How the powerhouse woman behind 'Antonelli Cheese' uses her business to build community, push for change

AUSTIN (KXAN) —An entrepreneur and philanthropist female powerhouse. Those are just some words to describe Kendall Antonelli.

She’s the founder of an Austin staple — Antonelli Cheese. For the past 15 years, she’s used her platform to advocate for change locally and internationally.

Antonelli built her cheese business with her husband from scratch. It’s now recognized nationally and has raised millions of dollars for more than 800 nonprofits.

Antonelli was nominated for KXAN’s parent company Nexstar’s ‘Remarkable Women.’ It’s a nationwide initiative to honor the influence that women have had on public policy, social progress and quality of life.

The person who nominated Antonelli shared this with KXAN:

What began as a small, family-run shop has now grown into a nationally recognized brand, earning national accolades from Travel + Leisure and recently being featured in a Capital One campaign that garnered over 11 billion impressions. Kendall’s dedication to her craft is evident in her certifications as a Certified Cheese Professional and Introductory Sommelier. Kendall has mentored women in business, spoken at local universities on entrepreneurship and failure, and served as President of the Austin Dames nonprofit of women in hospitality who give back to the community. She was selected as a James Beard Womens Entrepreneurship fellow, was awarded the City of Austin Small Business Resiliency Award, and awarded an Austin Under 40 award. Austin has voted her business the Local Hero award for 10+ years.

Remarkable Women Nomination for Kendall Antonelli

It’s not Antonelli’s long list of accomplishments that draws you in, though. It’s her realness.

“What’s most beautiful about this journey that we’ve been on, I wouldn’t have chosen this to have the outcome that it did, and yet it’s giving us so much more than we could have ever guessed,” Antonelli said.

As Antonelli sat down with KXAN’s Jala Washington, she opened up about some very personal things, like her struggles with depression and even being hospitalized as a result. She also talked vulnerably about not knowing if her business would survive the pandemic, as well as anxiety that she still deals with today in the midst of all her success.

“Life can just be exhausting for everybody, exhausting in the joy, exhausting in the pain,” Antonelli said. “I think one thing that unites many of us right now is that we all care about our quality of lives and the people we love and we all want what’s best for them, we just see different ways of going about it.”

It’s a guiding force in her life, as she continues to navigate through the highs and lows. Lessons and life experiences like losing her father at an early age, traveling the world and opening her mind and heart to different cultures is what makes her want to give all she can to her community, while staying connected. 

“What I want my legacy to be is that I build more bridges than I tore down, that people feel better once they’re around me, that I am real and raw and relatable and flawed, and that our flaws are our imperfections are what make us unique,” Antonelli said.

Antonelli sits on several boards and is involved with several nonprofits.

It was her virtual tastings during the pandemic that really allowed her to further grow her community and building that sense of connection when it was needed most.