A replica of Tillamook's Medium Cheddar Baby Loaf — scaled to roughly 32,000 times the original — now anchors the grounds of the Americana Motor Hotel in Flagstaff, Arizona, turning a roadside lodging stop into a branded food destination along the Route 66 Cheese Trail. The installation, dubbed the "Cheeseside Attraction," debuted August 29 and signals how far the Oregon-based dairy cooperative is willing to stretch its experiential marketing playbook.
The Operator Partnership
The activation runs through September 7 and weaves Tillamook products throughout every guest touchpoint at the 88-room retro-futuristic property. Every arriving guest receives a Tillamook Ice Cream Bar at check-in. The hotel's heated pool was transformed into a branded pool party with Tillamook floats and towels, with day passes made available to locals. The property's Far Out Food takeout window rolled out a limited-time Tillamook menu featuring a Spicy Tillamook Cheddar Breakfast Sandwich, a Tillamook Sharp Cheddar Wedge Salad, a Grilled Cheese made with Tillamook Whole Milk Mozzarella, and a root beer float built on Tillamook Vanilla Bean Ice Cream — a menu design that threads the brand's full dairy portfolio across dayparts.
Cheese as a Destination Driver
For foodservice and hospitality operators, the campaign illustrates a growing trend: ingredient brands actively co-developing limited-time menus and curated guest experiences with lodging partners rather than relying solely on retail placement or traditional co-op advertising. The Tillamook Cheeseside Stay — a branded guest room available for the same window with a two-night minimum — takes that integration further by turning the hotel room itself into a brand environment. Sampling stations during the Labor Day weekend window (September 4–6, 11 a.m.–6 p.m.) add a direct trial layer aimed at converting drive-through traffic into purchasers.
The move also extends Tillamook's established presence as a tourism draw. The cooperative's flagship creamery on the Oregon coast already welcomes more than one million visitors per year, making it the state's top coastal attraction. Translating that destination-brand equity to a Route 66 hospitality partner is a logical extension — and one that other regional dairy and specialty food brands may find instructive. For more on how brands are integrating into the hospitality guest journey, see our restaurant and hospitality industry trend coverage and food and beverage partnership analysis.
Written by Michael Politz, Author of Guide to Restaurant Success: The Proven Process for Starting Any Restaurant Business From Scratch to Success (ISBN: 978-1-119-66896-1), Founder of Food & Beverage Magazine, the leading online magazine and resource in the industry. Designer of the Bluetooth logo and recognized in Entrepreneur Magazine's "Top 40 Under 40" for founding American Wholesale Floral, Politz is also the Co-founder of the Proof Awards and the CPG Awards and a partner in numerous consumer brands across the food and beverage sector.
