CULTURAL CROSSROADS

Tourists crave the authenticity of Farmwald’s food

Story by LAZ DENES

Need directions to the Central Kentucky crossroads where modern tourism meets Old-World Amish tradition? Just take Interstate 65 to Exit 58, it’s the southern gateway to Hart County’s burgeoning Amish community. That’s where you’ll find Farmwald’s Restaurant and Bakery, an Amish-owned and operated purveyor of wildly popular savory and sweet treats.

Farmwald’s offers hearty breakfast plates, signature burgers and deli sandwiches served on homemade sourdough bread. For dessert lovers, the menu includes Dutch-inspired fresh and fried pies, cakes, cookies and other sweets, hand-dipped ice cream and made-from-scratch doughnuts and pastries.

Adjacent to the restaurant is a 2,500-square-foot gift shop packed with one-of-a-kind items including handmade Amish crafts and furniture, as well as a variety of spices, seasonings, pickled veggies, maple syrup, honey, jellies, homestyle salsa and fudge.

A Recipe For Success

The establishment, located just outside the Kentucky Down Under Adventure Zoo, is the brainchild of Joe Farmwald. Joe’s parents, Jonas and Joan Farmwald, moved to the area in 1991 and joined Hart County’s Munfordville Amish Community, one of the largest Amish communities in the country. Joe purchased the original building from the zoo owners in early 2019 and was ready to open for business that November.

“I was working for my own business, Environmental Consulting & Testing, and I had always wanted to own a restaurant,” Joe says. “I got in touch with Kentucky Down Under about the building. It was a pavilion at the time, about 4,000 square feet. It all happened really fast. We could only seat about 10 people in the restaurant when we opened, and we didn’t have a lot of food on the menu, more bakery and stuff like that. But here we are.”

Photos by Matt Ledger

In Farmwald’s first year, it drew customers from all 50 states and 13 countries, attracting 800 to 1,000 customers a day. The business grew steadily, COVID-19 notwithstanding. By November 2021, Joe was hosting a second grand opening after doubling the size of the building. The addition boosted the restaurant’s capacity to more than 100 diners, expanded the gift shop and added a banquet room upstairs.

Farmwald’s employs a staff of 18, all from the Amish community. The opening crew arrives via passenger van with a hired driver each work day at 4 a.m. to start baking. “We’re the horse-and-buggy Amish, so I have three drivers on my payroll,” Joe says. “We don’t have electricity at home, but our businesses tend to have more, especially if it involves food, and the health department requires it. They want us to be able to grow our businesses.”

Growth plans for Farmwald’s include a full deli with a wide variety of meats and cheeses, as well as the creation of a cookbook to share the magic behind its delicious menu items and tasty treats.

Joe’s mom, Joan, is part of the crew and creates pie crusts, as well as the pizza sauce and the sauce for burrito wraps from scratch. She also heads up the catering effort and coordinates with banquet room guests. Whenever Joe and his wife, Laura, dream up a new item to consider for the menu, they seek Joan’s input.

“One thing we’re all about is that all of our baked goods are made from scratch, none of it comes frozen, so if you’re buying a cookie or doughnut or whatever, that’s what you’re going to get from here,” says Joe, who works diligently to keep the establishment’s website fresh and up to date, and actively markets the business on social media.

Come grab a bite!

Farmwald’s Restaurant and Bakery

3720 L&N Turnpike, Horse Cave

Open Monday-Saturday, 5 a.m.-6 p.m.

270-786-5600 • farmwalds.com

@farmwaldsbakery on Facebook and Instagram

“Our theme is, ‘Eat, shop and relax,’” Joe says. “We’re not fast food, but we’re not a sit-down where the waiter comes to you. You order, take a number and sit

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down. It’s good for a work crew to come in for a quick bite to eat, and convenient for the traveler. We’re kind of between a Cracker Barrel and a McDonald’s.”

While the restaurant and bakery that bears the family name embodies the perfect blend between Old and New worlds, Joan Farmwald considers herself a blend of an altogether different kind — which she explains in a book she wrote titled, “A Bridge Between Two Worlds,” slated for release later this year.

“I was raised Roman Catholic and grew up in Cleveland, Ohio,” she says. “The book is about my journey to be Amish, which I’ve been for 47 years, since I was 20 years old, when I met my husband.”

Joan admits to being self-absorbed as a teen, driven by worldly influences. But that all began to change during a visit to the Amish community in Middlefield, Ohio, where she met Jonas Farmwald, her future husband.

“It was a blessing, even though it was a struggle,” she says. “I give God all the glory because it wasn’t an easy road at times. I have a very patient husband and a lot of dear family and friends that helped me on my way. That sums up the book — and my life — right there.”