A fresh start for Trickling Springs Creamery

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Trickling Springs Creamery in Chambersburg, Pa., is getting a fresh start under new owners.

A fresh start for Trickling Springs Creamery

written by JENNIFER A. FITCH photography by COLLEEN MCGRATH

MARION, Pa. – When Phyllis Pfeiffer worked at Trickling Springs Creamery’s retail store, she kept an eye out for one of her beloved customers, an older man who walked with the assistance of a cane.

Pfeiffer always asked what kind of milk he wanted and took it to his car for him. Over time, the two started talking, and she learned that he struggled with depression due to his wife’s debilitating illness.

They started sharing prayer in addition to milk.

“A couple days later, he came in and told me he wanted to thank me for taking time and talking to him,” Pfeiffer said. “There are so many memories.”

Shuttered in 2019 amid a fraud investigation, Trickling Springs Creamery is now getting a fresh start under new owners with two decades of experience bringing dairy products to the retail market.

The partners behind South Mountain Creamery of Middletown, Md., bought the assets of Trickling Springs Creamery out of bankruptcy. They reopened the retail store on U.S. 11 (Molly Pitcher Highway) on Sept. 21, and the production plant shortly beforehand.

Twenty people are employed by the enterprise in Franklin County, Pa., with plans to grow that number. Many of the workers, like Pfeiffer, are returning employees with 10 to 15 years of experience.

The wholesale team reconnected with farmers who previously supplied the business. The feedback was favorable,

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Customers can shop and eat at the Trickling Springs market.

according to Andi Amin, retail development and marketing director at Trickling Springs Creamery.

“I think people know the name, know the product, and they’re smart enough to separate them from what happened,” Amin said of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission case.

South Mountain Creamery obtained organic certification for the products that will be sold under the Trickling Springs Organic label. Those products will include whole, nonfat, 2% and chocolate milk; half-and-half; and heavy cream.

There also is a cream line of nonhomogenized, old-fashioned milk. It tastes like whole milk, but must be shaken because the cream rests on the top.

The Market at Trickling Springs is where customers can find glass bottles of milk, as well as made-to-order sandwiches and baked goods.

“We’re also going to be able to showcase what South Mountain Creamery does so well. We’re going to have macaroni and cheese, cheese melts, sundaes … as well as a produce section that will sell lots of local farmers’ produce,” Amin said.

A key aspect of South Mountain Creamery’s operations is partnering with local businesses focused on clean eating, which will include selling Undone Kombucha in the store, she said.

South Mountain Creamery was nearing capacity at its plant in Middletown prior to its acquisition of the site in Pennsylvania, a state that boasts agriculture as its No. 1 industry. The average herd size of Pennsylvania farms is smaller than the national average, yet it remains a top dairy producer.

“We’re a family dairy farm, so we treat our employees like family. Full transparency, dedication to hard work, being bold in our decisions and actions – that’s the culture we’re planning to establish here, too,” Tony Brusco, owner of South Mountain Creamery, said in a news release.

In the release, Steve Christian, president of the Greater Chambersburg Chamber of Commerce, praised the operations for being family-owned and operated.

“We are delighted to have locally sourced, organic and farm-fresh items offered once again at the previous location of Trickling Springs Creamery,” he said.

The owners of South Mountain Creamery (Tony and Abby Brusco and Ben and Kate Sowers) regularly open the Frederick County, Md., milking parlor to tours. Three generations of the Sowers family often are found working on the 3,000-acre farm, which services 800 stores in the Northeast and mid-Atlantic.

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The market's coffee bar features Denim coffee, a Pennsylvania specialty coffee roaster with coffee shops in Carlisle, Pa., and Chambersburg, Pa.

Amin said the family was happy to bring additional farmers into the fold as partners through the Trickling Springs Creamery connection.

“We’re helping the farmers by giving them a marketplace for their organic milk,” she said. “Organic is something that had been very much a part of Trickling Springs previously.”

Amin said she has enjoyed getting to know the former employees.

“It has been such a wonderful experience for us, being able to offer their jobs back,” she said.

Pfeiffer said she was looking forward to getting to know the new owners and returning to work. I want to “serve the community with quality food,” she said. — Places

Below: Cookies are available to purchase at the market.

Undone Kombucha products offer health benefits

Those walking into The Market at Trickling Springs will find two taps for filling growlers with kombucha, a fermented tea product. Hope Bigler of Greencastle, Pa., launched Undone Kombucha in 2017. For her, kombucha was an acquired taste. “At least for me, drinking kombucha started for the health benefits,” Bigler said. Kombucha, which originated in China around 220 B.C., contains antioxidants and probiotics. Bigler’s customers have told her the drink helps them with acid reflux, eczema and digestive issues stemming from gluten intolerance. Bigler was experiencing difficulties in her life in 2015 when she had a vision for a kombucha brewery. She started with books and videos when experimenting with green tea versus black tea, the time for fermentation and the level of sourness. The first batches were made at home in three-gallon crocks. Today, Undone Kombucha is produced in large batches with four employees at a New Franklin, Pa., facility that contains a taproom. “It’s an honor to serve people in the community,” Bigler said. “We get to be part of people’s health and wellness, which is such an honor.”

Trickling Springs Caramel Sauce

1 cup granulated sugar ½ cup heavy cream 2 tablespoons unsalted butter ¾ teaspoon fine sea salt, or to taste In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, combine sugar with 1/4 cup cold water and stir to combine. Cook, without stirring, until sugar has turned a deep amber hue, approximately 10 to 12 minutes. Meanwhile, warm cream in small saucepan. When caramel (sugar-water mixture) is ready, slowly whisk in warm cream and continue simmering mixture until it is smooth, another 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from heat, then whisk in butter, and then salt, to taste. Serve warm over ice cream or in iced coffee.