FOOD & FaRMS LISTING

You can’t know Benjamin Twigg until you meet Leisa Eckerle Hankins, a 5th generation fruit farmer from Leelanau County. In 2019 when she was looking for a way to reinvest her resources and time, the opportunity to purchase the store was presented. In January 2020, she took ownership, not knowing that her dad, a fruit farmer, had unknowingly invested in Benjamin Twiggs over 57 years ago. Life has come full circle.

The Eckerle family owns over 257 acres in Suttons Bay, Michigan, with over six farms within Leelanau County adding another 140 acres to the legacy. There are over 20,000 trees, farming primarily cherries, peaches, and apples (in that order). The quality of fruit is based on how trees are cared for throughout the year, which is why her parents, husband, and children work the farm year-round. When they say, “Our farm, to your table,” they mean it.