Boyd Orchards
Boyd Orchards, the popular Versailles fruit orchard, farm stand and family entertainment center, has been sold to an Illinois-based operation.
Eckert’s, headquartered in Belleville, Illinois, told Business Lexington on Wednesday it has purchased the 60-acre Kentucky orchard. Terms of the sale were not disclosed.
“Over 100 years ago, my great-great-great grandfather, Alvin O. Eckert, opened our first roadside stand, selling locally grown produce to local residents,” Chris Eckert, president of Eckert’s Inc., said in a statement. “I can’t imagine how proud he would be to see what his family has done, in our seventh generation of growing this business and now expanding our operations to a beautiful area in Kentucky.”
The Boyd acquisition is Eckert’s first in the Commonwealth. In addition to its Belleville farm and center, Eckert’s operates farms in the Illinois towns of Millstadt and Grafton, as well as a seasonal farmers market in St. Louis, Missouri.
Boyd Orchards owners, Terry and Susie Boyd, did not immediately return messages seeking comment.
Coincidentally, the Boyds – who are fifth generation fruit farmers – trace their history to the same Southern Illinois region where Eckert’s now thrives.
Eckert’s Inc. officials said the two families have known one another since the 1970s and that the Boyds approached the Eckert family last year about a possible sale.