Local Business Spotlight: Milkfarm + Parchment Paper

TERA is spotlighting Eagle Rock small businesses to support our neighborhood’s recovery from the pandemic. For December 2022, we are highlighting Milkfarm and it’s brand new sibling store on Eagle Rock Boulevard, Parchment Paper.

Below is an interview with owner, Leah Park Fierro, and Milkfarm’s general manager, Alyssa Trulson:


What is the story behind Milkfarm? What made Leah want to open a cheese shop in Eagle Rock?

Alyssa: Leah started her career as a pastry chef. After years of baking and working in kitchens, she decided to quit her job, sell everything she owned, and travel the world for a year. During her travels, she visited many European cheese shops (and ate a LOT of cheesy goodies, of course!). Leah returned to LA, and after googling “cheese shops near me”, she found her way to the Cheese Store of Silverlake. One year turned into six; during those six years, Leah dove headfirst into all things cheese, wine, & business. She’d always wanted to own her own business, and a cheese shop seemed like the most natural and exciting avenue! We at Milkfarm focus on American artisanal cheeses and locally made goods (only products that are meant to go with cheese), which is all part of the original vision. Leah wanted to create a neighborhood shop within a smaller community, which led her to Eagle Rock!


How did you come up with the concept of Parchment Paper after Milkfarm? Had you always planned to branch out and do something different?

Leah: Parchment Paper is a concept that we’ve been talking about at Milkfarm for quite some time. A place where you can buy 100% culinary-inspired greeting cards, trinkets, washi tape, kitchen wares, homegoods, and sundries. At Milkfarm, we started with a little cheese-centric greeting card shelf and it slowly morphed over to an entire table full of salami bandanas, cheese plates with mice on them, and a wonderful collaboration with Mister Parmesan to make custom caps and totes with words like “Gouda”, “Ham”, and “Butter”. Over the past 8 years, we’d constantly joke by saying “When we open Parchment Paper, this is going inside…”

Here we are today, finally open!

Parchment Paper is sure to be a invaluable source for holiday shopping and gift wrapping. What are some of your Milkfarm favorites for holiday gatherings and gifts?

Alyssa: Oh man, where do I begin?! We have so many gift-able items here. I think our Boska Fondue Pots make an excellent gift (plus a few hunks of cheese, of course), as they’re perfect for entertaining or for a solo night in. We have a foolproof recipe here at the shop, so be sure to ask us! As for entertaining, we are cheese board building machines these days. We can typically customize a cheese board to your and your guests’ preferences (except for our specific holiday boards). We ask for 24 hour notice for board orders, which gives us ample time to make it beautiful and flawless (we’re perfectionists over here!).


The pandemic has been so tough for local businesses and yet you have not only kept Milkfarm going but also found time and energy to open Parchment Paper. What is your secret?

Leah: The secret is a strong team of dedicated Cheesemongers who believe in the products and the service we offer. There’s no way Milkfarm would have survived without my core crew who have been with me 2-8 years. The pandemic was extremely hard and stressful for my team mentally, physically and emotionally. We would work 10+ hour days, then jump in our cars and deliver phone orders all around town. Alyssa’s watch clocked us at walking 10 miles in the shop, running between the phone, behind the counter, and out to cars for curbside delivery. We washed our hands SO MUCH, that the water damage around our hand sink literally took the hinges of our cabinet door right off! The 1st year of the pandemic was the hardest I (personally) have ever worked in my life, but failing was not an option. I’m extremely proud of what we were able to accomplish and grateful for the team who stuck it out in order for us to be here today. I feel like Milkfarm is stronger and more organized than ever for surviving these past couple of years.

As far as the time and energy to open Parchment Paper? I’m writing this at 11pm on a Sunday night. My days are 20 hours long and I’m surviving on caffeine. HA! Again, the only reason I am able to open Parchment Paper is because my SUPER DUPER AMAZING TEAM is running Milkfarm. The transition and implementation for me to step away from Milkfarm took about a year, but we are here now and I’m thrilled to open another business in the neighborhood that I live in.