Justin Hyde the new owner of Archer Cottage Cheese Lovers

Rockhampton’s much loved Archer Cottage Cheese Lovers has a new owner, who has swapped his career in engineering for a new path.

Justin Hyde is the new owner of Archer Cottage Cheese Lovers after the previous owner John Evans retired.

An engineer has swapped his career for a new venture, keeping the doors of a local business Archer Cottage Cheese Lovers open.

Not only can people expect more consistent hours, they will also see new or different cheeses weekly.

Owner Justin Hyde turned his eyes to a business providing people with cheeses they cannot find on the shelves of Coles or Woolies after realising engineering was not for him.

“I moved to Australia (from New Zealand) in 2010 and was a lecturer at the uni in Rocky, when covid hit I went through a separation from the Uni,” he said.

“Then I went to working as an engineer on and off and it just wasn’t floating my boat.

“I was a customer of this shop and I came in one day and I heard John (the previous owner) talking to another customer saying that he was considering closing it down because he hadn’t found someone to buy into the shop.”

Justin Hyde is the new owner of Archer Cottage Cheese Lovers after the previous owner John Evans retired.

The conversation peaked Mr Hyde’s interest and a few weeks later he went back into the store and told John he was interested in buying the store.

“I’ve always been a bit of a foodie, I like cooking my own meals and having dinner parties at home, trying new dishes and things like that,” he said.

“I also like travel and obviously food and travel go together, so I thought this was something I’d like to give a go and this is the opportunity that came into my life.”

Since taking over the store seven weeks ago, Mr Hyde said he’s been really enjoying the change and meeting customers, restaurateurs and food reps from across the region.

Mr Hyde said he’s keeping the same traditions customers know and love from being able to go to the chiller themselves to pick their cheese to being open all day on a Friday.

The shop also stocks a number of other products such as olives, oils and San Pellegrino soft drinks, to name a few.

He’s also introduced more consistent opening hours, with the store hours betweens 7am until 12pm from Tuesday to Thursday.

Justin Hyde is the new owner of Archer Cottage Cheese Lovers after the previous owner John Evans retired.

Mr Hyde is also introducing a new cheese each week for people looking to expand their tastebuds or revisit an old favourite.

“We have certain cheeses people are fans of and they’ll come in and get those over and over again,” he said.

“But others are looking to be exposed to new cheeses or something they haven’t had in a while, so we’re trying to get a new cheese out every week, maybe it’s not new to everyone, but it’s new or a reminder.”

There’s no doubt cheese is a favourite on any charcuterie board, and Mr Hyde he believes the popular dairy product is more than just a tasty addition.

“I think why we like sitting down eating cheese and biscuits and other condiments and accompaniments with it is because it actually means we’re sitting down together and talking to each other,” he said.

“We’re a social species, and it’s also a time where we sit back and relax and giving ourselves some space to relax and eat something that’s really nice and enjoy company.”