Report: Amish Acres Is Coming Back…As Amish Acres

That’s the gist of the just-out report by WSBT on the former Amish Acres property, long a mainstay of the Nappanee, Indiana community.

Now, I don’t know if the new name will in fact be “Amish Acres” – maybe it will – but it sounds like it is coming back in the same spirit, regardless.

New owner Brad Juneau seems to be putting out the message that the “classic” version of Amish Acres is coming back – or something close to that at least. From the report at WSBT:

NAPPANEE, IN (WSBT) – — Only on 22, WSBT 22 spoke with the new owner of the beloved Amish Acres in Nappanee.

This comes after the original purchase fell through.

The owner, Brad Juneau, who is now taking over the property, says he has big plans for the future of Amish Acres.

Taking immediate ownership just yesterday, Juneau is excited to bring back everything there is to love about the popular Nappanee attraction.

Amish Acres was founded in 1970 and grew to become one of the longest-standing and best-known Amish-themed attractions in the country.

The original owners, the Dick Fletcher family, decided to get out of the business after a solid 50-year run, selling the property in 2020.

In its new incarnation, rebranded as the Barns at Nappanee, the Amish aspect of the business remained, but by all appearances was de-emphasized.

The property (or at least most of it – the hotel part had been sold off separately) was put up for auction earlier this year. After a bidding process involving 43 placed bids, it was sold for over $2.5 million.

Apparently the original sale “fell through” according to the mention in this WSBT report.

Whatever happened, Brad Juneau is the new owner now (pending finalization), and in his interview with WSBT is sending out signals that the “original” version of Amish Acres is coming back:

The most recent purchase price is not known.

Now, the new owner, Brad Juneau, says he took immediate ownership yesterday, with the sale expected to be finalized at the end of the month.

Juneau is excited to bring back the familiar feel of Amish Acres.

“Oh, just bringing back the history, bringing back to Amish Acres,” Juneau said. “Dick Fletcher had worked on this, you know, creation for 50 over, well over 50 years, and, you know, it had a strong following from Chicago, Detroit, um, it was involved in the community heavily, and we just hope to bring all of that back.”

As you’d guess from the name, Amish Acres emphasized the Amish-themed cultural experience, including buggy rides, Amish-style food, and the historic Amish farmhouse.

And it sounds like all the elements of the original owners’s vision will be returning:

“We plan on bringing everything that uh the Pletcher family, you know, had created,” Juneau said. “We plan on bringing back, you know, all the baked goods, the theater. We plan on bringing back the entire package.”

The plan is to reopen by Thanksgiving. They are currently “hiring for all positions”. I know this news will make a lot of people happy and I wish them the best.

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