GLASTONBURY -- Dondero Orchards plans to expand its offerings with a new indoor market approved by town officials this week.
The local farm, known for its seasonal "pick your own" produce, lunches and dinners, and other baked and grown goods, filed a special permit application earlier this year for a 3,500-square-foot building with a commercial kitchen at its 3582 Hebron Ave. farm.
Sandy Dondero, one of the owners of Dondero Orchards, said Wednesday that the farm has begun to outgrow the kitchen at it's Woodland Street farm, and the family either had to expand the current facility or open a second one.
"This home farm has grown so much that we can't keep up with everything, I'm not getting all the projects done that I need," Dondero said.
Dondero said the new facility would largely duplicate what Dondero Orchards does on Woodland Street, offering lunch. baked goods, and other products from April to December. Getting to that schedule on Hebron Avenue could take a year or two, she said.
The Town Plan and Zoning Commission unanimously approved Dondero Orchards' plan at its regular meeting Tuesday night.
As far as a construction timeline, Dondero said the farm hopes to hold a grand opening for the new facility in June.
"If we can get there earlier, then that would be wonderful," Dondero said.
Dondero Orchards began in 1911, when Joseph and Mary Ann Dondero established the Woodland Street farm. In 2009, the farm built a kitchen and market on that property to help expand its offerings.
Dondero said the family purchased the Hebron Avenue farm in 2011, knowing it had potential. Once the new facility is up and running, she said, Dondero Orchards will be able to take on more projects simultaneously, possibly with one kitchen working on prepared meals and the other doing jams and pickles.
"I think everyone is excited about it," Dondero said.
Mark Friend, a lawyer representing the farm, wrote in a narrative dated Sept. 17 that since Dondero Orchards purchased its Hebron Avenue farm in 2011, the facility has only opened seasonally from June to August, coinciding with its strawberry and blackberry crops. He said the farm stand operations run out of a small garage that provides a "less-than-ideal" customer experience.
"This proposal will allow Dondero Orchards to appeal to consumers on the other side of town, extend this farm location's operating season, and create more employment opportunities for the community," Friend said. "This facility is essential to the farming operation and continued use of the property for farming."
Half of the barn would be used to make lunch, prepared meals, jams, pickles, and pies, he said, while the other half would serve as a retail store for the farm's own items as well as other products from small businesses.
Friend said lunch would be served five days per week, though customers would purchase items "a la carte" without plates and silverware. He said Dondero Farms also hopes to hold farm dinners during the summer every three to four weeks.