Bandon-less Cheese

On several occasions, I've blogged about the aggressive corporate behavior of the Tillamook County Creamery Association folks.  To protect their trademarks, the co-op started threatening businesses that had long used "Tillamook" in their name and products (most recent post here).  They did the same thing with Bandon, after closing the factory there because it was cheaper for them to make Bandon Cheese elsewhere (most recent post here).

Now, the Tillamook Cheese folks have closed their retail store in Bandon.  From a business perspective, the decision is understandable.  But, the whole process has sure left a bad taste in many folks' mouths.

This town's last link to its handmade-cheese-making history was severed on Tuesday, when the Tillamook County Creamery Association locked the doors of the Bandon Cheese retail store and laid off its six full-time and five seasonal employees.

The store was a tourist draw because it offered samples of Bandon Cheese, but the product hasn't been manufactured on the South Coast for the past five years. The creamery moved the cheese-making operation to facilities in Boardman and Tillamook after buying the business in 2000.

The creamery association, makers of the well-known Tillamook Cheese, explained its reasoning in a news release Tuesday: "We have struggled to continue operating the retail store in Bandon, but costs for needed repairs to the building simply can't be justified based on the store's sales," said Jay Allison, the creamery's vice president of sales and marketing.

Creamery spokeswoman Christie Lincoln said that sales had been declining since 2002, and that there have been numerous owners, and closures, in the cheese plant's history.

At one time, the purpose of the store wasn't just sales, but promoting the brand.  Since the brand looks rather hollow when the cheese has to be imported for sale, maybe it's better to not remind folks that the Bandon Cheeses are just flavors that can be made anywhere.  The attractive label with the Bandon Coquille River Lighthouse is just marketing.

Chamber of Commerce director Julie Miller said the latest news wasn't nearly as jarring as the earlier announcement that the company was closing down local cheese production.

"They really weren't more than a glorified quick mart at this point," she said. "The real trauma came when they quit making cheese in Bandon."

Tillamook will continue to produce Bandon brand cheese and sell it in grocery stores in the Northwest, Lincoln said. The creamery has no current plans for the building but is willing to work with the city on future uses. "We have expressed interest in being a part of the Bandon Woolen Mill project," Lincoln said.

The farmer-owned cooperative's popularity in town plummeted in late 2003 when news broke that the company was warning businesses in Bandon and Tillamook that the creamery had trademarked both names and that it was inappropriate for some companies to use the names in their own brands.

I can't imagine that the co-op's popularity has improved with it adding once again to Bandon's unemployment.