Loleta Cheese Company, A Beloved Eel River Valley Institution, Declares Bankruptcy

The Loleta Cheese Company, which has been putting out Humboldt County-made cheeses since 1982 and operates the Cheese Factory, a popular attraction in downtown Loleta, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection yesterday.

In paperwork filed with the bankruptcy court, the Loleta Cheese Company details nearly $2.7 million in unsecured debt that is currently on the company’s books, including nearly a million dollars in trade debt to Clover Stornetta Farms and nearly $600,000 to Nilsen Feed and Grain, a Ferndale company.

Nicole Laffranchi, the company’s CFO, asserted in a declaration to the court that the company did not run into trouble because of these unsecured debts. Rather, she said, the company’s hand was forced by one of its secured creditors – Loleta Operations LLC.

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