by Mark Coblentz, President, Walnut Creek Cheese and Walnut Creek Foods
It all started with a pickup truck and a slide-in refrigerated box in April 1977. I was 21 years old with more spunk than sense. A cousin told me about an opportunity where a local fellow had a cheese route for sale. I struck a deal that put me in business. There was a little problem, though: The previous route owner neglected to tell me that he had quit the route a month before, and I happened to be the first guy who came along. The business really wasn't much more than that pickup truck, an assortment of 20 local products and a list of about 60 potential customers.