Pine Tree Barn in Wooster was a recent destination for our weekly adventure days. Mom had a second mastectomy in June with a couple of follow-up surgeries. So she and Dad didn’t get out much during the summer. When Tom and I got home from Cumberland Gap, Mom was finally on the mend and ready to get out and do stuff. We are happy to go wherever Mom and Dad want to go, and Mom wanted to check out the Pine Tree Barn.
We headed over to Pine Tree Barn on a beautiful fall day, enjoying the gorgeous leaves on the drive. I expected something like The Barn in Smithville with a gift shop. But my expectations were way off. Pine Tree Barn has a restaurant that serves lunch, but the rest of the huge, historic barn building is interior design and decoration.
The restaurant is located in the back of Pine Tree Barn. I like to make reservations whenever they are available and I was glad I had made them. The restaurant was packed. We met Anne and Paul Locher and my sister, Julia Sager, there. The seven of us would have waited a long time to be seated if I had not made the reservations.
The restaurant, called The Granary, serves lunch each day between 11 and 2:30. The food is colorful and fresh. Three of us ordered the half-turkey panini with salad. Uncle Paul got French Onion soup and the pastrami melt. Aunt Anne got the lentil soup with a baguette. Mom ordered the club croissant. Julia ordered a salad. All of the food was delicious and a reasonable size. The half sandwich with salad filled me up.
The Granary is known for its lemon crumb muffins, which looked very good. They have homemade desserts but all of us decided not to order one. You can buy the muffins in packs of four to take home. The restaurant overlooks a pond behind the barn so it is a lovely setting. They also had outdoor seating but it was a little too cold on the day we were there.
After enjoying our meal, we spent some time looking around the gift shop, boutique, and furniture store. Pine Tree Barn is 25,000 square feet packed with all kinds of stuff. Someone with a real eye for design set up each of the bedroom vignettes, because they were beautiful. It made me wish that I was better at design. But I am too much of a minimalist to be comfortable with so many pillows, throws, and trays. We saw some quirky items as well as lots of beautiful home accessories. The furniture was gorgeous and expensive.
Pine Tree Barn started when Bob and Betty Dush founded the family Christmas tree business in 1952. They hoped to earn enough money to help their three children – Ann, Roger, and Nancy – achieve college degrees. In 1976, Roger came home to be part of the family business. He’d spent his professional years teaching and in the corporate world. Roger longed for the closeness of family, clean air, and the beauty of the land. Under his leadership, a new gift emporium known as “Pine Tree Barn” was born in September 1980 – selling special Christmas ornaments, gifts, and delicious treats along with handsome trees.
In 1983, Roger married Rita and they both worked hard in the business. Pine Tree Barn became an iconic destination offering unique holiday-decor, fine furnishings, original art, and distinctive gifts. 40 years later The Pine Tree Barn and Granary Restaurant are run by the third generation, Bob and Betty’s grandchildren, Julie and Matt Kilbourne.
To this day, Rita still runs the Christmas tree farm. From Thanksgiving through Christmas, there are many fun family activities on the weekends, such as a horse-drawn carriage, the Pine Tree Express Caboose, and letters to Santa.
We enjoyed our adventure to Pine Tree Barn very much. It was a good place for lunch as well as a fun place to explore. The special events in December look like a wonderful opportunity to build family memories as well as pick a Christmas tree. If you get a chance, check it out and let me know what you think.