Hey! Get your own
ALTAMONT—Indian Ladder Farms is preparing to reopen for the season after months of rebuilding following a kitchen fire last September.
The farm welcomed visitors back with its annual Maple Fest on Friday, March 15, and Saturday, March 16, and the season will continue with Baby Animal Days beginning Thursday, April 11.
The farm store, which underwent extensive renovations, is set to reopen Sunday, April 7.
The overnight fire broke out just as the farm prepared for cider doughnut season. Though the farm’s fire suppression system contained the flames, Laura Ten Eyck, manager of Indian Ladder Farms, said the damage was extensive. The next morning, staff arriving for an early shift discovered the destruction.
“An early morning crew came in and called me around 5 a.m. and said, ‘We’re not making doughnuts because everything’s all burned up,’” Ten Eyck said. The timing of the fire, just two weeks into the farm’s busiest eight-week stretch of the year, forced the business to pivot quickly.
Repairs included a complete interior renovation of the farm store, with walls, ceilings, and floors replaced due to smoke damage. The cider doughnut production, a signature attraction for visitors, has been relocated to a converted apple packing house. The bakery counter has also moved to streamline operations.
“A lot of people say that our cider doughnuts are the best in the region,” Ten Eyck said. During the farm’s closure, she took the opportunity to sample doughnuts at other locations and reaffirmed her confidence in Indian Ladder’s product. “I really do think our doughnuts are the best doughnuts in the region.”
With the kitchen rebuilt, DeFazio’s, which operated the farm’s Pizza Garden last summer, will now manage food service full-time. Along with the Pizza Garden, which reopens Memorial Day weekend, DeFazio’s will run the tasting room, Biergarten, and the newly named Yellow Rock Café inside the farm store. Indian Ladder Farms Cidery & Brewery will continue its seasonal offerings, with Peach Crusher cider returning to supermarket shelves Monday, April 15.
During Maple Fest, the cidery will feature specialty drinks, including Tappin’ Some Trees Stout, an imperial stout made with maple syrup from Mountain Winds Farm, and Makeshift Sugar Shack, a golden russet cider aged in a maple bourbon barrel. The event will also include the German beer tradition of Bierstacheln, in which a heated metal wand is used to caramelize sugar in the beer or cider, adding flavor and creating a creamy foam head.
The 30th anniversary of Baby Animal Days will begin Friday, April 11, featuring farm animals, a goat playground, and educational programming. Visitors can participate in a naming contest for baby animals, with winners announced Saturday, April 27 by local radio hosts Brian & Chrissy from 107.7 WGNA.
Nestled beneath the Helderberg Escarpment, the farm offers a mix of indoor and outdoor activities, scenic views of limestone cliffs and waterfalls, and a deep connection to the land cultivated by the Ten Eyck family since 1916. For those new to Indian Ladder Farms, the experience extends beyond its food and beverages.
“We’re primarily an apple orchard,” Ten Eyck said. “We have animals, all different kinds of farm animals that live here year-round, and there’s just a lot of different things to do, eat, drink, and have fun.”
