Newfield businesses adapt to pandemic challenges

Despite having a shortened season this year and taking precautions to protect customers from COVID-19, Newfield’s Littletree Orchards is open for customers to pick their own apples.

Amara Steinkraus, orchard manager for Littletree Orchards, is the daughter of Anna Steinkraus, who founded the orchards in the 1970s. She said her mother intended for the orchards to feature a u-pick system, in which customers are allowed to pick their own apples and other fruit, such as raspberries, cherries and pears.

Steinkraus said that the u-pick system would help customers feel connected to their food source by allowing people to harvest their food and see how the fruit grows. She said that part of its appeal lies in being an activity people could do outdoors, especially in a time when the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in many indoor establishments being closed and state parks being more crowded than usual.

“There’s a lot of freedom that people get,” Steinkraus said. “Some would say, and I kind of agree, it’s more so sometimes than going to a state park because we give you the directions and then we give you the map and the bag and you head out into the orchard and kind of have an adventure and find the fruits that you want. Oftentimes, people haven’t had that kind of freedom and experience before.”

The Littletree Orchards has had to take precautions to limit the spread of COVID-19, such as turning away customers who are from out of state and/or have COVID-19 symptoms, requiring masks and social distancing, providing sanitizing stations and prohibiting customers from bringing dogs with them. Steinkraus said that the orchards being outdoors has made social distancing easy and that most customers are willing to comply with the rules.

Steinkraus said that because many college students were taking part in remote learning, fewer students made trips to Littletree Orchards. Despite that, she said many people still came to pick and buy fruit at the orchards, including customers from out of town.

“It’s been interesting this year because I think we’ve actually had people, a lot of people, who’ve never been here before and are coming from further away,” Steinkraus said. “All I can guess is that people are really just desperate to have things that they can feel safe doing, and being outside picking and because our farm is so large, the only time you’re really overlapping with a larger crowd of people is when you’re getting directions and checking out.”

Steinkraus said that this year would have “a short, fast season,” for u-pick due to a smaller apple crop. She predicted that the season would end in mid-to-late October, with the exact closing time depending on several factors, such as the number of customers, noting that the weather has been favorable for customer turnout.

“This year, we’ve been really lucky thus far with really beautiful weekend weather that people are looking to go pick things outside,” Steinkraus said.

Steinkraus said that Littletree Orchards’ sales for the year were lower than previous years, but the u-pick season had been relatively busy, which helped offset how much the pandemic had affected business. She said that it is possible that some things will never go back to normal, but as farmers, she and her family are always prepared to adapt to changing circumstances, from the weather to consumer trends.

“I do think there will always be a desire and a need for people to be able to have natural places where they can go to be outside and for ways to connect people with their food sources and experience picking an apple from the tree,” Steinkraus said. “I think those things are nurturing to the soul.”

For more information about Littletree Orchards, such as products and services, business hours, when the season will end and a full list of COVID-19 precautions, visit littletree-orchards.com.

New Owner for Covered Bridge Market

On Sept. 8, the Covered Bridge Market in Newfield reopened under the ownership of Robert Jordan.

The Covered Bridge Market has been in business for over 37 years. In addition to selling pizza, it also features a small coffee shop and convenience store.

Jordan worked at the Covered Bridge Market while he was in high school and came back to work there again six years ago. When he heard that Rod Heffron, the previous owner, was retiring, he agreed to take over and then took out a loan and purchased the business from the Heffron family. The business temporarily closed Aug. 29, before reopening under Jordan’s ownership Sept. 8.

Jordan said that the previous owners had a good plan for the business, and he did not intend to do many things differently from the way they did.

“The previous owners did a really great job of putting together a really good menu, so I just decided I didn’t want to mess with it too much,” Jordan said. “It looks great. Everything on the menu really sells well.”

Jordan said he was well accustomed to the day-to-day operations for the Covered Bridge Market as a result of working there. He said that while he was not used to doing the bookwork for the business, he is learning more over time, and the previous owners are helping him.

Jordan said the previous owners had established an effective safety plan for the COVID-19 pandemic, including requiring customers to wear masks, wiping down counters and only offering food to go. He said he has been following the guidelines they established and that his customers have mostly been cooperative.

“We really just try to make sure that everybody knows that they’re welcome to come in and see everything, but when they get their stuff, they can’t really sit down,” Jordan said.

Jordan said that keeping maskless customers out of the building and getting food to people outside requires an additional employee to play that specific role, and providing the manpower has been a challenge. Despite that, he said he was confident that the Covered Bridge Market would not face any problems as long as people follow the rules.

Jordan said he had good relationships with competing establishments in Newfield, such as Stella’s Barn. He said he sometimes ate at other local restaurants and had no desire to speak badly of them or steal their customers.

“I think there’s enough room in this town for everyone,” Jordan said.

Jordan said he loves serving residents, but he hopes that they will also support other local establishments.

“I want people to go everywhere just to make sure that Newfield stays Newfield,” he said.