The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Vendors line drive-through market
The Maple Mile drivethrough market at Ransom Sage Farm in Chardon returned for its second year of offering patrons a way to support local vendors in a socially-distanced fashion, without having to leave their vehicles.
The market was held the weekends of April 2425 and May 1-2, allowing vendors and food trucks of all kinds to set up booths along a roadway that wove through the grounds of the farm. Visitors were encouraged to drive through and stop by as many booths as they wanted, where sellers would step up and take their orders from the car.
Polly Sage, owner of Ransom Sage Farm alongside her husband, Ben Sage, said they made a few tweaks to the event from its launch in 2020 to try to make it more streamlined and organized.
Since it can be a bit slowgoing if there is a large volume of cars in line, Sage said they made sure there were food vendors at the beginning so people could purchase snacks to enjoy during their drive through the Maple Mile.
She said their busiest day was April 24, when approximately 700 cars came through, followed up by another 300 to 400 on April 25.
“It’s a lot of fun,” Sage said, “it’s a lot of work and organization, but it’s been good and I think people really enjoy it.”
Sage said May 1-2 was the last weekend they held the market for the springtime, but that they might plan for more later in the year as different fruit and vegetables come into season.
She said the Maple Mile hosted close to 30 vendors this year. Among them were local bakeries, soap-makers, fresh fruit and plant sellers — and of course, maple syrup farmers.
Kevin Holy, owner of Seldom Seen Farm in Montville and grand champion of the 2021 Geauga County Maple Festival maple syrup contest, said his biggest seller at the market was his bourbon barrel aged maple syrup.
Holy said that Seldom Seen is one of the few farms in the country that makes bourbon barrel maple syrup, and it continues to be a popular offering.
“We use bourbon barrels we source from Kentucky, and age syrup for six to 12 months,” Holy explained, “We’re partnered with a distillery in Kentucky— they give us their barrels, we use them, and then we give them back and they make a maple-finished bourbon.”
It was Holy’s second year participating in the Maple Mile, and he said that it had gone quite well. Along with the bourbon barrel syrup, he also stocked maple sugar and maple cotton candy for customers to get their fix of Geauga County’s most famous product.
New to the drive-through market this year, That Hawaiian Guy’s BBQ, brought in heat-and-serve meals guests could purchase and take home for an easy dinner. Owned by Duane and Rachel Sherry, the Burton based catering company specializes in wood-smoked meats with a tropical flare.
Rachel Sherry explained that the tropical tastes were inspired by her husband, who is originally from Hawaii. He brought with him many of the cultural aspects and flavors of the islands.
“We kind of did a hybrid between traditional barbecue that people are used to, like brisket, pulled pork and ribs, and then brought in some of the Hawaiian influences,” Sherry said.
Their take-and-go barbecue dinners were a hit at the Maple Mile, with many of their options selling out before the end of the day.