My little brother worked here for one day. It wasn’t that he did anything wrong and got fired, it was that everyone who worked there were all attending a wedding on the same day and my brother and his friend served up the scoops. That was a different era, but the Strawberry cone that I was served was the same stuff as they had back then.
This land is steeped in history with a small handful of people tending the property since John Bruce first farmed here in 1770. In the 1930s, Chedco Farm was built and it’s this edifice that remains to this day. Barry O’Brien bought the property in 1986, and changed the name to Berlin Orchards. He closed the property in 2005 and died a few months later and the ice cream shoppe was reopened in 2006 by current owner Jennifer Cermak who rechristened the place Berlin Farms.
There is a large gourmet food store in a refurbished barn, and a restaurant with an entrance near the ice cream window. The farm is lush and sprawling, despite 100 acres being donated to a local school and some lots being sold off for development. The land that remains is used for raising and breeding endangered barnyard animals including horses, turkeys, rabbits, sheep, and ducks.
The ice cream window is just that, a single window. There’s a board with all of the flavors posted on it and a small dry-erase board for specials and upcoming events. The only indoor seating is in the restaurant which is a somewhat separate enterprise, but there are picnic tables and lawn chairs abound, in addition to all of the animal pens behind the parking lot.
The ice cream offered up here isn’t made on the premises, in fact, theirs comes from Richardson’s. Even knowing that it’s the same stuff I had just days ago in Roslindale, somehow it tastes better in this far more idyllic setting. This time i opted for a simple strawberry cone – my nephew recommended the flavor choice to me. The pink ice cream was lightly creamy with small pieces (no big chunks) of frozen strawberry in the mix. A nice simple strawberry for a cool early June day.
With the odd combination of ice cream and animals, Berlin Farms has found a way to fuse the two interests as a prime location for kids birthday parties. What they’ve got going on are the Pony and Barnyard Parties. I’m presuming that’s just what it seems since they have regular pony rides available on weekends from 1p-4p. For those even more inclined they’ve got a summer riding program. I wonder if the horses get to eat the leftover ice cream.
Cone – small $3.50 medium $4.50 large $5.50
Sundae – small $4.50 large $5.50 banana boats $5.95
Frappe $4.50 extra thick $5.25
Berlin Farms
200 Central St, Berlin, MA 01503
617 710-8810
Open April-November
Hours 11a-8p
The place has become an embarrassment, the animals are mistreated, the pony rides are TEN DOLLARS for a lap around the parking lot. The owner has really ran the place into the ground. Would NOT recommend to anyone.
I agree, this place is dirty…..the owner has ruined the farm…take down the wine sign…there is no wine…take down the store sign…there is no store…stop buying store bought food and selling it as your own. the animals are so neglected….the town should shut this place down……FLIES in my icecream…..