Heartwood Ciders in Solon Township is entering the final phase before a planned soft and grand opening in May.
The new cidery, located off M-72 on Lautner Road, is a family- run operation focused on purity, flavor and sustainability, according to David and Rachel Barnard.
“There’s a lot of excitement and a lot of grueling months piling up, and its coming to an end,” David said. “It’ll be unimaginable (to pour that first glass). We started thinking about this in 2021, so it’ll be an insane feeling, that’s for sure.”
Heartwood Ciders will be having a soft opening for the mug club before a grand opening in May.
David and Rachel escaped the Target labor camp of sorts as executives and moved north five years ago. They admit they both don’t come from a service background, but yearn to get their hands dirty and play with heavenly Leelanau dirt while chasing a family dream.
“The most exciting part is showing everyone what we built,” Rachel said. “My family built the building ... Hopefully, we will be as busy as we think.”
The family started moving dirt last April and eventually broke ground in May 2025.
David moved Dirt for roughly 200 hours, 12 hours a day, to finally create a flat plane within the Solon Township hills suitable for a 2,600-square-foot building.
“We’ve had to move all of it from where the building is, pushed dirt and sand out so that we could have a nice, big, big spot for a parking lot, “ David said.
Heartwood Ciders sits on a 10-acre parcel and has planted 2,000 apple trees, which will be producing a full crop in 5 to 7 years. In the meantime, the cidery is buying produce from local orchards to serve on tap.
The only thing the family didn’t do themselves to build the tasting room footprint was the plumbing and electrical.
Heartwood Ciders is located in an industrial zone that has turned its space into farmland rather than storage units.
The family has roots in Leelanau as Rachel’s father, Ed Nyberg, grew up in the area and moved up north with his wife, Cathy, 10 years ago.
Eventually, the entire family joined them during the pandemic.
Nyberg has been dreaming of this moment for over a decade.
Ed and the family thank the neighbors for working with them over the past two years to make this happen.
“This was industrial, and we took it back to agriculture, and we are really proud of that,” Ed said.
Heartwood Ciders is now waiting for the final orders from the Michigan Liquor Control Commission before the first pours will flow. The one-story, pole-barn-style structure with a pier foundation is hoping for a busy first summer.
Heartwood Ciders loves the location next to other popular establishments, including Rove Winery and Jacob’s Farm, to name a few.
Rachel and David are new parents, raising two kids, Evelyn and David Jr., both under three-years-old.
“We have a few generations here,” Rachel said. “We want to teach our kids of how to grow the orchard and how to make cider, and eventually work here one day. We love bringing them out here. We’ve got pictures of them when they were babies out in the trees, so... It’s going to be cool to pass it off to them eventually.”
Ed admits, “You plant an orchard for your kids,” he said. “We get 20-25 years out of this orchard before we have to replace it.”
Heartwood Ciders will be serving roughly eight types of cider to start, ranging from sweet to dry, with a special focus on low-calorie and non-alcoholic options.
