A heavy fire devastated an Amish-owned business called The Farmers' Creamery in northern Michigan on Saturday, Oct. 3, and support from the community began immediately.
The building, which included a popular store in the front, housed the company's essential creamery operations in the back for processing milk from local farmers. The fire was so brutal that entire building was torn down later on Saturday. It was a total loss.
The Farmers' Creamery products go far beyond the Mio area of Oscoda County, showing up in variety of grocery stores in Michigan including Busch's Fresh Food Market locations, Plum Market stores, Western Market in Ferndale, and Better Health Stores in metro Detroit.
Calls made after the fire to help out local dairy farmers
The effort to rebuild started Saturday.
Mio-based Metalfab Manufacturing,
which specializes in automotive tubing, offered space in its now vacant tooling department building, which is directly across Kittle Road from the store and creamery. Metalfab had just moved out of that building the week before to relocate to a larger facility.
On Saturday night, Farmers' Creamery employees made calls out of the temporary office to try to take care of local farmers by getting their milk re-routed to other milk buyers, said Kyle Yoder, who is vice president of operations at Metalfab Manufacturing.
The goal, he said, was to make sure that income for the farmers would not immediately be cut off.
Earlier on Saturday, dozens of members of the Amish community steadily hauled equipment and supplies away from the building that housed the store, the creamery and the office, as black smoke and flames rose above the red roof top.
"They actually were able to rescue almost all of their office," Yoder said. So, Farmers' Creamery immediately set up some of their office operations in the Metalfab building.
The Amish observe Sunday as a day of worship. No one from The Farmers' Creamery was available Sunday, Oct. 4, to comment.
Yoder, who is an associate pastor in a local Mennonite church and friends of the Farmers' Creamery owners, spoke with the Detroit Free Press on Sunday, Oct. 4, to relay the challenges that the company and the local area face.
Creamery fire hurts a business and a local community
Yoder, whose grandparents were Amish, did not witness the fire. He was nearby on the Au Sable River fishing Saturday afternoon where he could see the smoke. He received calls about the fire and once he got off the river he went to the site.
"In a small community like this, especially one that has weathered a lot of economic challenges, the creamery starting and doing well was a beacon of hope to many people," Yoder said.
Yoder referenced economic challenges across the country, including high prices on many goods. "If people in Detroit are having a hard time, they don't travel north," he said.
Even so, the creamery and the retail store seemed to help put the area on the right economic track.
"To see it lost, it hurts. It hurts the whole community. They saw that as something that showed that we could make it up north in Northern Michigan," Yoder said.
"The practical economic effects are significant," he said.
His uncle, for example, sells hay and is now concerned about being able to sell hay if the farmers run into trouble. His brother-in-law sells honey, and the Farmers' Creamery was the largest honey buyer in the community.
"This is going to continue to effect many other businesses," he said.
Three Amish dairy farmers in Mio launched The Farmers' Creamery in 2020. The cooperative grew to include five family farms in the Mio area, which is about 185 miles north of Detroit. According to the company's website, each farm milks herds of 30 to 40 cows, all 100% grass fed.
The Farmers' Creamery has more than 40 products, including a variety of fresh milks, creams, smoothies, cheeses, dips and ice cream.
The Farmers' Creamery store at 50 W. Kittle Road blossomed into a charming, farm kitchen destination, featuring ice cream, an in-store bakery and offering made-to-order sandwiches for breakfast and lunch. It was the kind of impulse stop that people would make when driving Up North in Michigan.
The store didn't accept credit or debit cards, reflecting the Amish aversion to debt. The store only accepted cash or checks.
But Yoder, 34, worked to set up an ATM nearby that could help travelers get the cash they'd need to buy goods at the store. Yoder is also the owner of "Welcome to Oscoda County" tourist information center built near the ATM.
How the fire was fought
The fire likely began in a mechanical room, not the store itself, according to reports by fire department officials.
The Tri-Town Fire Department said it responded to the fire shortly after 1:35 p.m. on Oct. 3 after 911 calls.
Upon arrival, the fire department said, heavy fire was visible on the west side of the building.
"Due to the extent of damage, the exact cause of the fire will not be able to be determined," according to a press release issued by the Tri-Town Fire Department on Sunday, Oct. 4.
Based on multiple eyewitness reports, the fire department stated, it appears that the fire was started on the west side of the building inside the mechanical room.
The fire department said a large natural gas line and meter were heavily involved in the fire. Firefighting efforts ended up being hampered because gas could not be shut off immediately. Shortly after firefighters began battling the blaze, an explosion took place in the building.
"And the fire moved into a 100% defensive operation," according to the Tri-Town Fire Department's press release.
According to the department, the building is a total loss. No major injuries were reported.
Nine fire departments from Oscoda County and surrounding areas responded to bring the fire under control. Rough estimates indicated that more than 300,000 gallons of water were used to extinguish the fire.
Other businesses express support
Others across Michigan voiced kind, supportive words to those dealing with rebuilding after the massive fire.
"This morning our hearts go out to our friends at The Farmers’ Creamery up in Mio, Michigan, following yesterday’s devastating fire that destroyed their entire facility," according to a post on Facebook made by Nino Salvaggio International Marketplace Sunday, Oct. 4.
The gourmet grocery chain indicated that it has carried the Farmers' Creamery product for some time, "valuing their quality, the family values behind them and hard work ethic that goes into their production."
"As a fellow Michigan business, we know that places like theirs are so much more than buildings. They represent years of hard work, the livelihoods of dedicated employees and families, and a commitment to the communities they serve," according to the Nino Salvaggio Facebook page.
Wolverine-based Serendipity Farms took to social media to praise how the Amish community pulled together to support The Farmers' Creamery.
The De Vor Dairy Farm & Creamery in Kalkaska posted that "a loss like this reaches far beyond one building. Our thoughts and prayers are with the owners, employees, their families, and all of the dairy farmers who relied on The Farmers’ Creamery as a home for their milk."
Contact personal finance columnist Susan Tompor: stompor@freepress.com. Follow her on X @tompor.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Popular Amish creamery Up North destroyed by fire
