By all accounts, the first-ever Customer Appreciation Day at Miller’s Charm Farm in the Mahoning Valley was a huge success. They had to direct traffic and help park cars to accommodate the crowds that arrived.

“This was our first time,” farm co-owner Catherine Miller said. “We did not expect this many people; we were very surprised.”

The farm located at 137 St. Peters Road has been in the Miller family for approximately 200 years, according to Catherine. Randy and Catherine have been the current owners for the past 35 years.

As part of the Customer Appreciation Day, there were tours of the farm and the butcher shop, a petting zoo, pony rides, and food. They had tables and chairs set up in the barn’s hay loft for people to sit down and enjoy their meals.

“It’s good to get the kids out and learn a little bit about the farm, too,” Miller said. “ A lot of kids don’t know where much of the food they get comes from.”

They opened the store in 2013. In addition to selling their own beef products such as steaks, ground meat, and other beef items, they also sell items from other small businesses such as port products, dairy, eggs, milk, and Wos Wit.

“We try to support the local businesses,” Miller stated. “People are looking for farm grown; fresh, not too many handlers, and that’s what we provide in the store.”

The Millers decided to have the customer appreciation day after receiving a Pennsylvania grant for safety equipment.

“We wanted to show the community what we did with that grant,” she explained. “We are happy that everyone came out and enjoyed themselves. We look forward to doing this again next year.”