Penola’s Cobb & Co to become cooking, art school following long-awaited sale

After more than a century, cheese and butter will once again be produced from an historic property, formerly used by Cobb & Co, in South Australia’s south-east.

An old cheese and butter factory, at 58 Riddoch Street, Penola, finally sold last month for an undisclosed sum after being on the market for the past four years.

New owner Cindy Bunt, of The Post and Rail, will move her home-based cooking, gardening and art school into the charming stone building and is already advertising workshops from the venue, including a cheese and butter-making class next month.

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The old Penola Cobb $ Co at 58 Riddoch St has sold after four years on the market.

The owner of The Post and Rail purchased the site.

“How amazing to be making cheese and butter in a building that used to make cheese and butter,’’ Ms Bunt said.

“Penola has the most amazing vibe around it. The building is absolutely gorgeous.

“I’ll do what I have been doing (and offer the same workshops at Penola that were previously available from Ms Bunt’s Compton home) but I’ll also see what else I can do that people have been asking for that’s not being represented (by other businesses in the area).

“I’ve got a lot of the old cooking utensils – the old hand beaters and whisk and tin bowls – and I’m already thinking about what sort of class I could do with them.

“I’m so into all that nostalgia.’’

Other events already scheduled include a painting workshop and a Christmas in July celebration, and Ms Bunt said a plant nursery would be established in the extensive rear yard.

Rich in history, the original building dates back to 1954 and served as Penola’s general store.

It was used as the local booking office for Cobb & Co in 1857 – and still bears the company signage – before becoming the Penola Cheese and Butter Manufacturing Company in 1889.

The property has also served as tearooms and a restaurant and was most recently used by Australian bush foods company Outback Pride.

An adjoining stone structure, the Tregenza Gallery, was added in 1920.

An enclosed service section between the two buildings houses a commercial kitchen and toilet facilities.

The site will now be used for cooking, gardening and art workshops.

It sold for an undisclosed price.

Selling agent Karyn Prelc, from Ray White Mount Gambier, said she had received at least 70 inquiries from potential buyers since she took over the listing late last year.

Previously, the property had been marketed by a different company.

Ms Prelc said most inquiries had been from people intending to convert the property into a home but the vendor was thrilled that it had been sold for commercial purposes.

“It’s been an interesting (sale) because I’m not working with a vendor that wanted the most (money) they could get and I’m not working with a buyer that wanted the cheapest they could get,’’ she said.

“There were residential permissions but it’s a commercial property and it’s now been bought (to be retained) as a commercial property and the really nice thing about that is that we (the public who visit the new Post and Rail venture) will all still have access to those beautiful stone buildings.’’

– by Lauren Ahwan