Heini's Cheese House

Never order online! I placed a surprise birthday order for my brother on July 9 for his birthday. When he didn't acknowledge it, I called Heini's to check on the order after verifying that payment had gone through on the 9th. No-one answered during their stated business hours so I left voicemail. After not getting a return call, I called again. The woman I spoke with looked it up, verified that payment had been received, and said it showed in their Paypal receipts but didn't go through to their website ... She took the order and said she would personally walk it through and it would be shipped out Monday. After still no acknowledgment by my brother by Thursday, I called to find out when it had been shipped but had to call numerous times before someone answered. I was told the order was canceled. When I responded that I had not canceled it, the response was "Didn't she call you?" One of the items wasn't available and she was supposed to ask whether a substitution was acceptable but apparently just canceled the order instead without notifying me. The woman I was speaking with said she would get it sent out but I told her I wanted a refund since it had now been 11 days and the order still hadn't been sent. The good news? I ordered from a competitor Amish cheese company and got more for $25 less!

So this place is way better than Guggisberg cheese, if you're wanting to compare. Tons of samples (over 30 plus) of the different cheeses, and easy to get to each kind. They produce the vast majority (if not all; I forgot to ask while we were there) of the cheese they sell. We were able to see cheese production happening in front of us (guide stated they produce cheese on Monday/Wednesday/Friday). He was super helpful in answering aging questions, and we got to see the cheese curds get sucked out by a vacuum and into the cheese molds, The molds were then pressed down by a pneumatic press which squished out excess liquid, and then they head into refrigeration.

I was very disappointed this time. I have been going to this place for many years! The outside is run down and not attractive any more. The inside was dirty and not kept up. Needs to be painted and cleaned. Restrooms we're awful. There were toothpicks all over the floor and in the tasting cases. The tasting cheeses were crumbles and not easily accessed. So very disappointed and will probably not go back .

This was a nice place to visit. This is the actual factory. They have a large selection of cheeses and related items. They where re-stocking numerous times while we where there.You can see the cheese being made through windows but it would have been great if there was some kind of description of what was happening. They do have a tour but we did not take it.

Heini's is always our first stop when we visit Amish Country. My advise is get there early, otherwise you will have a long line to wade thru! It is set up in a U shape. Grab a basket on the way in and rest it on the wooden shelf in front of the cooler and just push your basket along, grabbing cheese as you go. There are toothpicks for sampling and there are plenty of samples! We consider it our "appetizer" before lunch!! Their cheese is fresh and wonderful! The price is good too. They also have different dips to try too.. Yumm!! And don't forget the cheese at the end... Blueberry, Rainbow Sherbet, Pineapple, Chocolate, Peanut Butter, Chocolate Coconut!! ALL very good! And during the fall they have Pumpkin Pie "cheese"..OMG!!!! This is not only a fun place to visit, but the cheese is unlike any store bought you have had. The staff is helpful and friendly, but very quiet. They will be more than willing to help if you ask, but they don't approach you, which I like. To sum it up... Heini's Cheese is a must!!Not All Who Wander Are Lost

Another memory of my childhood. I lived in small town Ohio, Shelby to be exact and I was still in 4th grade when we moved to OH and didn't move again till the middle of my 8th grade year. My parents used to take us here especially when day tripping or family visits to our Grandparents in Princeton WV. Although at that time, we would always get milkshakes at a place called Alpine Alpa (I think.. Memory isn't as reliable as it was) and there was a giant cuckoo clock in the front. I think I read that after the restaurant closed that the clock was moved to another place and restored for more to see. Heini's is still a fond memory and it was great to share that with a member of my current family. We really enjoyed the cheese and the few things we purchased there yesterday. We are planning another trip in the early fall where we will stay over to see everything and get an earlier start to see the cheese making. And to get some local Raw honey before winter's sore throats hit. Place is still very clean and the workers very polite and helpful. If you're ever in the area, I recommend that you stop. They've added additional items, like James and butters. We picked up small 2 serving jars too. Of blueberry jam and peanut butter marshmallow spread. Can't wait to try it. I'm hoping that the PB spread will be a memory of fluffernutter sandwiches that I would eat at lunch at Whitney Elementary school, so many years ago.

I liked this cheese place more than Guggi's because this store has a huge amount of cheeses cut & wrapped & ready to buy, along with a tub of cheese samples next to it (& toothpicks to grab them with). I bought more cheese than I planned on. We got there just as a tour bus was unloading, so we barely made it in before most of the crowd.

I've missed going to Heini's since the 2020 crap and I looked so forward to sampling all the cheese and fudge, big disappointment there's nothing of Heini's left to make it a different experience. They are no different than any other cheese peddler! Won't be going back, so sad for Heini's to lose their uniqueness!