house a professional kitchen, food service area, retail food sales area and the winery they are just starting up, called Maan Farms Estate Winery, to make fruit wines.
They also plan to put in some grapes and will blend their own wines, and add a tasting room.
There’s also a 2,000-square-foot hall on the second floor that can be rented out for meetings and events.
Adjacent they have a petting zoo and play area for youngsters, which they intend to expand.
Within the new
building, they not only offer fresh produce, in season, but also deli meats and food service and they are beginning to make their own breads. Devinder already makes berry jams, ice creams, crepes, pies, pastries, pickles and preserves to sell, and other specialty products like crackers are available to complement them. The new farm-to-fork operation fulfills a dream.
the front like a brick patio for outdoor retail and food service,” reports Kris. They would even like to grow their own wheat to make their bread, and they’re interested in going into organics.
Although this is berry acreage—there have been berries grown here for 50 years, and the Maans are only the second owner of the property—they still have plans to diversify further.
“It’s the next level of agri-tourism,” they say.
They do enough business with the farm market to keep four or five people working most days during the season. And, they’re not finished yet. “Our vision is large. We want to continue to expand. We want to make
At present they grow Tulameen, Malahat and Carolin raspberries, Albion and Puget Reliance strawberries and Bluecrop and Duke blueberries. as well as blackberries, loganberries. Last year they grew 26 varieties of pumpkins.
They hand-pick their own berries, which allows them to pick them as they ripen, providing top quality for market customers. But today, Kris says it’s necessary to diversity to be successful in farming. Abbotsford, he says, is no longer the raspberry capital, but blueberry. Times have changed and the crop mix has shifted. Although they have no
plans to retire, it makes it all worthwhile that their offspring are interested in taking on responsibilities within the operation.
Kris believes it’s important that parents make time for their kids, and says they would always go on a holiday together after berry season. “That has helped to keep us bonded as a family,” he says. “We always made time for them.”
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BC Berry Grower Magazine January
2013.indd 1
British Columbia Berry Grower • Spring 2013
12/18/2012 12:44:40 PM
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