One year ago, Reddit user Krodus asked a question that put Springfield, Missouri at the forefront of online discourse once again: Why is 1.4 billion pounds of cheese stored in a cave underneath Springfield, Missouri?
Some commenters on the post theorized the building of a food surplus for possible apocalypses, while others shared details of similar storage sites across the country.
One user, feralfantastic, suggested the cheese had a far more sinister use.
“Our city has been chosen as bait for the dreaded Ratzilla. Once it is finished devouring the moon, it will leap free of the lunar rind and strike Springfield, Missouri like the fist of an angry god,” said feralfantastic before offering a more grounded suggestion. “Also I would guess that Kraft made it and it just cut down on shipping?”
The answer to the aforementioned cheese storage beneath Springfield certainly won’t be found in apocalypse-prepping conspiracies or the luring of a monstrous rodent. Instead, the real answer lies in the Springfield Underground, and the Underground reveals much more than a cave full of cheese.
The original Reddit post claimed the cheese stored in the Springfield Underground is government-owned, but John Griesemer, CEO of Erlen Group — the company that owns and operates the Springfield Underground — said this isn’t the case.
“It’s public information how much cheese is in storage in the US,” said Griesemer. “If you store food, you’re regulated by the Department of Agriculture or the Food and Drug Administration, so you report monthly how much you have in storage and that’s where those numbers come from for the US. That doesn’t mean it’s owned by the government.”
According to the Center for Land Use Interpretation website, Kraft does utilize storage in the Springfield Underground as some Reddit users suggested. However, they are only one of many clients that have been housed in the Springfield Underground throughout its extensive history.
The Underground is a private, family-owned business. John Griesemer is the third-generation of the Griesemer family to serve as CEO for Erlen Group, following his father and grandfather.
According to the Springfield Underground website, what is today known as the Springfield Underground originally opened in 1946 as the Joseph J. Griesemer Quarry. “The quarry provided crushed limestone products to the construction and agricultural markets.”
The Griesemer Stone Company later partnered with General Warehouse Corporation to provide warehouse space beneath the city, before the two companies merged in 1994 to become the Springfield Underground.
Today, the Springfield Underground continues to sell material removed from underground — including to concrete and asphalt companies — and provide space for numerous clients, not only for storage but for distribution.
“We’re probably three-quarters food products, and that goes back to the temperature advantage,” said Griesemer. “That change in temperature is not nearly as big as it would be in a surface building where you’re taking it from on a summer day … So, that’s your big utility savings right there and probably the most quantifiable advantage of being underground.”
According to the Underground’s website, the facility has a constant ambient temperature of 62 degrees Fahrenheit.
“Dry buildings can be humidity and temperature controlled,” says the website. “Our refrigerated buildings range from -20 degrees to 55 degrees and are cooled by ammonia refrigeration systems.”
Griesemer said that Underground clients do not have to be local, but that the facility looks for tenants that benefit from being underground. “It doesn’t matter whether they’re local, regional or national, but if they can take advantage of the underground space, then it’s a win for us and them.”
Along with the ambient temperature, Griesemer said the Underground also benefits from its safety and security and the ability to tailor spaces to client needs.
But upon entering the Underground it becomes clear that the facility is much more than just the space it provides. The Underground is a constantly-developing and moving system of parts made possible by an extensive team of professionals.
“I just happen to be the guy that gets to lead a fabulous team; we have long-term committed people and client relationships that are multi-generational,” said Griesemer. “So we have everything in our company from human resources specialists, recruiters, mining engineering, mechanical engineering, our refrigeration systems mechanical engineers … If you think about our refrigeration, it’s all monitored remotely and our temperature monitoring, so that’s all an IT function.”
Griesemer said the company also includes opportunities for working with logistics networks, warehouse management, accounting, heavy equipment operation and explosives work.
While traveling through the Underground with Chris Ferrer, systems and logistics supervisor at the Underground, it was undeniable that the wonder and efficiency of the facility is made possible by dozens of dedicated individuals. From the maintenance of pump systems keeping the Underground dry to the maintenance of the vast underground road systems, the organization and effort that goes into maintaining the Underground was quickly visible.
So even though Krodus’ original Reddit post did contain a half-truth — there is cheese stored underneath Springfield, Missouri — the Springfield Underground remains much more than just a cave full of cheese.
Follow Lillian Durr on Twitter, @lillian_durr
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