Eckert's, the largest family-owned Pick-Your-Own orchard in the U.S., started as a simple roadside stand in 1910. Today, the 6th and 7th generations of the Eckert family operates retail, entertainment and farming entities in southwestern Illinois.
Eckert’s Country Store & Farms is the largest family-owned and operated pick-your-own orchard in the United States. Established as a farm and simple roadside stand, the Eckert family now owns and operates farming, entertainment and retail entities in Belleville, Grafton and Millstadt in southwestern Illinois. For a century, Eckert’s has served the bi-state region as a local source for agricultural products including pick-your-own strawberries, blackberries, peaches, apples, pumpkins and Christmas trees during the growing season. Today, Eckert’s offers an experience that extends beyond pick-your-own produce to include the Eckert’s Country Store & Garden Center, and the newly expanded Restaurant. Eckert’s offers specialty foods, meats, wine and cheese selections, as well as a range of classes, including cooking and wine classes for adults, and special children’s activities for families to enjoy throughout the year.
Our mission is creating country memories and family memories. So we want people to have a day on the farm that they remember and enjoy picking, hopefully, some fresh produce, connecting them to the food that they eat and just having an all-around fun day. My favorite thing is to see grandma, mom, and the baby and the stroller and just Something that sets Eckert's apart is we're trying to really have something near-round as much as possible so you can expect lots of great shopping and eating. We have strawberries, blackberries, peaches, apples, all kinds of veggies. So there's lots of things to do and pick on the farm. There's really something for everyone pretty much year-round. The Eckert's items that sell the most here in our country store are apple butter, honey, peach salsa, apple salsa. It kind of depends on what the season is and then the items will be in line with that season. And then we also make a ton of pies. Our pies are very popular, so lots of bakery goodies. The bakery is kind of the core of our store and you really can't miss it when you come in. I'm really proud to be an Illinois business and to be able to network with Illinois producers. We do a lot of really cool things here in the state and I think it's awesome that we can work together to highlight strengths and the talents of our state.