Wednesday, July 24, 2024 • Vol. 17 No. 5 • FREE
Pretzel Bar Expands into Amish Market By Allison Wilson editor@karlovecmedia.com
From fresh-baked doughnuts and pies to crisp salads and salty pretzels, Middlefield’s new Amish Country Market, at 15711 West High Street, serves up just about everything but the kitchen sink. Though he has greatly expanded in products over time, owner Danny Kuhns’ foray into food began with pretzels. “Five years ago, I bought a pretzel shop down in Boardman, Ohio, at the Amish Market,” he recalled. “We doubled our business in about the first four months.” After selling pretzels at The Pretzel Bar in Boardman for three years, Kuhns expanded to a lowrent trailer in Middlefield, which operated in similar fashion to a food truck. “We moved around a little bit. It didn’t really work out very good,” he said, adding he decided to shut down the food truck and move into a storefront location, where the business doubled almost overnight. After a year and a half there, the building the market currently sits in
came up for sale. Kuhns, who had also purchased Elliott’s Ice Cream, saw it as an opportunity to put all of his ventures into one location and expand into other products. “My mom started the doughnut business down in Boardman 11 years ago, called Aunt Martha’s Doughnuts,” Kuhns said. “She started that and then she shared the recipe with me when we started this.” Kuhns combined all three businesses into one in the form of the market, which opened its doors March 9. From there, he kept adding on — the market now sports poly furniture, seasonal flowers, smoothies, a bakery, maple products, ice cream cakes and sundaes, among many other items. With the summer months hitting Ohio hard, Kuhns has found the shop’s ice cream to be especially popular. “We probably go through 40 ice cream cakes a week,” he said. Service is at the forefront of his business, Kuhns said. “If (customers) have a bad day, they can walk out feeling better,” he said. “The act of service is just
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A wide variety of doughnuts are available at the Amish Country Market, in Middlefield, freshly made every day
as important as the quality of the product and the consistency of the products.” Though the service isn’t quite where he wants it to be, yet, feedback has been glowingly positive, Kuhns said. Ratings and comments on the business’s Facebook page illustrate Kuhn’s sentiment — photos of doughnuts are often followed with enthusiastic feedback.
“The public really, you know, they grabbed it,” Kuhns said. “Everybody’s telling each other. The Facebook (page) went from 4,000 followers to 6,500 followers in like six weeks’ time.” The doughnuts are freshly made, with a crew coming in overnight to prep the goods that are sold the next morning. The market has seen some See Market • Page 5
Marketplace Mall Celebrates New Location
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Staff and village officials celebrated the grand opening of The Marketplace Mall’s new location July 12. The store moved from Nauvoo Road to 15596 W. High St. in Middlefield.
Listed are public meetings and executive sessions in Huntsburg, Middlefield and Parkman townships, the Village of Middlefield and Cardinal Schools for the month of August. (Please note: These meeting notices are NOT legal notices.) Huntsburg Township: Aug. 6, 7 p.m., Board of Trustees; Aug. 20, 7 p.m., Board of Trustees. All meetings held at the Town Hall, 16534 Mayfield Road. Middlefield Township: Aug. 12, 7 p.m., Board of Trustees. All trustees’ meetings are held at Township Office, 15228 Madison Road, unless otherwise noted. Middlefield Village: Aug. 6, 5:30 p.m. – Streets, Sidewalks & Utilities Committee, 6 p.m. – Planning Commission; Aug. 8, 5:30 p.m. – Recreation, 6 p.m. – Finance & Ordinance, 6:30 p.m. – Safety, 7 p.m. – Village Council. All meetings are at the Municipal Center, 14860 N. State Ave. Parkman Township: Aug. 6, 7 p.m., Board of Trustees; Aug. 20, 7 p.m., Board of Trustees. All meetings are held at the Community House, 16295 Main Market Road, unless otherwise noted. Cardinal BOE: Aug. 14, 6:30 p.m., regular meeting; Aug. 28, 6:30 p.m., work session. All meetings held at BOE Office, 15982 E. High St., Middlefield, unless otherwise indicated.
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