Eckert’s Farm is opening a Cider Shed Tasting Room & Pavilion and Cider Donut & Custard Shop this spring

Eckert’s Farm recently unveiled more detailed plans for updates to the farm, including a Cider Shed Tasting Room & Pavilion and Cider Donut & Custard Shop, at its Belleville location at 951 S. Green Mount Road. This is the newest development since Eckert’s launched its own line of hard ciders, CiderWorks, in May 2021.  

President Chris Eckert, a seventh-generation Eckert, facilitates research and development for the recently announced attractions. According to Eckert, the Cider Shed Tasting Room & Pavilion and Cider Donut & Custard Shop will both open Memorial Day weekend, accompanied by a grand opening celebration. Official confirmation for the opening date will be released in early May.  

“We are really excited about the space,” Eckert said. “It was a natural way to branch out our brand and make the facility more interesting to a broader market.” 

The Cider Shed Tasting Room & Pavilion customer experience will be analogous to a craft brewery. Customers have the option of sampling CiderWorks’ four hard ciders – plain apple, as well as apple mixed with blackberry, peach or strawberry – or hard ciders and alcoholic beverages from other manufacturers in the area.  

“People in other parts of the country have shown an interest in hard cider,” Eckert said. “We are in a research and development phase right now, so our goal is to introduce two new hard ciders this year – one this summer and another one for the fall [or] holiday season.” 

On the inside of the Cider Shed Tasting Room & Pavilion, a 3,500-square-foot space seats roughly 150 people for bar service and dining. As for the outside, the 7,000-square-foot space is expected to accommodate 350 people and will have a pavilion. Eckert’s anticipates using the pavilion to host a concert series and other entertainment events. More updates will be released in the future.  

“It’s been something we’ve been developing and rolling out in phases to get us to this point,” Eckert said. 

The Cider Donut & Custard Shop will replace the Cooking Classroom – which is connected to the Country Store – since it hasn’t been in use for classes since the start of the pandemic. The 1,000-square-foot space will serve an assortment of frozen custards and fresh cider doughnuts on a year-round basis. Previously, cider doughnuts were only available during the fall. Moreover, depending on the season, Eckert’s plans to sell specialty doughnut flavors such as strawberry and peach.  

“We are vastly increasing our capacity to make cider doughnuts,” Eckert said, adding capacity is increasing about four to five times. “I think people are really going to enjoy coming out to see the cider doughnuts being made and try some warm doughnuts.” 

Hours of operation for the Cider Shed Tasting Room & Pavilion will be 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. seven days a week. The Cider Donut & Custard Shop will be open seven days a week from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., but hours might be extended in the summer.  

“It’s going to be a very cool addition to our campus at Belleville,” Eckert said. “But at our core, we still remain loyal to who we are: a business connecting people to the farm. That is the business we are and will always be.” 

As the opening day nears, updates will be posted onto the Eckert’s website and Instagram.