitors center is as
big an attraction as the Space
Needle in Seattle, says the
association’s CEO, Patrick
Criteser. Tillamook is one of
the Northwest’s largest dairy
cooperatives.
“This project represents a
significant investment in our
local presence here in Tilla-
mook County and one that
we anticipate will attract even
more visitors to our area,”
said Criteser.
The new center will feature
a larger cafe with indoor and
outdoor seating and a new,
cheesy menu including wood-
fired pizza and local wine and
beer; improved ice cream,
Tillamook County Creamery Association
The new 38,500-square-foot visitors center will feature a larger
café and a new, cheesy menu including wood-fired pizza .
D17-7/#T1D
The new visitors center at the Tillamook Cheese Factory is due for completion in the summer of 2018.
D17-4/#5
TILLAMOOK, Ore. — To
more than 1.3 million visi-
tors each year, the Tillamook
Cheese factory, operated by
the Tillamook County Cream-
ery Association, has been
more than just a production
facility.
The Tillamook Cheese
Factory became a must-see
family attraction shortly after
it was built in 1949.
This year, that attraction
is growing to accommodate
those visitors. The old visi-
tors center at the Tillamook
Cheese Factory will be torn
down, and built in its place
will be a new 38,500-square-
foot facility. The new center
is due for completion in the
summer of 2018, but a tempo-
rary center is open across the
parking lot from the factory.
The Tillamook Cheese
Factory’s first visitor accom-
modations were simple: re-
strooms, a small cheese store
and guided tours, according
to TCCA spokeswoman Tori
Harms.
In 1968, the company built
a special entrance and obser-
vation area where visitors
could watch the cheesemak-
ing process through windows.
The now-old visitors cen-
ter was part of a 1979 ex-
pansion, and was remodeled
several times in the following
38 years, adding a gift shop,
a dining and kitchen area, an