Supervisors Approve One Operator For Styer Orchard & Market

For the first time in two decades, Styer Orchard and the neighboring market will be unified under one operator.

The Middletown Township Board of Supervisors voted Monday evening to grant the lease for the orchard and farm to Tim Field, whose family has operated it for two decades. The market at Styer Orchard has been run by Dave and Sharon Barberides for 20 years but will be turned over to Field.

To preserve the property from development, the township purchased the 109-acre Styer farm for $2.2 million in 1999 using funds from the township, Bucks County, and the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. The farm was previously run by T. Walter “Pop” Styer, who died after the sale at 102.

The orchard and the market were on separate leases after the township took over. The leases for the farm and orchard and market expired recently and Field and Barberides both submitted proposals to run both segments of the property.

The supervisors said the decision to award both leases to Field, who grew up on the farm, will bring the property together under one operator.

“The township’s charge from Pop Styers all those years ago was to safeguard this property from development and to educate the community about agriculture,” said Middletown Township Board of Supervisors Chairperson Tom Tosti.  “Tim Field and his team will help us live up to that charge.”

“Having the orchard and farm store run separately makes it harder for each of them to be successful,” said Supervisor Amy Strouse.  “We need a vibrant orchard and a bustling farm store supporting each other; putting them under the same management is the best way to guarantee the long-term future of this Township-owned community asset.”

Tosti thanked the Barberides for their efforts successfully running the Market at Styer’s Orchard.

Stephanie Teoli Kuhls, the township manager, said there will be 30 days before Field takes over both properties.

In information provided by the township, it was noted Field grew up on the Styer property and spent his childhood working the orchards, which his parents ran until 2019. He currently lives on the property with his wife Kristen. The couple welcomed twin sons Chase and Cole in September.

“Kristin and I are grateful for this opportunity to unite the orchard and the market. We look forward to serving the community while carrying on Pop Styer’s vision. I am most excited for my sons to grow up and have the same experiences as I had on the farm,” Field said.

The township said Field plans to rebrand the previously-separate operations. The farm store will still offer fresh food, baked goods, and grocery offerings, including produce coming directly from the farm. Field plans to move the orchard’s cider press into the store to give customers a first-hand look at the cider-making process. At the farm and orchard, Field intends to plant new and modern apple varieties and adding pick-your-own crops like blackberries, strawberries, and blueberries. Plans are also in the works for seasonal “agri-tainment” opportunities at the property, which might include a corn maze and hayrides in the fall and an old-fashioned holiday experience in the winter.

“We’re very excited to start getting new crops in the ground and planting new trees,” Field said, adding he aims to begin operating the market by early April.

Township officials said they heard proposals from both parties.

“It was clear that Tim had the best plan to unite the farm store and orchard into one operation,” said Supervisor Dawn Quirple. “We look forward to Tim keeping our favorite elements of Styer’s alive while bringing fresh ideas for the next generation.”

The Barberides said they were upset by the decision from the supervisors after putting 20 years of hard work into running the market successfully.

“We are devastated by these events. This store feels like a family member to us. It truly feels like we are grieving a death. Additionally, we are unable to reap the benefit of the countless tireless hours, blood, sweat, tears, and finances that we’ve invested into it. We just recently finished paying off our initial 500,000 loan on the store and now, a few years from retirement, we have lost our income. We are heartsick to leave, especially in this manner. We don’t know that this decision can or will be reversed, but we feel compelled to tell our story,” the Barberides said in a statement issued Tuesday morning.

They asked residents upset about the decision to contact the township manager and supervisors.

“This isn’t how you treat people. We’ve given them 20 years of our lives,” Sharon Barberides said in a phone interview.

A copy of the Barberides proposal, which was provided to LevittownNow.com by the family after the supervisors’ vote, called for uniting the orchard and market operations. Their plan calls for taking over the whole property but allowing Field the right of first refusal to lease the orchard that him and family have run over the years.

The Barberides said they watched the supervisors’ decision on TV Monday evening and were evaluating their next steps. The are likely to begin winding down operations over the coming weeks.

The couple said they have invested more than $500,000 into the store over the years and would have liked to run the market and the farm and orchard in the future.

The Barberides, who have adult children who grew up at the store, had planned to keep running the market and eventually turn it over to another operator, allowing them to retire down the road.

“It’s hard work, but it’s been a joy to do this. We never expected this to be pulled out from under us at this point,” Sharon Barberides said.

“There were both formal and informal notices given that existing lease terms would not be extended. The clear resolve of the board was that the best way to set the Styer property up for success was to lease the property to one party for a long term. Keeping true to the property’s roots and Pop Styer’s legacy, operating the farm store and orchard as one entity will allow the harvest from the orchard to be retailed at the storefront,” the township said in a statement.

Both parties currently at the property have contracts that restrict the items they can sell and events they can hold.

The township said having the orchard and market under one operator will provide “freedom and latitude to grow their business without having to tiptoe around a lengthy, restrictive contract.”

The Barberides said they employ about 25 people, a mix of part- and full-time staff, for the market. At least one of the employees worked with the Styer family when they owned the farm.

Field is hoping the current staff apply to work under his operation, as he is hoping to retain their experience and knowledge.

The township has not charged rent for the farm and orchard over the years with the understanding that the Field family had to keep the farm and orchard operational. The new lease will begin to add a rental fee for the farm and orchard.

The market has paid rent for all its years of operation, Their most recent rent agreement was about $3,300 per month.

Under the new lease, the rent will increase for Field to $4,000 per month.

Although the property is tax exempt because it is owned by the township, both families leasing it have paid property taxes because for-profit entities have operated the farm and orchard and market.

The township provided the following history for the property:

T. Walter ‘Pop’ Styer purchased the property that is now referred to as Styer Orchard in 1910, paying $4,500 for the initial 52 acres of land.  Located near the intersection of Woodbourne Road and Langhorne-Yardley Road, the property was originally planned as a tree nursery.  During the Great Depression, the savvy Pop Styer shifted his business to producing affordable fruits and vegetables for a community reeling from economic hardship and food insecurity.

Adding a farm store in 1972, allowed Pop Styer to retail produce off the accessible and soon-to-be-bustling Woodbourne Road, poising itself as a rural market for the new and thriving community of Levittown just down the road.  The market would see another boost as the Highland Gate, Cider Knoll, and Maple Point neighborhoods rose within walking distance in the 1980s.

As Pop grew older and as the pressure for development loomed heavy, he sought to preserve the farm as an asset to the community long beyond his lifetime, providing affordable produce and a means to educate future generations about agriculture.  With a combination of funds from Middletown Township, Bucks County, and the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR), the Township purchased the Styer property for $2.2 million in 1999.  Shortly after the sale, Pop Styer passed away on June 8, 1999, at the age of 102.

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