Outdoor picnic tables offer the opportunity for coffee in the sun, but stroll on in and you'll see the "real ambiance is inside," says Rose. The gift shop beckons the moment you enter, but the bakery may lure you its way first. The open kitchen allows customers to interact with Rose's bakers and watch pastries and donuts being made. You'll find all things apple here: apple pie, apple strudel, apple empanadas (turnovers), apple cider donuts, even apple cider softserve ice cream, all courtesy of the orchard outside. You'll also find berry pies, apple-rhubarb pie, fruit tarts, as well as pumpkin and mincemeat pies in the fall.
Rose's signature items are her apple cider donuts and her five-pound apple pie. All the pastries are made on-site from recipes developed by Rose, and you can buy pie in any form-a slice, a half pie, a whole baked pie, or a take-and bake. "There's no limit on how [many ways] we sell pies," Rose says. She'll just work out the price, depending on what you want. It's that kind of place.
You can get that too-simple fare, such as a bowl of soup, a sandwich, or a salad. While you're lunching, your eye will be drawn to the gift shop. It feels not so much like a gift shop as an old-fashioned mercantile. Rose has a self-admitted penchant for antiques, influenced by her own rural Midwest upbringing, complete with animals, an old-fashioned cook stove, and mismatched furniture (she credits her mother for inspiration). You'll find old-fashioned candy on a vintage Burlington-Northern luggage wagon topped with apple box shelves. Antique kitchen queens and sideboards display goods, ranging from locally produced jam and honey to sauerkraut, pickled eggs, gift cards, ceramics, and much more. (The more you look, the more you see.) Check out Rose's main counter, an old-fashioned seed bin complete with seed drawers.
