Landmark central Pa. roadside attraction for sale for $2.4 million
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Dutch Haven was known for its shoofly pies shipped nationwide and also sold thousands of items in its gift shop including T-shirts, mugs, Amish hats, key chains and magnets. Mark Pynes | mpynes@pennlive.com
A popular tourist attraction in Lancaster County, known as Route 30′s original Amish store, is closed and for sale.
Dutch Haven Shoofly Pie Bakery at 2857 Lincoln Highway East in East Lampeter Township, with its distinct windmill and gift shop that carried quirky souvenirs and shoofly pie, is on the market for $2.4 million, according to a real estate listing.
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Owner Paul Stahl said it was time for him and the staff, including two longtime employees, to move on from operations. Stahl, who took over in 1991, closed Dutch Haven on Jan. 1.
“Dealing with the public has just gotten more and more difficult. I’m at an age I should think about doing something else,” Stahl said.
He added he is also entertaining offers to lease the business and he hopes someone reopens it as Dutch Haven, but recognizes it might attract a developer. For now, an outdoor Amish furniture store behind the bakery remains open.
Dutch Haven carried thousands of items such as local furniture, jams and jellies, and gifts and souvenirs, ranging from “I love Intercourse” T-shirts to Amish country calendars and hex signs.
The hallmark shoofly pies, a Pennsylvania Dutch staple baked with molasses and a crumb topping, were shipped nationwide and made using an original recipe dating back to 1946. Visitors were greeted at Dutch Haven with shoofly pie samples.
“Nobody ever managed to make it like we did,” Stahl said. “All I did was bake to the original recipe.”
Dutch Haven started in the 1920s as a luncheonette serving Pennsylvania Dutch food, including the pie. Stahl closed the restaurant and focused on the bakery and added the gift shop.
Time magazine named their pies “America’s best shoofly pie” and Dutch Haven was featured in a Chicago Tribune story in 1998. The recipe is part of the sale and Stahl said he’s willing to train a new buyer.
“The secret of what to not put in a shoofly pie in a large degree are eggs. All the Amish put eggs in the shoofly pie and it makes it gummy,” Stahl said.
The bakery also sold whoopie pies, fruit pies, pecan pies, soft pretzels and cookies.
Dutch Haven’s trademark windmill has been part of the building since well before Stahl took over. He said the windmill’s blades turn and light up.
Dutch Haven’s sale includes five buildings on 3.5 acres, equipment, fixtures, recipes and inventory, according to the listing. Stahl said he purchased additional properties over the years hoping to expand the complex.
The 7,000 square-foot main building houses the well-known bakery and gift shop with a 96-pie capacity commercial oven, commercial mixer, pie presses and other equipment. The building includes a deck and covered porch, as well as 2,200 square-foot lower level used for storage.
Real estate also includes the former Jakey’s Amish BBQ, a 110-seat restaurant, along with outbuildings, including two homes which are uninhabitable.
The closing comes at the heels of other notable landmarks closing.
Earlier this month, Hershey Farm Restaurant & Inn in Strasburg Township, Lancaster County, closed after a fire, while Good N’ Plenty Restaurant closed last year after five decades of serving homestyle meals.
Another longtime roadside attraction, Roadside America in Shartlesville, Berks County, billed as “The World’s Greatest Indoor Miniature Village, closed in 2020 after nearly nine decades.
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