Do your best to avoid these common mistakes during your next trip to the Apple Barn
With its shops, restaurants, hotels and stores, the Apple Barn Cider Mill & General Store essentially becomes its own little village on weekends, especially in the fall. Parking spaces are a premium commodity. The waits for both of the Apple Barn complex restaurants can be substantial. There are also times through the year when things aren’t quite so cray. Times you can pull up without a plan and just wing it. But on weekends in the fall, when the sun is high, and the sky is blue? You had better come prepared.
Let me help you plan your Apple Barn trip – a must for any mountain vacation in the fall – and avoid the pitfalls and mistakes that can turn a pleasant day at the Apple Barn complex into a headache, sometimes quite literally. Avoid these common mistakes at the Apple Barn:
1. Don’t arrive shortly after noon on a Sunday
Both Apple Barn restaurants – the Farmhouse Restaurant and Farmhouse Grill – change from breakfast to lunch at 11 am. One day, I’d planned to roll in a few minutes after that for a hearty, down-home lunch. But UT football played the night before, and I’d been up late and then slept in. I arrived at the complex at around 12:30 pm that Sunday and pandemonium reigned. People were patrolling the parking lot for spots like sharks waiting for swimmers at the beach. Large trucks were parked in the reserved to-go order parking spots while others took up spots reserved for buses at the front.
I joined the parking lot sharks, driving slowly until I found a family making their way back to the car. I followed and waited patiently while they got the kids loaded up the knick-knacks in their trunk. But when two cars tried to get around me, a guy in a maroon minivan saw an opportunity and rocketed into the spot.
I didn’t even get my apologetic wave. So get there early and get your parking spot and watch out for aggressive mini-vans.
2. Don’t go shopping before getting your name on the waitlist
There were big crowds at both of the Apple Barn restaurants on my most recent visit. Therefore, I knew there would be a long wait. I figured I’d knock around the shops for a while then go eat when the crowds calmed down. So around 2 pm, I made my way over to the Farmhouse Restaurant where I was told the wait was an hour and a half. They said I was free to go explore, and they’d text me when it was my time. But I’ve already been exploring, I said to myself in a bit of a whiny voice. What I should have done was waitlist first and explore after. You do have at least five minutes to get to the restaurant after your name is called via text, so you’ve got time to check out and get over there.
3. Do not get a Boozy Slushy and ice cream at the same time
Maybe I am more prone to ice cream headaches as I’ve gotten older, but I’ve begun factoring them in when selecting snacks. I have learned the thumb-on-the-roof-of-your-mouth-remedy but, if I’m being honest, that’s a little undignified in public. Anyway, the Caramel Apple Sundae and boozy slushy make the brain say “ow.”
4. Don’t tote your stuff around the complex
A large part of the reason for your visit to the Apple Barn complex is to buy stuff. From various Christmas items, fruit wine, pastry treats for later, cheese and pickles, there’s a lot of stuff for you to buy. Don’t carry that stuff around all day. Take it to the car. That’s what the car is for, keeping your Apple Barn gewgaws whilst you go buy more Apple Barn gewgaws or eat Apple Barn food. But you’ve got to employ a bit of strategy.
That said, some of the Apple Barn items – some of the best items like chocolates and candy – can get a bit melty. Buy those things last. The complex isn’t so big, you can’t make multiple trips to the car. But, if you do make a trip to the car, make sure to signal to the parking sharks that you’re just dropping something off and not leaving. You don’t want to get their hopes up.
5. Don’t forget the Cider House
Located back behind the other main shopping and the Farmhouse Restaurant, it would be easy to visit the complex and not realize the massive Cider House is out back. Per Apple Barn ownership, the Cider House was first conceived back in the 70s and is now open to the public with its on-site crafted hard ciders and more.
6. Take your time and enjoy the apples
Let me add one more unofficial don’t to the list for your Apple Barn complex visit: Don’t be impatient. The Apple Barn isn’t necessarily an in-and-out kind of place. Sure, you could make a quick visit when crowds are low or find less of a wait if you come after the shops have closed for the day. But with its variety of snacks, shops, stores and sit-down restaurants, the Apple Barn is a place that you probably need to carve out a few hours for the family to visit. While there are plenty of locations in the mountains designed to get you in and out, the Apple Barn is a place where you can linger, enjoy a Sunday afternoon and take it all a little easy.
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