The donuts are back: Farmer & The Bell thriving at new location

April Lawrence, of Farmer & The Bell, grabs a tray of donuts at her business’s new location at the Parker House in Quechee, Vermont. (Gareth Henderson Photo)

If you go to the Parker House building in Quechee, Vermont, on Saturday or Sunday morning, you’ll see a long line of people filling the wrap-around porch, and they have one thing in common: They’re all hungry for donuts made by Farmer & The Bell. 

The popular donut business, owned and operated by April Lawrence and her partner Ben Pauly, got its start as a pop-up in Woodstock for five weekends last December.  

Now the business has a new home at the Parker House, where ownership has welcomed them with open arms and their donut operation keeps thriving. April 30 was their first day at the new location.

“We can’t be effusive enough about their kindness, and everybody there,” Lawrence said of the Parker House. “It’s such a great place.” 

And donut fans near and far are loving it, too. 

Matt Ashby recently moved to Quechee, and going to Farmer & The Bell is now part of his weekend. In one of his first times taking his dog to the nearby dog park, he remembers people dropping by carrying boxes of donuts. 

“Everybody came over with donuts saying, ‘Oh my God, these are the best donuts in the world’, and they are,” he said, while waiting in line for another box last Saturday. “I don’t know what kind of magic they’re working back there, but it’s effective.”

On the same morning, Shelby Donahue, of Connecticut, was visiting the area for Mother’s Day weekend and showed up with her family, after a friend tagged her on Instagram, recommending Farmer & The Bell.

“It’s a great Mother’s Day gift,” she said. 

David and Anna Pauly prepare some donuts for Farmer & The Bell on May 7. (Gareth Henderson Photo)

The idea for these donuts came about a couple years ago at the beginning of the pandemic. Lawrence and Pauly took a camping trip to Maine, and during those travels, they ended up tasting some French crullers nearby. That “life-changing donut experience” — as Lawrence called it — made the couple determined to make this art their own. 

“We said, ‘This is going to be our thing, we’re going to master this …. We need this donut in our life,’” she recalled. 

It was really a perfect match as far as ingredients: the crullers require about a half-egg per donut, and Lawrence has a farm with chickens.

And so, they spent six months perfecting the recipe, and trying out their budding creation and all its versions on family members and friends. Later on, Lawrence and Pauly’s young son asked for donuts for his birthday instead of a birthday cake. As if that wasn’t endorsement enough, multiple people at the party — who were wowed by the crullers — encouraged them to go into business. 

That they did. Thanks to Chy Tuckerman of Angkor Wat Restaurant in Woodstock, Farmer & The Bell was able to use the restaurant’s kitchen space last December. 

“For me, it was a perfect intersection between working with people, being creative, and working with food,” Lawrence said.  

Donuts on display at Farmer & The Bell in Quechee. (Gareth Henderson Photo)

The pop-up experience helped them figure out their process, she added. Customers pre-ordered their donuts online, and they stuck with that system during their five pop-up days there. In 2022, real estate agent and customer Meredith Christiansen connected Lawrence with Simon Pearce CEO Jay Benson, which led to a lease to use the Parker House kitchen. Right now, the system is “first come, first served,” and to accommodate the long line usually waiting outside, the business always has lots of donuts ready to go. They’re open from 8 a.m. to noon on Saturday and Sunday.

“We try to have 300 to 400 ready, and we’re still making them as we’re going,” Lawrence said. 

That’s no easy feat, either. Everything is measured in grams, and the measurements and timing are absolutely exact, down to the second.  

“If any part of it’s off, it’s all ruined,” Lawrence noted. 

But she says they’ve been able to make the entire process more efficient, and it’s become a true family business as well. Pauly’s parents, David and Anna, help out every weekend as the business keeps cranking out multiple flavors of donuts. Among the staples: sugar and spice, chocolate and coconut, and several berries & cream flavors (like raspberry and strawberry, for example). For a touch of springtime, this weekend, Farmer & The Bell will debut their viola and lemon donut — with a lovely viola flower on top. 

“We’re trying to do six (flavors) each week. Some of the popular ones we keep as standards, and we rotate others ones out,” Lawrence said. 

A popular one is brown butter-WhistlePig, made with local whiskey from WhistlePig — a business also located in the Parker House building. That’s one example of a big part of Farmer & The Bell: using ingredients grown or made right here. For instance, they use King Arthur Flour, butter from Cabot, and local eggs and milk. .

“We truly try to put as much local into it as we can,” Lawrence said. 

Running a business has its challenges, but for Farmer & The Bell, it’s about giving joy to others in the form of a delicious donut.

“It’s decadent, a donut is a treat,” Lawrence said. “You can’t have a bad day with a donut in your hand. … It’s a joyous experience, and I think that resonates with a lot of people.”

— Gareth Henderson

Farmer & The Bell is open from 8 a.m. to noon on Saturday and Sunday at the Parker House at 1792 Main Street in Quechee, Vermont (use the side porch entrance). For updates, check out @farmerandthebell on Instagram. The business can be reached by email at: farmerandthebellvt@gmail.com.

The first customers of the day step into the porch entrance for Farmer & The Bell at the Parker House in Quechee on May 7. (Gareth Henderson Photo)

Back to the land

This photo shows a plot shared by Deb Rice and Barbara Abraham at the Sustainable Woodstock community garden at Billings Farm. (Barbara Abraham Photo)

Growing your own food and bringing it into your kitchen is a tradition that goes back a long way in Vermont. 

In the past few months, there’s been a broadly renewed focus on those values, and community gardens have been a big part of it. I’ve been proud to see that first-hand, with my family and I having a garden plot in the Sustainable Woodstock community garden at King Farm. It’s one of two community gardens Sustainable Woodstock oversees, the other being at Billings Farm. I believe such sustainable local food sources are crucial, and they will be a key part of helping with food security on a regional level going forward. I’m grateful for all the tremendous attributes these gardens bring into the mix; they are, each one, a wonderful gift. 

We’ve found our community garden plot to be a tremendous educational experience. Not only is it instructive for me as a first-time gardener, but it’s also a wonderful asset to my 14-year-old daughter’s education. Science, history, math — these all tie into the gardening experience and offer unique ways to learn from it. I admit, I’m appreciating more than ever the different stages of gardening and how they link together to grow the lovely vegetables we’re now enjoying. From soil to seed to yield, it’s all so worth it. 

Another benefit is getting outside and getting some exercise amid nature’s splendor. As a journalist who has spent much of his working life typing in a chair (like I am as I write this), this is a good change for me. I’ve also enjoyed the family togetherness element of this effort, as we help tend the plot and keep track of its flourishing inhabitants. If one lesson stands out in my mind, it’s that squash and zucchini grow fast — really, really fast. 

My main takeaway is that I’m grateful for the overall experience, going back to the land using an important food source just a short distance from home. Wherever you live, chances are you have a local group nearby working on a sustainable food-source project of some kind, especially these days. Reach out to them, get involved, and you may find yourself growing local food, too. It’s a fulfilling journey, and an experience worth cultivating. 

— Gareth Henderson