Tucked away on a dead-end road in Hamden is what may very well be the center of Connecticut’s Italian cheese universe. The Liuzzi family started making cheese back in Italy in 1832. They brought that expertise to America in the middle of the 20th century, and they’ve been making it under the Liuzzi Cheese label since 1981.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Connecticut) toured the plant Monday. The facility never closed or laid people off during the COVID-19 pandemic.“It was your resolve and resilience that really kept these people at work, so for that, we are grateful,” Blumenthal said. “You continue to make people happy in what they ate.”