March 19, 2026, 6:03 a.m. CT
Want one last taste of treats from the Mississippi Cheese Straw Factory? You’d better have a friend with connections. Or hope you can find a box in a local store.
The Yerger family announced they’re retiring earlier this month. The longtime Mississippi snack company will close.
At first, they said the company would keep selling and shipping until the end of March or when they sold out.
Now, the mscheesestraws.com site says it’s sold out of all products. They are no longer shipping new orders.
Here’s what we know about this Mississippi icon, why it’s closing for good.
How long was the Mississippi Cheese Straw open?
The Yazoo City business started in November 1991. Mary Margaret “Bunkie” Yerger founded the company using her mother’s cheese straw recipe.
“Packaging and selling her cheese straws was our mother’s ‘retirement’ project, and she approached me and my brother to help her make it a reality. We had no grand business plan, just an idea and the willingness to try, and in our case, the energy and exuberance of youth to see if the idea would ‘work.’ The rest is history, as they say,” the Yerger family wrote in their announcement.
The aged cheddar snacks were popular gifts across the state. The snacks have graced holiday tables across the country for decades.
Over time, the company added several flavors and started shipping worldwide.
Mary Yerger retired again a few years after starting the company. She died in 2024 at age 96.
Her sons, Hunter and Rob Yerger, kept the business going strong. They said tradition has been important to them.
Why is the Mississippi Cheese Straw Factory closing?
The pair wrote that they’re now older than Mary Yerger was when the Mississippi Cheese Straw Factory was created. They also would like to retire.
“We are proud of the company, and the happiness we’ve brought to the people that have enjoyed our products for decades, and this legacy is important to us. For this reason, we decided against selling the business, preferring to come full circle and let this long journey end on a prosperous note, and become a happy memory,” the Yergers wrote.
Bonnie Bolden is the Deep South Connect reporter for Mississippi with USA TODAY Network. Email her at bbolden@gannett.com.
