Fall Fun (and an Apple Pie Like No Other) at The Elegant Farmer

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When people refer to The Elegant Farmer as “old fashioned,” owner Keith Schmidt considers that a compliment. 

Schmidt and his wife, Tina, are fourth generation owners of the 77-year-old farm kitchen, deli and market at 1545 Main St., Mukwonago, off County Highway ES (when you see their iconic yellow Smilin’ Barn, you know you’re in the right place). Keith and Tina’s daughter, Katie, also operates the business.

While The Elegant Farmer has grown exponentially since its beginnings in 1946 as a dairy farm and roadside market, it has retained the old-school charm reminiscent of an autumn afternoon in the Wisconsin countryside. The Fall Harvest Fest celebration, which runs each Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. through October 22, features classic hayrides, pony rides, a corn maze, pick-your-own apples and pumpkins, cider and cider doughnuts.

The farm market is open year-round 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. (closed on major holidays) and will feature plenty of Thanksgiving and Christmas delights like cranberry salsa, made with Wisconsin cranberries. In addition, the farm market features The Elegant Farmer’s trademarked Apple Pie Baked in a Paper Bag, and Cider Baked Ham, along with cookies, muffins and tea breads, Wisconsin cheeses, gourmet popcorn, house made dressings and sauces, and soups and sandwiches. 

While old-school farm charm dominates, The Elegant Farmer has adapted to 21st century commerce such as online sales and wholesale distribution; the Apple Pie Baked in a Paper Bag and other bakery items can be found at many retailers throughout Wisconsin, Illinois and Michigan.

This past July, Tina opened the Elegant Cork wine shop in an underused utility building on the property. The Elegant Cork has Wisconsin wines from vineyards and wineries such as Wollersheim and Cedar Creek. They plan to add tasting events and a patio. 

The Famous Apple Pie

The Elegant Farmer’s roots go back to 1946 as a dairy farm, when brothers Dave and Elmer Scheel raised Guernsey cows. To generate more income, they planted apple and cherry trees, and strawberries. They sold produce at their small roadside stand, Davelmer Market.

The Scheels were pioneers in the pick-your-own concept, inviting customers to come pick their own strawberries and apples. In 1970, the brothers sold The Elegant Farmer to Elmer’s son, Dan Scheel, and his wife, Karen, who incorporated it as The Elegant Farmer.

The Apple Pie Baked in a Paper Bag, loaded with thinly sliced apples topped with a unique, crunchy cookie dough-like crust, came into being during Dan’s and Karen’s tenure. It was the result of a happy accident. Karen found a recipe for a pie baked in a paper bag while perusing a cookbook. She made the pie, but she and Dan thought it could be improved. Dan took the recipe to the bakers at the farm market. 

“The bakers made a mistake and doubled an ingredient in the top crust,” Schmidt says, which resulted in the cookie-like top crust that wowed everyone who tried it. Schmidt says they make more than 300,000 of the pies each year.

“Karen loved to bake—a lot of our recipes for cookies and muffins were from her,” Schmidt adds.

In 2006, Dan and Karen retired and sold the business to Schmidt, who had worked at The Elegant Farmer since 1998, and two other long-time employees, brothers John and Michael Bauer. The Bauers sold The Elegant Farmer to Schmidt this year.

Many of the apples grown by Schmidt find their way into the farm market items. Schmidt grows about a dozen apple varieties, and pumpkins, on 55 acres. (The strawberry fields had been removed by Dan due to their high maintenance and unpredictable harvest times.) Schmidt plants root stock on a trellis system, also known as a vertical axis, in which the trees are pruned and trained to grow up a trellis to maximize air and sunlight. Trees grown this way produce apples in about three years.

“With the trellis system, you’re growing fruit instead of growing wood,” Schmidt describes.

The Elegant Farmer is also a stop for the East Troy Electric Railroad, an interurban heritage railroad owned and operated by the East Troy Railroad Museum. People can take a 14-mile roundtrip trolley ride from East Troy to Mukwonago. Schmidt says next year they will partner with the railroad for a wine and cheese pairing excursion.

For more information, visit elegantfarmer.com.