The Middlefield Chamber of Commerce gathering on May 20 at Amish Country Market gave members a behind-the-scenes look at one of Middlefield’s fast-growing local businesses, hosted by owners Danny and Cindy Kuhns.
Danny shared the story of how his path moved from construction and logging into the food industry, beginning with his family’s connection to the Amish market in Boardman and a pretzel stand that he and Cindy helped grow. Seeing the potential for pretzel wraps and fresh food in Middlefield, they started locally with a small red trailer before moving into the former building on the corner.
A major highlight of Danny’s story was the risk and vision it took to purchase and renovate the large building. What began as an overwhelming project turned into a thriving market, opening March 9, 2024, after months of renovation. Danny credited family support, Cindy’s help with the finances, a strong team and the local community for helping make it possible.
Members also learned about the growth of the business, including:
• Donuts made fresh in-house each morning
• Pretzel wraps and market items that draw customers from more than an hour away
• A Facebook following nearing 50,000
• A second location at Eastwood Mall in Niles
• Commercial accounts and deliveries
• DoorDash at both locations
• Elliott’s Ice Cream production, cakes and kiosk locations
Danny emphasized that product quality and service are both critical, especially during busy lunch hours and Saturdays. He also spoke about future improvements, including parking lot work and expanding the pretzel bar to create two lines and better serve customers.
Following his talk, Danny gave members a tour of the building, including the bakery, ice cream production area, walk-in coolers and freezers, employee areas and back-of-house operations. The tour showed how much renovation, creativity and hard work went into transforming the former space into a busy market and community destination.
Overall, the evening highlighted entrepreneurship, local investment, family support and the kind of business growth that strengthens the Middlefield community.
