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Rustic Acres Farm Market reopens in Rehoboth

Chris Oliverio breaths new life with local produce, smoked barbecue, great ice cream
August 22, 2019

Story Location:
Rustic Acres Farm Market
37217 Rustic Acres Lane
Rehoboth, DE 19971
United States

Rustic Acres Farm Market has reopened under new management, offering a wide selection of local produce, honey, jams and jellies.

Chris Oliverio is the new face of the market. He’s leasing the red, one-story building off Holland Glade Road outside Rehoboth from property and former market owner Earl Warren. He said they met years ago at a barbecue competition and became good friends.

With the market open for nearly two months, Oliverio, who used to work in the insurance industry, said Warren wanted to travel, so the market was open less and less. He said he told Warren just leaving the market empty with coolers running was a liability and wanted to open the market back up.

“The insurance business wasn’t for me anymore. Every now and then somebody needs a change,” said Oliverio, on why he made the offer. “I wanted to give the market some new life.”

A few months later, with a lot of elbow grease, Rustic Acres was reborn.

Similar to before, Oliverio said the market offers a wide choice of fruits, vegetables, eggs and other foods. He said the corn is from the popular Freemans. He said he was out in the field picking corn earlier in the day.“The corn we have was standing in a field less an hour before we opened,” he said. “That’s pretty fresh.”

Rustic Acres carries Chesapeake Bay Farms dairy products, including non-homogenized milk, cheeses and ice cream. “The milk is as close to getting it out of the cow as possible,” said Oliverio. “The ice cream is unbelievably good. You can tell the difference when you eat it.”

Rustic Acres also features high-quality meats that customers can buy frozen to cook themselves or cooked in the market’s wood smoker. “It’s hard to make a cheap steak taste good,” Oliverio said.

Oliverio said one of the things he likes about the market is the history of the property. He said one of the family members lives in a house behind the market that was built before the Civil War.

“This farm has been here since before this country was a country,” said Oliverio. “It’s kind of cool.” 

Looking to the future, the plan is to be open year-round, said Oliverio, but they’re still making sure things are running smoothly before making too many changes. “I want us to get in the groove,” he said.

Rustic Acres Farm Market, 37217 Rustic Acres Lane, is open 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., Thursday to Sunday. For more information, call 302-226-2571 or go to their Facebook page.

 

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