Owner William McDonald stocks tomatoes at Delicious Orchards, which will begin celebrating its 100th anniversary with an apple festival on Sept. 17-18. ERIC SUCAR staff COLTS NECK — The orchards that have supplied the crisp, sweet apples that are found in the famous pies and cider at Delicious Orchards are reaching a milestone — their 100th anniversary.
As part of its centennial celebration and to welcome autumn, Delicious Orchards, Route 34, Colts Neck, will host its annual Apple Festival on Sept. 17-18 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day.
Chris McDonald, a member of the family that owns Delicious Orchards, said the event will feature a live band, clowns, food samples and a demonstration by Chef Tony Merola. Members of Colts Neck Fire Company No. 2 will be selling tickets for a raffle of a Harley-Davidson motorcycle.
The resident beekeeper at Delicious Orchards will be on hand at the observation beehive to answer guests’ questions about bees.
Employees of Delicious Orchards make bread at the store’s Colts Neck location. ERIC SUCAR staff The annual event will not only kick off the fall, it will “celebrate our hundredth year in farming,” McDonald said.
Delicious Orchards opened in 1911 and eventually expanded to more than 100 acres, all managed by the Barclay family.
According to the store’s history, Carroll W. Barclay made the switch to retail sales in 1959. Hauling wagonloads of apples to the roadside, Barclay set up a makeshift stand. The roadside stand was met with such success that a 1,200-square-foot store was built the next year, heralding the start of the modern-day Delicious Orchards.
The product line was expanded to fresh apple cider and apple pies made with a recipe from Barclay’s wife, Janet. The apple pie recipe remains the same to this day.
As Delicious Orchards’ name spread throughout the state, the business began to operate all year, offering more produce and baked goods. Janet Barclay lost her living room and dining room to bakery operations with the addition of blueberry, cherry, strawberry rhubarb, peach and pumpkin pies. Barclay and a crew of bakers were eventually producing 3,000 pies per week.
In 1966, Delicious Orchards’ current location onRoute 34 near Route 18 was purchased. This facility has undergone expansions over the years.
The original families eventually decided to step away from the day-to-day operations of Delicious Orchards and sold the business to their management team of Tom Gesualdo, Bill McDonald and Frank McMahon.
McMahon and Gesualdo retired, leaving the operation of the business to the McDonald family.
Chris McDonald has been spending time in the store since before he could walk.
The family’s passion for the business is evident. At any given time a visitor can enter the store and likely see a member of the Mc- Donald family stocking shelves or doing whatever is necessary to help out. That is one thing that sets Delicious Orchards apart, according to Chris McDonald, who said it has always been a family-owned business.
Delicious Orchards recently opened a fresh seafood department and receives daily deliveries from New Jersey fishermen. The addition of the fresh seafood department has been well received by regular customers, McDonald said.
“We are always looking at ways to expand or ways to offer new products that our customers desire … giving them superior taste and quality,” McDonald said.
People who do not live in the area may order products from Delicious Orchards online at www.deliciousorchardsnj.com.