Though Black Friday is still two days away, the busiest shopping day of the year for pies and doughnuts arrives early at Delicious Orchards in Colts Neck. Wednesday marks the peak of the season for the popular market, where crowds started forming well before the scheduled 8 a.m. opening.
Many customers arrived as early as 6 a.m., eager to get in line. The cold did little to deter them, and the doors opened a bit ahead of schedule, at 7:30 a.m., to the delight of waiting shoppers.
“We were down the road and didn’t think we’d make it in,” said Lynn McGraw, who recently moved from Wisconsin. “But we were inside in just five minutes. They’ve got a great system here.”
Mike McDonald, whose family has owned Delicious Orchards for more than 50 years, said the key to their success is balancing tradition with efficiency. “We try to keep the traditions alive while moving forward,” he explained.
With more than 300 employees working around the clock, Delicious Orchards churns out massive quantities of holiday favorites. In the pie room, everything is handmade, and the staff can bake and prepare over 10,000 pies in a single day.
By the time the store closes on Wednesday, an estimated 10,000 pies, 11,000 doughnuts, and other seasonal treats will have been sold, making their way onto Thanksgiving tables across the Northeast.
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