Each time I travel to see my brother’s family in Butler, I pass the large white barn of Grandpa’s Cheese Barn in Ashland, Ohio.  Just off of the interstate, I think about stopping, but I always seem to be in a hurry arriving to either one place or the next.  This time I decided to stop for lunch and to pick up a couple of items for gift baskets.

“Grandpa” Yarman began the business with cheese, selling a portable RCA radio to purchase a wheel of Swiss.  Opening a shop  in West Salem, Ohio, he broadened his offerings to include smoked meats.  His daughter would marry Dick Baum and expand the business selling jellies and jams, dips, chocolates and more and eventually opened a total of three Cheesebarns in Ohio.

While there are many selections available, my favorite area of the store is searching for Ohio-made items, such as honey, flavored jams and syrups, perfect for filling gift baskets.

Not only is the barn a store, but a cafe as well where you can pick up a number of deli-style items such as sandwiches, soups and snacks for lunch.  The menu items are made to order or you can choose from premade selections, all served on a souvenir Frisbee.

Some of the locations also include an ice cream shop which uses whole milk to create a number of delicious flavors of ice cream and decadent milkshakes.  Select locations include a candy shop named Sweeties Jumbo Chocolates for a variety of baked goods and candies.  I prefer the homemade peanut butter fudge or the Buckeye Pizza with bits of Buckeye candies layered over white and milk chocolates which is an incredibly rich combination.

Of course you can’t go wrong with the cheese, which come from Ohio’s Amish Country.  With close to 300 varieties of cheese (from domestic to international), it may be overwhelming to make your decision.  Luckily, the Cheesebarn provides samples to help make your selection much easier. 

I could spend hours at Grandpa’s Cheesebarn sampling cheeses, searching for gift items and having lunch, but I only have a couple of hours to make it back to Columbus before dark.  From now on, I will stop at Cheesebarn on my to and from Butler to explore any additional items I may have missed.

Have you visited Grandpa’s Cheesebarn?  What is your favorite part of the store?  I would love to hear about your visit if you would kindly leave a message in the comments section below.  Many thanks for reading about my visit to Grandpa’s Cheesebarn and wishing you many Happy Travels!

What to See and What to Do:

Grandpa’s Cheesebarn
668 US Highway 250 E
Ashland, OH 44805
Telephone:  419 281 3202