Less than an hour’s drive from Tacoma, Eatonville is a throw-back to another era when every small town had a barber shop with red leather chairs, a movie theater and a drug store that doubled as a five-and-dime.
Views of Mount Rainier greet visitors driving south, but for those in the know, the star attraction is Mill Haus Cider Co., www.drinkmillhaus.com a sprawling indoor-outdoor taproom and restaurant that looks as if it was transported from a European alpine village.
Customers, warmed by flaming gas heaters and a wood-burning fire pit, relax in cozy outdoor nooks that fill land that stood vacant for 40 years. Inside the taproom are walls lined with historic photos and a glowing gas fireplace that invites kids and families to linger over board games.
A community gathering spot is what Eatonville owners Steve Schmidt, his son, Caleb, and their business partners Nick and Justin Baublits envisioned when they decided to expand the cider company they founded in 2017 and open the taproom in 2021.
Doing much of the construction themselves, they created an ever-expanding hub filled with rustic wooden tables and chairs, dominated by a hand-crafted waterwheel, harkening back to the days when sawmills powered the local economy.
Ciders (6.6-6.8 percent ABV) on tap include seasonal flavors such as winter pear, and standbys such as huckleberry cran-raspberry. A menu of gourmet bar snacks tempts with items such as brie-and-apple flatbread and street tacos filled with pork and chicken smoked on a back patio surrounded by 75,000 pounds of rocks, trucked in to create a network of pathways and streams.
The owners have added a bocce ball court and host live music several nights a week. Makers’ Markets, featuring local artists and crafts people, happen every second and fourth Sunday now through March, including Sunday, Feb. 23 from noon to 4 p.m.
If all goes well, Mill Haus plans to launch its next chapter this year with the opening of a distillery that will specialize in hand-crafted apple brandy.
For more information contact – www.drinkmillhaus.com
Mill Haus Cider – 303 Center St E, Eatonville, WA 98328 – (253) 487-7065
Hours: Sunday-Thursday, noon- 8 p.m.; Friday-Saturday, noon- 9 p.m.
By Carol Pucci