For the 22nd year, the Fehlner family will open the Clinton Cider Mill for one of the best fall experiences in the area.
While the offerings remain the same, with a few additions, the look of the historic Elm Street building and the experience customers have will be different due to Covid-19 regulations. The Mill opens Friday, Aug. 28 and runs through seven days a week through Thanksgiving.
Although late to the Covid-19 party of how businesses must adapt during a pandemic - the Mill closed in 2019 after Thanksgiving when the coronavirus had yet to change the world - the Fehlners have spent the months leading up to Friday’s opening preparing for a new way of doing things.
Ben Fehlner, who runs the Mill with his parents, John and Mimi, said they had to make changes in three major categories. “We had to look at everything we do and make changes in a number of areas,’’ he said.
The first change comes in how they produce the sweet cider using a cider press that dates back 130-plus years. The press has been removed as a showcase of the Mill’s main room for the public and put behind windows and walls in its own room.
Under the old way, as apples slowly bobbed...