Excerpt from a past edition of OhioTraveler.
The southwest Ohio region of Appalachia Country has a little secret – www.WheatRidgeAmish.com! This is a new web site that highlights the growing Wheat Ridge Amish community and Miller’s Furniture, Bakery and Bulk Foods stores.
This cluster of authentic Amish-owned and operated stores has been around a few decades but it’s remained the kind of secret people love to share. Driving there puts you on the back roads of rural Adams County, across a covered bridge and sharing the road with Amish buggies, pedestrians, bicycles and foot-propelled scooters. It is as you would imagine true Amish Country in Ohio – quiet and serene.
Welcome to Wheat Ridge Amish Country.
When Wheat Ridge Road bends, you come upon a place where it isn’t uncommon to find an SUV parked side-by-side with a horse and buggy. There are several buildings, each with its own staple of Amish-made offerings. But its humble owners of today started as the kids of Lydia and Harry Miller in their humble farmhouse back in the 1970’s. This is where their baked goods led to a booming business in furniture, bulk foods and of course – fresh baked treats hot out of the oven.
Miller’s offers everything from apple fritters to armoires. Through their generations of growth, Miller’s has maintained their down home feel backed by Amish integrity that has people driving hundreds of miles to experience. What is now a large operation, Miller’s Furniture, Bakery and Bulk Foods is still a family business that provides that mom and pop touch.
Today, the 300-acre farm has 34,000 square feet of furniture under one roof, plus more outside, and a separate building for the bakery and another for the bulk food store. The cash registers are powered by wind-generated energy. Plus the Miller’s use a lot of solar energy and air compressors. In every store, you are bound to bump into a Miller working, whether it is the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and now even the 4th generation of the Amish family.
The Amish have excused themselves from modern conveniences, believing that a life of simplicity and hard work brings them closer to God. The Miller family has provided friendly service, lively conversation and quality goods for decades. Nothing’s changed except the size of the family working behind the counters to help their patrons.
Every year, there are special events and sales during Memorial Day Weekend, Labor Day Weekend, a Fall Cookout, End of Year Clearance and from time-to-time, quilt auctions and other special occasions. But they are always closed on the Lord’s day of rest – Sunday.
Miller’s may be one of the last outposts of Ma & Pop shops, but they’re thriving on a business model built the old-fashioned way – they aim to please! And they’ve been doing just that for decades.
To plan a visit to Millers Furniture, Bakery & Bulk Foods and Wheat Ridge Amish Country, call 937-544-8524 or log onto www.WheatRidgeAmish.com.
