Licon Dairy facts for kids
The Licon Dairy is a special family-owned place in San Elizario, Texas. It's a farm, a dairy, and even has a fun petting zoo! People know Licon Dairy best for its delicious asadero cheese. A restaurant called the Outlaw Saloon & Grill also opened there in 2019.
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What is Licon Dairy?
Licon Dairy is a big farm, about 50 acres, located in San Elizario, Texas. It's a dairy farm that makes amazing handmade asadero cheese. They sell about 400 packages of this cheese every day.
The milk for their cheese comes from Sarah Farms in El Paso. Licon Dairy might be the only large dairy in the United States that uses old, traditional Mexican ways to make cheese. People travel from far away, like New York City and Chicago, just to buy their asadero cheese.
Besides asadero, Licon Dairy also makes other yummy dairy products. These include ricotta cheese, chile con queso, and chile con suero.
Fun at the Petting Zoo
Licon Dairy has a shop where you can buy their products. There's also the Outlaw Saloon & Grill restaurant. A really cool part is the free petting zoo!
The zoo has many different animals to see. You can find llamas, donkeys, goats, and even special Watusi cattle. The petting zoo started with two young ostriches.
The History of Licon Dairy
The special recipe for the asadero cheese at Licon Dairy is very old. It started around 1928 with a woman named Isabel Chavez. She used leftover cow's milk and a recipe from her childhood to make the cheese.
How the Family Business Grew
Isabel Chavez passed her recipe down to her daughter, Isabella Martinez. In 1948, Isabella and her family started a dairy in San Elizario, Texas. Isabella's daughter, Mary Martinez, married Eugenio Licon in 1958. They both began helping with the family business.
In 1963, Eugenio Licon bought the dairy from his father-in-law. He then moved it to where it is today.
By 1978, the dairy had between 60 and 70 cows. They were making about 200 pounds of asadero cheese every day. By 1980, they had 160 cows. The cheese was made by hand, and in the 1980s, many people would wait in long lines to buy it.
Nine years later, the dairy was still making cheese by hand. They were producing about 3,000 to 4,000 pounds a day! By 2022, they were making 400 pounds of cheese daily.
Changes Over Time
At one point, the cows at the dairy got sick. Because of this, they were moved to Hudspeth County, Texas. After that, Licon Dairy started buying milk to make their asadero cheese.
In 2004, Eugenio "Boy" Licon, Jr. took over the family business. Later, in 2019, Angel Licon opened the Outlaw Saloon & Grill restaurant right on the property. During the COVID outbreak, the dairy, restaurant, and zoo had to close for a short time.
