Boggio’s Orchard & Produce to stay within the family

Migliorinis plan to keep tradition set by Boggio family

By MARIBETH M. WILSON mwilson@shawmedia.com

Joe and Christine Migliorini hope to preserve family traditions after purchasing Boggio’s Orchard & Produce farm in Granville.

Keith and Denise Boggio transferred ownership of the business to their nephew Joe and his wife Christine. Boggio’s has been farming vegetables for more than one hundred years, with Keith and Denise expanding it with an orchard and fall entertainment in the 1990s.

“The spirit of growing things,” Joe Migliorini said. “It’s been passed on in our family. Most of the time everybody wants to do that, but sometimes it doesn’t work out. It’s a significant investment in the future. We plan to continue to keep it in the family.”

Keith Boggio said Migliorini is a hard worker and he hopes locals will continue to support the business.

“It stayed in the family, which was a good thing,” Boggio said.

The Migliorinis want to preserve the farm and plan to expand the fall activities over the next few years without losing its simplicity.

Along with an orchard, pumpkin sales, bakery and produce shop, Boggio’s features a petting zoo, corn maze, an apple slide, jumping pillow and wagon rides, among other family activities, drawing sizable crowds on fall weekends.

“Agri-tourism has gotten very commercialized and we get a lot of traffic from the suburbs and they have just a ton of commercialized agri-tourism out there and they’re very nice farms, but people don’t feel like they’re down on the farm,” Migliorini said.

Boggio’s allows visitors to pick their own apples from the orchard.

“We kind of take it for granted. But, a lot of people from the suburbs don’t see this stuff. They want to interact with animals and climb on a tractor,” Christine Migliorini said.

The couple said they will continue to provide the service and products the community has come to know, including hot and fresh apple cider doughnuts, produce, local honey and the craft show.

The couple said they are most looking forward to growing their family on the farm and continuing to build on lasting relationships with their customers in the store.

“Raising our kids in this environ- ment, Gio is only 14 months, but he already gets super excited when I pull into the drive and he wants to go on the gator and see the tractors,” Christine Migliorini said. “He wants to see Daddy.”

Boggio’s is open seven days a week. The bakery is open 6 a.m. to 5 p.m. and the market is open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. The final day of the season is Oct. 31. For information, visit boggiosorchardandproduce.com or call 815-339-2245.