Market At Styer Orchard Heads Into Final Days

As she perused the offerings at The Market at Styer Orchard on Saturday, Gabbi Sharkey’s usual excitement in visiting the store on Woodbourne Road in Middletown Township was also tinged with sadness.

Saturday marked one of the last days at the township-owned facility under operators Dave and Sharon Barberides, who have run it since 2000, soon after Middletown purchased the 109-acre property from the Styer family in 1999.

The township supervisors voted Feb. 1 to not renew the Barberides’ store lease but instead award it to Tim Field, who also operates the orchard and lives on the property with his wife and two young children. Board members felt uniting the orchard and market under one operator made good sense for a variety of reasons, but the decision has not sat well with the Barberides and many of their loyal customers and employees.

“I’m very sad about this,” said Sharkey, of Croydon. “I’ve been coming here since I was little and the people have always been very friendly, very open. I love the pies, especially the cherry pie, and the applesauce cake.”

Sharkey said she is willing to give the store a try under Field’s stewardship, scheduled to start early next month, but added she isn’t very confident her continued patronage will last long.

“I mean, I’ll check it out,” she said. “But if it’s not the same, I’ll be very unhappy. I know the recipes won’t be the same.”

The Market at Styer Orchards features a variety of baked goods, produce, a deli, prepared foods and many other items and amenities, including a gift shop.

Sean Regan, of Northeast Philadelphia, said Saturday he was dismayed the visit was his last because he will not patronize the facility under its new operator.

“We will not come back even once, based on what we know of the situation,” he said. “Our friends we know also won’t be coming back under the new management. We just don’t feel who people who have run this store for 20 years were treated fairly. It’s sad because we’ve been coming here for so many years. We wanted to bring our son here as he grows up. It’s a real shame.”

It felt like a last day Saturday as merchandise at the store was going out the door fast and many shelves were empty. Items were being sold at a discount ranging from 20 to 50 percent.

Sharon Barberides said she expected most if not all of the food to be gone by the end of Saturday, but that the store would remain open until all the merchandise was sold or until their lease expires on March 31.

The day was especially nostalgic for Pat Medaglia, of Lower Southampton, who has worked at the store for 52 years and used to manage it when it was owned by the Styer family.

“If Dave and Sharon get another place, I will follow them,” Medaglia said. “If not, I’ll retire. I wouldn’t be comfortable working for another operator. It’s sad because it’s a tradition going by the wayside, at least for me. It’s been a good place to work. The customers and employees have been so great.”

Tim Field, who took over operation of the orchard from his parents Mike and Karen Field in 2019, has said all 25 current employees at the market can apply to work for him, and he would value their experience and knowledge.

But that isn’t in the cards for Sage Cargas, of Middletown, who started working at the store seven months ago.

“This was my first job,” she said. “I love the people here and it’s been a great experience, and I’m not interested in working for someone else. I’ll look for another job.”

Field has said he’s looking forward to taking over the store and plans to offer fresh food, baked goods and grocery items, including produce coming directly from the farm. Among his other ideas are to possibly bring the cider press into the store to give customers a first-hand look at the process.

Middletown officials have maintained they acted fairly and in the township’s best interest in awarding the store lease to Field.

“Having the orchard and farm store run separately makes if hard for each of them to be successful,” supervisor Amy Strouse said at the Feb. 2 meeting. “Putting them under the same management is the best way to guarantee the long-term future of this township-owned community asset.”

Sitting at a table in the cafe section of the store on Saturday, Sharon Barberides again reiterated her strong disagreement, saying among other things that the change in operation is way too abrupt and that the Barberides’ proposal to continue running the store was not given a fair shake by township officials.

“It’s not anger,” she said. “It’s just complete, absolute frustration with what was done here.”

“It’s a horrible mix in the equation to say ‘get out’ within less than 60 days,” Sharon Barberides continued. “What kind of humane person would even do that? It’s traditional in business to have 180 days.”

“We’ve been here 20 years and invested half a million dollars in this place and we’re not shown any courtesy. Our heads are spinning. We’re losing the business. It’s crushing, it’s really crushing.”

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