Lock City Dairies: The Way Milk Should Taste
Fremlin Family Farming
Since 1872, just five years after the confederation of Canada, the Fremlins have been directly involved in the farming industry. Vic Fremlin’s great-great-grandfather came up to the Algoma area from Collingwood for the lumber industry.
“They first settled on St. Joseph Island in Hilton Beach, and when it came time for my great-grandfather to set out on his own at 14 years old, he moved to the Bar River area where he built a house and started farming,” Fremlin said.
“In those days, children were considered grown up at 14 years old and expected to leave home and start making a living.”
Fremlin’s grandfather later moved the farmhouse to higher ground after realizing it had been built on a flood plain. Vic Fremlin owns that farm and house today. Farming and entrepreneurship have been a way of life for the Fremlins for many generations.
Lock City Dairies
There are three businesses currently associated with the Fremlin family: North Shore Tractor, Diamond J Farms and Lock City Dairies.
My focus for this article is Lock City Dairies. Founder and Owner Vic Fremlin works with twelve dairy farms: five in the immediate area around Bar River and St. Joseph Island, and the remainder in the North Shore area around Massey and Manitoulin Island. Those family farms supply all the milk and cream for the dairy products of Lock City Dairies.
Lock City Dairies started in 1992 out of a desire to build a dairy business that supports local farm families and supply the best and freshest dairy products for local consumers.
“Beatrice was pulling out and there was an opportunity to start up the business”, Vic said.
Initially, the business worked out of a space in the Wellington Mall, and soon afterwards, Lock City Dairies moved to their corporate headquarters and warehouse on McNabb Street in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, where they are located today.
With the milk coming from Algoma and Northshore farms, Fremlin partnered up with Farquhar’s Dairy in Espanola, another family dairy business who co-packs for Lock City Dairies.
“From our warehouse in Sault Ste. Marie, our products are then distributed to our retail customers in Sault Ste. Marie and throughout Algoma as well as into Northwestern Ontario, including Thunder Bay, and the towns and communities on the north shore of Lake Superior,” said Travis McLean, General Manager for Lock City Dairies.
“Our relationship with Farquhar’s is a great one, and it’s one family business helping another family business.”
What Sets Them Apart
When asked what sets Lock City Dairies products apart from the larger dairies, McLean explained “Our fluid milk has a shelf life of twenty days, which is typically less than products from competitors”, says Travis.
“The reason you see our competitors’ products having a longer shelf life is because they have added artificial preservatives to prolong it. We don’t add anything to our milk to increase shelf life. That means our products are fresh. The turn-around time from farm to table is 24 hours.”
Travis showed me that they recently changed the packaging on their 10% cream to inform consumers that there are no added preservatives and because of that small change, sales have skyrocketed.
He went on to explain the quality control of the milk, which starts at the farm.
“Every batch of milk is tested for pureness and quality before leaving the farm and then again before processing,” he said.
“Ontario and Canada have the highest and most rigorous standards for milk in the world. In Canada, artificial hormones are not allowed to be added to the milk supply. If a cow becomes sick on the farm and needs antibiotics, it is taken out of the milk supply chain and not put back in until there are no antibiotics left in their system. Part of the quality control of each batch checks for antibiotics. If found in that batch, the milk is dumped and not used.” Lock City Dairies makes a variety of products including fluid milk; homogenized, 2%, 1%, skim, 2% chocolate milk, 10% half and half and butter. The storefront at the McNabb St. building is open year-round for customers looking for milk, butter, cream, and prepacked servings of ice-cream during office hours. “We have a small and dedicated staff of 45 people (including the ice-cream parlour) who care about the company and the quality products we produce for our customers.” McLean said.
Holy Cows
While Lock City Dairies is open year-round, Holy Cows Ice Cream Parlour is open seasonally, from Spring to Fall. Holy Cows Ice-cream Parlor, which is located in front of their headquarters on McNabb Street, has become a tourist attraction, known both for its quality ice-cream and for the statue of three cows situated at the front of their location. It has been deemed among the top roadside attractions in Ontario.
Holy Cows offers ice cream (soft serve and scoop), milkshakes, and ice cream cakes and online ordering is available during its seasonal operation.
“It’s a fun addition to our business,” McLean said.
“We noticed there were no ice cream shops in the east end of Sault Ste. Marie, and it was a natural fit to add it to our business. Farquhar’s Dairy makes our ice cream using our fresh Lock City Dairies milk and cream. It’s been a big hit with residents of the Sault as well as tourists passing through. You will see line-ups out the door in the summer months.”
Community Minded
Vic Fremlin comes from a long line of entrepreneurs and community-minded people. He explained, “I was taught by my grandfather and my father, that helping your neighbours is important, so I make that a priority with my own family and staff.”
Lock City Dairies has become involved in numerous community support initiatives, ranging from sponsoring the fireworks in Sault Ste. Marie on Canada Day, to providing the transportation of food for Harvest Algoma in their refrigerated transport trucks, to partnering with school breakfast programs to provide donated milk. It is also part of the Student Nutrition Services of Ontario.
With COVID-19 now in the mix, many children not able to go to school are missing out on the breakfast programs. There was an identified need to find a way to fill the gaps to ensure children who are in need get a nutritious meal in the morning. Lock City Dairies has stepped up to provide milk products for food kits that are delivered directly to the homes of kids using the school bus system. It is that kind of community cooperation and attitude of “giving back”, which is a cornerstone of the business model Lock City Dairies adheres to.
“Without the community, we wouldn’t be here.”
All Vic’s eight children have worked in the business at one time or another. Today, two of his children continue to work for the company. Lock City Dairies is a proud and hard-working family business and the citizens of Sault Ste. Marie, Algoma and beyond are fortunate to have them in our communities. We hope they will stay for many generations to come.
Lock City Dairies
938 McNabb Street, Sault Ste. Marie, ON
(705) 256-6455
Vic Fremlin – Owner
Travis McLean – General Manager