Licon Dairy facts for kids
The Licon Dairy is a special family farm in San Elizario, Texas. It's a place where they make delicious cheese and also have a fun petting zoo. Licon Dairy is most famous for its amazing asadero cheese. In 2019, a restaurant called the Outlaw Saloon & Grill opened right there at the dairy.
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About Licon Dairy
Licon Dairy is a large farm, about fifty acres big, located in San Elizario, Texas. They are experts at making handmade asadero cheese. Every day, they sell around 400 packages of this cheese. Each package has ten slices. The milk used to make the cheese comes from Sarah Farms in El Paso.
Traditional Cheesemaking
Licon Dairy might be the only commercial dairy in the United States that uses old, traditional Mexican ways to make cheese. People travel from far away, even from places like New York City and Chicago, just to buy their asadero cheese. Besides asadero, they also make other dairy products. These include ricotta cheese, a cheesy dip called chile con queso, chile con suero, and whey.
Fun at the Farm
Licon Dairy has a shop where you can buy their products. There is also a restaurant called the Outlaw Saloon & Grill. A really cool part of Licon Dairy is its free petting zoo. You can see many different animals there. Some of the animals include llamas, donkeys, goats, and even special Watusi cattle. The zoo first started with two young ostriches.
The History of Licon Dairy
The special recipe for asadero cheese used at Licon Dairy is very old. It dates back to about 1928. A woman named Isabel Chavez created this recipe. She made asadero cheese using leftover cow's milk and a recipe she remembered from her childhood.
Passing Down the Recipe
Isabel Chavez's daughter, Isabella Martinez, learned the recipe. In 1948, her family started a dairy in San Elizario, Texas. Isabella used her mother's special cheese recipe. Later, Isabella's daughter, Mary Martinez, married Eugenio Licon in 1958. Together, Mary and Eugenio started helping with the family dairy business.
A New Location and Growth
In 1963, Eugenio bought the dairy from his father-in-law. He then moved it to its current location. By 1978, the dairy had between 60 and 70 cows. They were making 200 pounds of asadero cheese every day. By 1980, the number of cows grew to 160.
The cheese was always made by hand. In the 1980s, many people would wait in long lines to buy the asadero cheese. Nine years later, the dairy was still making cheese by hand. They were producing about 3,000 to 4,000 pounds a day. In 2022, they were making 400 pounds of cheese daily.
Recent Changes
Due to a health issue with the cows, they were moved to Hudspeth County, Texas. After that, the dairy started buying milk from other farms to make their asadero cheese. In 2004, Eugenio "Boy" Licon, Jr. took over the family business. In 2019, Angel Licon opened the Outlaw Saloon & Grill restaurant on the property. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the dairy, restaurant, and zoo had to close for a short time.
