Owners of Zanies Comedy Clubs embark on a delicious new path with Breeden’s Orchard
You might call Aaron Distler a jack of all trades. He’s cultivating garlic, planting 500 peach and apple trees (including a variety called “Ludacrisp”, which is supposed to be the “new” honey crisp), teaching kids how to pick fruit, and making barbecue and pasta for the on-site store (as well as area restaurants. See Mr. Aarons Goods). He’s also helping install a pond for fishing, transforming the farm into a 100% solar operation, and planning their next event. Interesting for a man who, just two years ago, was managing Ralphie May, a nationally acclaimed comedian. Today, he’s the “man of the orchard.” (Follow him on instagram @mraaronsgoods).
The one thing he doesn’t do: make the fried pies. “That’s Aimee and Wendy’s job. They’re “the pie nazi’s.” And good ones they are at that. When we found them in the kitchen, Aimee was at the “dough station” and Wendy at the “apple station.” Aimee Dorfman, her sister-in-law, Wendy, and their husbands bought Breeden’s Orchard 2 years ago from Marynell and Tommy Breeden. In their 70’s, the 42-year-old orchard had become too much for them. The Dorfman’s hadn’t planned on buying an orchard, but it just appeared and seemed like a fun adventure. (In their spare time, they own and operate the Zanies Comedy Clubs.)
The Dorfman’s have wasted no time re-inventing the orchard, while paying respects to its past owners. They’ve used the wood and wallpaper from the Breeden’s old home to line the walls of their country store. They kept the name Breeden’s and have kept the tradition of fried pies, which Marynell Breeden dutifully made for years. They even use “Lady”- her vintage dough roller, and their pie cutter, which husband Tommy made from an old broom handle.