Visiting Amish Stores In Iowa (15 Photos)

Reader Denise Joyal shares some nice photos from Amish stores in southern Iowa. Over 10,000 Amish live in Iowa, in around two dozen communities. Denise takes us to stores in two of those communities today.

She has previously taken us to Amish stores in Buchanan County, Iowa as well as a look inside a $3 Amish Auction “Junk Box” in Hopkinton, Iowa. So I think this makes Denise our unofficial “Iowa Amish Correspondent” 🙂

As a lot of you might know, I much enjoy visiting Amish stores. And when I can’t go myself, seeing what others come across in photo form is the next best thing.

So let’s take a look at what Denise found inside these two Amish family businesses.

Creekside Discount Grocery

First we’ve got Creekside Discount Grocery, located in Chariton, Iowa. Both of these communities we’ll see today are in Lucas County. The Amish group at Chariton is the larger of the two, at close to 200 people.

Looking at Google reviews, one visitor named Jesse writes about the kinds of things, including good deals, you’ll find at Creekside:

Please consider visiting this nice Amish family! Nothing here is refrigerated, it’s all dry goods. They have many vegan options and great deals on name brands like bags of Lays potato chips for $1. They have home made items as well, such as quilts and jam, they also have fresh eggs. I bought whole wheat flour for 1/4 the price of Walmart.

And here’s a look down an aisle (this photo also by Jesse). You can see there’s a wood-burning stove to keep the place warm, just like in Amish homes:

Let’s have a look at what Denise picked up in this store. First, who has a soft spot for some toffee?

We’ve also got a bar of goat milk soap, by “Mary”. The scent is Lilac.

This brings to mind my visit to the NC Amish soap shop. These little soaps are fun and a common-enough sideline business for Amish women.

That’s it for Creekside, but we’ve got more photos from the next store.

Schmucker’s Bulk Foods & Discount Grocery

Next, about a 45-minute drive away is located an Amish settlement at Williamson, Iowa. There Denise visited Schmucker’s Bulk Foods & Discount Grocery.

First let’s check out the deli section, which appears to be compact but well-stocked.

Like a lot of Amish stores, Schmucker’s offers freshly-made subs and sandwiches. And coming in at around four to five dollars apiece, this looks like a deal to me.

I like the simple menu here – just four main choices. I’m betting they’re all delicious, but if I had to choose one, I’m going with the “Hungry Boy”. Fun names, by the way.

A better look at the cheese selection. Guggisberg is a brand out of Holmes County, Ohio. I find that many of these stores get their products from that community, whether it’s meats or cheeses.

So when you got to an Amish store like this, don’t expect everything there to be homemade by the local Amish. Some items, like baked goods or canned goods, often will be.

But they have to stock a full store and so need to rely on other sources – often other Amish, or “Amish-adjacent” sources.

Next we have a table full of “mini-pies” and rolls. These are basically single or maybe double-serving treats. Prices on what you see here range from about $2.75 to $4.

I spot peach pie, pecan rolls, apple pie, pecan pie, and what look like cinnamon rolls, and cherry pie. And there might be more than that. Nice selection.

And what’s that on the table’s edge? A helpful printed poem called “Table Rules For Little Folks”.

Follow these rules and you’ll do well at the table, and probably beyond it. I assume you can take one of these along with you.

Schmucker’s Baked Goods Section

We’ve got a further section devoted just to Schmucker’s baked goods stand. Note that they take orders.

First the cookies. Snickerdoodles, chocolate chip, monster, and one I can’t quite make out (second row from bottom).

Next we have pies (full-size versions). Blueberry, cherry, apple, pecan, peach. Whoopie pies fill up the middle row. Looks like those are mostly, if not all, the conventional chocolate variety.