Stuckey Farm Orchard & Cider Mill — Attraction in Westfield

2024 update: Made the trip again for the cider. Everything I said from last year is still true. Cider and doughnuts are a 10/10. But man did the experience suck.

They moved the entrance over to the orchard side by the parking area and want to charge everyone $16 to even just to access the back of the store where they sell the cider and doughnuts. I guess you can access the whole place and get 1/4 peck of apples per person, but we didn’t have the kids with us and we’re not looking to wander an orchard. 1/4 peck of apples doesn’t justify the cost.

We tried to just go in the store thinking we could purchase cider and doughnuts from there but… no. After standing around feeling a little lost and seeing staff everywhere but none of them noticing us we went to the check out to ask if we could go out to the back just to taste cider and buy growlers. The girl at the counter was very polite but said no. We explained we’ve been several times before and come from over 5 hours away and really just want to buy things that are on the patio. We’re not trying to fraudulently play in the corn box or ride a slide. She goes to ask, which was wonderful of her and we really appreciated.

A man returns and says “well the answer is is no” but then tells us he will escort us back there and allow us to taste the cider but that other people have said things like this and he found them over in the play area. It just felt rude and unnecessary. If you’re going to let us in (so we can spend money at your established) then maybe don’t go out of your way to make us feel like we’re under suspicion and unwelcome.

We got our cider tasting (the man working that stand was great) figured out what we liked and purchased 3 growlers to take home. We got a dozen doughnuts and left before we were accused of anything nefarious. We dared not step foot off of the concrete patio and didn’t even make eye contact with a pumpkin. We headed back through the store grabbing a half gallon of their regular cider and a slushie, paid for those, and left.

Just to be clear we spent over $70 and have no complaints about the value of our purchases. But based on their current set up we would have paid over $100 to spend the same amount of time there, do all the same things, and come out with like 12 apples we had to pick ourselves that we didn’t really want.

We’ve been with kids before and paid whatever the entry fee was to do all of the “fun stuff” we had a great time and would be happy to do that again if the timing works out. But there’s no way I’d pay $16 a person just to be able to access the back of the store. I can’t justify the trip if the current admission policy continues.

Original Review 2023: I sort of don’t want to tell people about this because it’s already hard enough to get. But their cider tasting is so good and unique. I never thought I was an apple cider lover, but I did the tasting flight a few years ago and my eyes were opened to how good different styles and apple varieties of ciders can be.

They skipped it for a few years during Covid but it’s back and I took home an embarrassing amount of growlers. ($14 each). Their regular cider ($10 a gallon I think) is also great.

I’ve searched for places that make different ciders in like a 5 state area and I’ve not found any. If you are interested in how apple cider can be different based of the apple varieties used, I highly recommend making a stop here - just check their website and/or call ahead because it likely won’t last too long.

And I didn’t focus on it because so many others have but their doughnuts are the best I’ve ever had. Literally. The best. You need to get there early because the line can be LONG. But also, they will make them a little in advance and sort them in a hot box so make sure you get a fresh batch. I’ve tried apple cider doughnuts from many apple orchards/pumpkin patches and none of them even come close to the hot fresh doughnuts from Stuckey’s. They only sell them on their harvest festival weekends so again a check the website or...

My family began the tradition of visiting Stuckey Farm 7 years ago. In the past years, I’ve had several negative experiences that I’ve not written about until now. I’ve read several comments on here from the owner. Mr. Pierce, I hope this review helps you better serve your customers in the future.

Around 3 or 4 years ago, we began paying admission for a fall festival. As we have young children, we were happy to do this. We came only once a year and enjoyed a full-day experience. So we didn’t mind when the fall festival admission price increased from $5 to $10 (and might be more this year, not sure). Today we went to pick apples only, with a plan of coming back in October to enjoy the fall festival when it’s not as warm.

After we picked our apples, we exited through the gate but then turned around to pick a few more and see if we could ride the tractor to a different part of the orchard. I never got to find out if we could, because the same lady who gave us a bag to pick apples spoke rudely to me when I accidentally went back into the orchard through the festival door. Had she given me a kind “excuse me, ma’am” I wouldn’t have cared. But she basically treated me like I was trying to do something criminal—I wasn’t—and told me I went though the wrong door the first time and must not have been paying attention to where she pointed.

Embarrassed, we went through the “apple picking only” entrance, which lacked any signage about where to go and basically led into the parking lot. It was hot and my children were tired. Since the tractor wasn’t an option—that was for “festival”-goers and we were clearly second-class apple pickers—we paid and left with a bitter taste in our mouths.

I really hope that customer service improves in the future. From what I’ve read here, Mr. Pierce seems to care about his customers and their experiences. Feeling welcome and having more signage or staff members to help people find their way would go a long way. Many families come 2-3 times during one season. We cannot afford to pay festival prices every time we visit, so please do not treat us as second-best customers during the visits when we’re there simply to pick apples.

Thank you...

As you can tell from the single star, this wasn't a good experience.

It was our first time there, and we were an hour early. This isn't Stuckey's fault by any means, but the staff made the hour wait aggravating and stressful. As we sat on the bench we had more than one employee explain to us that they didn't open until 1, and we were not by the festival entrance. We explained we weren't here for the festival and we're waiting for the store to open. We realized the store doors were exit only because of the signage. We just wanted to wait there on the bench, in the shade, away from the forming crowds of people.

One employee (red-headed elderly woman) told us multiple times we were at the wrong entrance in an incredibly rude way. I wanted to tell her to stop harassing us, but instead explained in an annoyed tone that we were waiting away from the crowds of people. She rolled her eyes at the answer.

We thought when we finally got inside things would be better. We were wrong.

"Specialty Cider Tasting" was $5 and absolutely not worth your time. You cannot purchase any of the ciders for tasting and you cannot taste the cider that is actually for sale. The tasting and apple picking are not included in the festival cost, by which we were thankfully not duped.

The store was set up like an IKEA style maze, only letting crowds go one way. You'd better hope you didn't want that dressing three turns back, because you would have to battle the River Styx, with its lifeless souls waiting in line for the Underworld, to get to it.

Most of the employees we encountered were tightly wound, barking at customers who tried to go the wrong way. The festival was expensive with little to do, so disappointed customers added to the stress.

We left without spending any money. There are plenty less expensive, less stressing orchards to choose from.

The only good part of the experience was the new employee working the fudge counter. She was not yet jaded by the Stuckey's festival experience. Thank you fudge lady for being the bright point in the day. Illegitimi non...