The Barnards of Maple City have a farm without a barn and will soon open a cidery with few apples.
But they do have gumption, strong backs and hospitable natures that should go a long way in ensuring the success of Heartwood Cidery.
For sure harsh weather won’t be a deterrent. David Barnard was joined on Sunday morning by his father-in-law, Ed Nyberg, in planting posts to complete an 8-foot deer fence enclosing Heartwood’s 10-acre parcel just off Lautner Road within eyeshot of M-72. The temperature had edged above 20 — barely — but felt colder under a harsh northwest wind.
“Yea, we could have picked a better day,” admitted Barnard, although he sported a steady grin below squinted eyes.
It was one page in a larger plan that started taking shape five or so years ago when David and Rachel began dating while following productive careers as executives with Target. Rather than grab a beer or cocktail after a long week, they enjoyed hard ciders. David was looking for a career change that mixed in physical labor with desk work, and Rachel wasn’t opposed to getting her hands dirty, either.
Even though Rachel’s family lineage ran through fruit-centric Leelanau County, most folks would shy from their next step. They exchanged steady paychecks for dreams.
“We’re not risk-adverse people,” Rachel explained. “We’re confident in each other. We just jumped right in, and the rest is history.”
Actually, history moves slowly in the fruit-farming business as trees take five-toseven years to grow a full crop. The Barnards plan to jumpstart their cidery by purchasing apples from local orchards. They expect to be serving their own cider by Sept. 1.
A brand new 2,600 building should be completed by then. It comes as no surprise that the Barnards will be trading shovels for hammers with doses of sweat equity also provided by their parents.
“We’re going to be building the tasting room and production facility ourselves. I have not built anything like that. But my in-laws have a lot of experience through their remodel projects, and my dad is an electrical contractor. And we’re teaching ourselves. I’ve been educating myself on how to build a structure,” David said.
The Barnards bonded quickly with the established beer, wine, distillery and cidery businesses in Leelanau County by opening a bus shuttle service to sustain themselves while their dreams evolved. Called NoMi, an abbreviation for northern Michigan, the service was a hit while connecting the Barnards with industry leaders.
“We knew the cider would take a couple years, so we did that (bus shuttle) for three summers,” Rachel said. “We learned so much from the tour business. We got our foot in the door and got to know all the owners … It was great for us to know the industry and make connections.”
For the Barnards, career and family go hand-in-hand. Her grandparents are longtime residents of Leelanau, and her parents, Ed and Cathy, moved to the county 10 years ago. They are partners in Heartwood Cidery.
“I have a lot of family ties up here. My grandmother still lives here, and my family has been coming up forever. As David and I started dating, he fell in love with the area, too,” Rachel said.
Just as the 2,000 apple trees they planted in May have been rapidly growing, so has their family. Evelyn is now 18 months old, while David Jr. was born in November.
Normally Rachel would have been installing deer fencing alongside her husband and father. Instead, she was holding down the home front.
“Now I’m busy with two under two. Somebody is always crying. But it was pretty cold, so I don’t know who got the worst deal,” she said.
Leelanau is home to three hard cideries — Tandem Ciders in Suttons Bay Township; and in Bingham Township Two K Farms and Suttons Bay Ciders.
Residents can follow the progress of Heartwood Cidery on the Barnards’ YouTube channel, “Cidery from Scratch.”
They are already selling merchandise on their website.
