“They pulled out last November,” said Windmill co-owner Mollie Wentworth. “It was four long years of meetings, and Windmill Farm Market was lost in the shuffle.”
Wentworth said people have said they were confused as to whether Windmill Farm Market was open, because they thought the new Kroger was a done deal at the site.
“People would say, ‘We love your plants, but we thought you moved,’ ” Wentworth said. “People stopped coming. We lost a lot of business.”
She added that she understands the chain’s decision to refocus its efforts on Centerville.
“I shop there (at the Centerville Kroger), and they need a bigger store there,” she said.
Windmill Farm Market grows its own plants in a greenhouse, specializes in custom planting and sells fresh produce.
“We have our own home-grown asparagus,” she said, adding that there are farm animals and a play area on site as well.
As it does each year, Windmill will shut down in mid-June to prepare for its annual fall festival, which starts in mid-September. This year, the last day of the spring season is June 13.
The fall festival runs through Halloween and includes pumpkin picking, a corn maze, music, festival food and a distinctively muddy Adventure Hay Ride.
“We try to make it bigger and better each year,” she said.
Contact this reporter at (937) 225-7325 or jikelley@DaytonDailyNews.com.
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