The bids started off quickly Wednesday night, with baselines laid down for 16 parcels of property. Then, as the parcels were combined together, the bids got slower and the prices climbed higher.
In the end Amish Acres sold in seven parts to six bidders for a total of $4.255 million.
The heart of the property; the restaurant, theatre, Round Barn and Amish Acres names, the liquor license and rights to the Amish Acres Arts and Crafts Festival went to the team behind the Kruse Plaza Entertainment space in Auburn for $1.55 million.
“We want to bring in as many people as we can to this area and help not just our new property thrive but we want everything around it to thrive too,” John Kruse said.
The hotel and an adjoining parcel went for $1.295 million to a bidder from Marshall County who wanted to remain anonymous for now.
- Parcels 1 and 13, the hotel and adjoining land went to bidder 50, the anonymous group from Marshall County for $1.295 million
- Parcels 2 and 3, land between the hotel and theatre with frontage on US 6 went to bidder 32 for $300,000
- Parcels 4-7 and 14-16 including the theatre, restaurant, soda and fudgery, meat and cheese shop, cider and grist mill, parking lot, storage and maintence buildings went to bidder 45, the Kruse Plaza team for $1.55 million
- Parcel 8 the corner lot at US 6 and Arnott St went to bidder 59 for $150,000
- Parcels 9 and 10, the additional lots across Arnott from the main property, including a large storage building went to bidder 75 for a total of $820,000
- Parcels 11 and 12, development lots with frontage on Arnott St went to bidder 30 for $140,000
For Dick Pletcher, patriarch of the family that built Amish Acres, he’s looking at retirement after 50 years of building the businesses.
“Well, that’s what hit me. I don’t know what I’m supposed to do tomorrow,” Pletcher laughed. "They've told me to join them at the coffee shop at 7 a.m. and I've never been there so I'll have to see how that works out.
Pletcher said he will be available as a resource to the new owners. He and his family's consultation with the festival was built parcel 6, along with a provision giving them 10 percent of gross sales of the festival for five years.
The buyers say the restaurant, theatre and hotel will stay. They all want to usher in the next generation of Amish Acres success.