FAIR OAKS — In the spring of 2025, an unexpected electrical fire brought a bittersweet end to Fair Oaks Farms’ beloved Cowfe.
While the loss marked the closing of a cherished gathering place, it also sparked an opportunity to reimagine the guest experience.
Throughout 2025 and into early 2026, Fair Oaks Farms remained committed to serving guests their favorite treats, including handcrafted ice cream, signature milkshakes, and famous grilled cheese sandwiches through alternative locations across the property.
Behind the scenes, the team was hard at work creating an even more exciting and elevated food and beverage experience, paving the way for a new chapter of dining at Fair Oaks Farms. The result are two new additions — Say Cheese and Milkshed — and a redesign of the Farms’ flagship restaurant, The Farmhouse.
“It’s really one of the big projects that makes me feel like finally, as a family, I can look around and really see us here”, said Fair Oaks Farms CEO Jacqueline McCloskey. “I see a lot of the history of Fair Oaks Farms in here. It feels a little bit like we’ve left a bigger mark, which feels special to me.”
Say Cheese houses a quick-service restaurant serving breakfast, lunch and other lighter fare dishes that highlight some of Fair Oaks Farms’ renowned artisan cheeses. In addition to the breakfast and lunch options, Say Cheese is also home to a cheese tasting area in which guests can taste over 30 varieties of Fair Oaks Farms cheeses and purchase their favorites.
Say Cheese will add wine pairing to the cheese tasting area as well this summer.
Milkshed is another quick-serve restaurant on-site for guests to enjoy ice cream, shakes, and other sweets. Fair Oaks Farms offers seven flavors of its signature farm-fresh ice cream — vanilla, chocolate, strawberry, vanilla chocolate chip, cookies and cream, mint chocolate chip, and butter pecan.
Milkshed serves up scoops in classic cones and dishes, with the option to take home a half pint or pint of your favorite flavors as well.
Finally, a major redesign was completed on The Farmhouse for the first time since it opened in 2014. The restaurant will continue to serve all the same classic favorites, with a few new additions to the menu. Some notable additions to the space include a new color scheme, a barn-shaped pergola structure, an upgraded bar service area, and new furniture both indoors and outdoors on the restaurant’s large wraparound porch.
These changes, especially those inside the Farmhouse restaurant, are more than just a renovation — many of the new design elements embody the heart of the McCloskey family.
“I got to work with my mom quite a bit in order to put all of this together”, McCloskey said. “All the artwork is either handpicked by her, or is actually part of my family. There’s a painting of my great-grandfather. There’s my mom’s wedding photo. There are photos of my mom and grandma when they were babies, and the same with my dad when he was a kid.”
With all three dining destinations now complete, Fair Oaks Farms celebrated these three milestones with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Friday (see page 1 story).
There was live music, a bubble party, games, giveaways, a balloon artist, and more at the event. While the Adventures and Mooville areas of the resort are ticketed as usual, admission to the grand opening event is free.
In addition to the outdoor activities, each of the three restaurants offered a limited-edition special menu item. At Say Cheese, visitors could order a pesto melt with tomatoes and Fair Oaks Farms cheese. Milkshed offered an ice cream flight featuring four flavors, each with its own toppings.
The Farmhouse restaurant offers a specialty entrée of barbecue chicken breast and a jumbo shrimp skewer served with mashed potatoes and seasonal vegetables on the side.
Fair Oaks Farms is a welcoming family farm resort that reconnects guests with nature, animals, and sustainable agriculture. The scenic resort offers tours, engaging museums and play areas for kids, elegant event venues, farm-fresh dining, and comfortable on-site accommodations. Through innovation and hospitality, Fair Oaks Farms is committed to feeding the world’s heart, mind, and body.
Dining and Cooking