Winter may still have us in its tight, chilly grip, but that’s never stopped anyone from looking forward to the spring before! When things finally start to blossom and bloom again, the Berks County area comes back to life and shows off its lush agriculture and local treasures, like Echo Hill Country Store in Fleetwood, Pa. Specializing in bulk, natural and organic foods, Echo Hill’s owners aren’t waiting for spring to have sprung before they start supplying the area with delicious treats and natural products, all perfect for the last days of the season and the Easter holidays!
A Family Affair
We were lucky enough to get to speak to Ornan Weaver, one of the owners of Echo Hill Country Store, about the history of the business and what it’s been like for the family to own and operate over the years.
“My brother and I own the store,” Weaver said. “My dad started the business in the ’80s with bulk foods—flour, grain, etc. Then we became a crossover store, selling health foods, some organic and gluten-free products, and ethnic foods. We specialize in bulk, and we try to carry products that the big chains don’t offer.”
Before Luke Weaver, the father of Ornan and his brother Dana, founded the store, he had been operating a local stove shop for many years. However, opening Echo Hill was big on his mind. He wanted a business that would provide work for his growing family, and it’s grown to do just that! The store has been run with family at its center since 1981, with the third generation now involved in its daily operations. The business’s stated mission to “provide quality products, good customer service, and unique product sourcing, at cost-conscious pricing as much as possible,” is one that certainly has a place of its own in the landscape of Berks County.
Local Treasures
“We like to work with local people and support local producers as we can,” Weaver said. “It gives quality to the product that isn’t always there with commercial suppliers.”
Echo Hill has grown as Berks County has grown, and the store certainly reflects the wide array of things that the area has to offer, as well as what the local community seeks out. Some of the locally sourced products you can find here include raw milk, grass patch eggs, baking flour, gluten-free products like pastas, cereals, breads, and baking mixes, grains, beans and rices, rices, individual spices, spices for butchering, seasoning blends, vitamins, and more. Echo Hill also carries milk from multiple dairies in the area, including Wholesome Dairy Farms and Milk Barn, as well as frozen meat and wild-caught seafood from around the United States.
An Echo Hill Easter
Easter is a holiday that marks the beginning of springtime, and it’s as good an excuse as any to take your shopping to local hometown spots like Echo Hill Country Store for mouth-watering treats and a good dose of supporting small businesses!
Echo Hill carries plenty of products that will be perfect additions to your Easter table, including chocolate coating wafers, sprinkles and nonpareils, chocolate eggs, and even fastnachts, a classic Pennsylvania Dutch treat associated with Lent and Fat Tuesday, baked fresh in the store every day. If you’re looking for something for dinner as well as dessert, you’ll find soup and salad mixes as well as frozen fruits, vegetables, breads and meats to help take some of the cooking stress off your plate!
Whether you visit Echo Hill Country Store for its local dairy, gluten-free specialties, bulk offerings, or anything else it keeps in stock, you’re sure to enjoy shopping at this shop that has been such a family treasure and a local gem for the past forty years! Make sure to check out its website to learn more!