Things that are better together: Peanut butter and jelly. Mac and cheese. Batman and Robin.
But in our area, especially when the air is beginning to chill and leaves are changing colors, we think of fresh-pressed cider and piping-hot donuts. Our favorite place for this classic pairing? The Franklin Cider Mill.
Locals can detect the faint aroma of fresh-baked donuts for miles around, our own unique signaling of the official arrival of fall. Visitors from around the state and country begin lining up on opening day through to closing (this year, the Sunday after Thanksgiving) for the treats packed in grease-stained brown paper bags to pair with their jugs of apple cider.
Nestled into a plot of land on the corner of 14 Mile and Franklin roads in Bloomfield Hills, Franklin Cider Mill (franklincidermill.com; @thefranklincidermill) is surrounded by the historic Village of Franklin, originally known as the Stoughton and Bullock Settlement, founded 1824.
Owned by the same family for three generations, the mill is now run by Melanee Peltz Radner, who handles everything from overseeing pressing of apples to sales to tour guide of the historic trea-sure, a registered Michigan Historic Landmark.
Built as a water-powered grist mill where local farmers would bring their grain, the mill's construction started in 1832 by W. Matthews, who purchased the large tract of land near the mill's current loca-tion. Struggling financially, Matthews sold to Peter Van Every, who served in the U.S. Army during the War of 1812 before becoming the supervisor of Hamtramck Twp. (and delegate to the Michigan State constitutional convention in 1835), and completed construction of the Franklin Grist Mill on the banks of the Franklin River in 1837 - the same year that Michigan became a state.
Ownership changed hands several times between the late-19th and early-20th centuries; around the turn of the century, the Franklin Grist Mill was flooded and shut down until 1918, when it was purchased by Robert McKee and transformed into the Franklin Cider Mill.
In 1966, new Franklin resident Jack Peltz purchased the mill, and two years later, another flood hit, washing away a 30-foot section of the road where the mill stood. The road was repaired, but the power provided by the water wheel was lost, and electricity was added in 1968. The innovative Peltz, an Army veteran and owner of the House of Foods grocery store (where he introduced the "Bagel Boys" delivery service) and later the Greenfield Noodle Co., both in Detroit, purchased the mill as a retirement sebby, but a life in the food business inspired him te tearn the business from top to bottom. Working seven days a week, 16 hours a day, the hands-on businessman embraced the assignment of stewardship:
His priority was to retain the history and charm of the beloved landmark, with its original tongue-and-groove construction and still-standing showpiece water mill, while transitioning it into a thriving 20th-century business. He became the face of the mill, updating the cider recipe and creating his own donut recipe inspired by an old German recipe, and relishing his job as unofficial historian.
Apple Jack, as he was known, owned and ran the mill for 45 years before his son, Barry Peltz, became its second-generation guardian. Growing up working at the mill with his dad, Barry took equal amounts of pride in the mill and his father's dedication and entrepreneurship, and worked hard to match them.
His own daughter, Melanee Peltz Radner, remembers learning the business alongside her grandfather and father every year since she was 15. Now the third-generation co-owner, Radner upholds the tradition.
Studying exercise physiology at Eastern Michigan University, Radner worked in cardiac rehabilitation at then-Botsford Hospital before switching gears to real estate, selling new construction homes with Silverman Homes (now Toll Brothers) and ultimately becoming a mother. Mom to Devin, 24, Brooke, 17, and stepson Aaron, 29, with husband David, Radner lives in West Bloomfield.
"I was born and raised at the cider mill," she says. "I grew up working here, and I loved it." Radner came back to the mill in 2019, when her father, Barry, became ill before passing away two years ago. "I came in and learned everything pretty quickly, from the bottom up. When you grow up in something like this, it's sort of innate. My dad was here seven days a week, he never left - that's how I am now.
"It's a very fun place to be. It's an iconic landmark in our state and in our city, and so many people have memories here. Anytime I mention the cider mill, people say, 'Oh my God, I used to go there when I was a kid, or their grandparents took them, or they've created their own traditions with their own kids," Radner says. "I love being a part of history."
Although there are plenty of u-pick orchards in Michigan, Radner prefers to think of Franklin Cider Mill as "more of a boutique cider mill," she says. "We don't have our own orchard to pick apples, but we are the only one that serves fresh hot donuts, with all apples coming from Michigan. We are easy-access and easy to get to. Even though we are technically in Bloomfield Hills, we are right in the middle of the historic Franklin Village - meaning we are in the middle of a city in Oakland County, not in the middle of a farm. It makes us very unique.
"Visitors can pop by, pick up their cider and donuts and caramel apples. It doesn't have to be a day-long outing - although it can be if you want to sit by the river, feed the ducks, sip your cider, tour the water wheel and snack on some of our prepared items," she says. Stock up on favorite Michigan homemade amersues meats, cheeses and more - including Radner's "best" char. cuterie picks - at the Franklin Tent, and stop by the Apple Shack for seasonal apples, sold by the half peck and bushel. View the cider-making process, transforming pressed chopped apples into golden cider - using 5,000 apples for each press. Drop in for the monthly Story Time, in conjunction with the Franklin Village Library, listen to live jazz on weekends and pick up a copy of the Franklin Cider Mill Apple Recipes booklet.
Although rooted in its history, the Franklin Cider Mill is not going anywhere. Radner - who says she's
known many of the 80-100 staff memberssinceshe was 10 years old - continues the mill's tradition of doing their own pressing of apples for cider, making all the donuts fresh on-site ("if they're not hot when served, you get a refund," she says), slathering homemade caramel on apples, plus cider slushies, hot cider, roasted corn and more. "The only things we don't make are the popcorn and almonds," Radner says.
Radner also continues her grandfather's policy of using only Michigan (the third-largest producer of apples in the country, following Washington and New York states) apples, with Paula Reds, Ginger Golds, Gala, Honey Crisp, Jonathan and Macintosh among the 20 different varieties carried throughout each season.
But she's also keeping things fresh. Radner has added the popular Cider Dogs - fresh-grilled jumbo kosher hot dogs marinated in apple cider - as well as Donut Dust. "My grandfather created our donut recipe with cinnamon-spice batter inside the donut, which gives them their slightly cinnamony flavor," Radner says. But visitors can opt to pour on then shake off the mill-made Donut Dust. Launched during the pandemic, rapid online ordering with easy pickup has been kept on by Radner.
"I love all the people and talking to the families and hearing the stories. I love being a part of this history, but I also love keeping it moving forward," Radner says, "Changing with the times a little, but keeping the integrity of its history, and my family's history."
Article by Lynne Konstantin
Originally published in Birmingham City Lifestyle