Drinks, not pies, helped revamp this retro Camino farm in Apple Hill
Fall has arrived and for the capital region and the Sierra foothills, it means Apple Hill season is in full swing with endless pumpkin- and apple-flavored treats.
While wandering the orchards and picking up desserts are seasonal staples, chilling with a cup of coffee — or four — is a similarly relaxing way to take in the rolling hills. Grandpa’s Cellar, a farm and bake shop at 2360 Cable Road in Camino, places a special focus on that experience.
The Apple Hill mainstay started as a small shack selling jams and syrups in 1974, according to Jericho Kelsey, the farm’s current co-owner. Back then, the property had a small orchard of apple trees planted at least a generation prior, though it has since expanded to include 6½ acres of trees, Kelsey said.
Four years after launching, original owners Pat and Bill Schumer purchased a mail-order house kit out of a Sears catalog to expand their shack into a bakery and adjoining gift shop, according to Kelsey. Pies then became Grandpa’s Cellar’s main sell during the fall, as with many other area businesses.
“When we purchased it, there was well over 20 pies that they were making at one point,” Kelsey said. “So we went, ‘OK, we need to break this down.’”
Since 2020, Kelsey and his wife, Becka, have been running the longstanding farm and pie shop, maintaining the traditional syrups and jam that put Grandpa’s Cellar on the map more than 50 years ago. Although they scaled down the baking operation, Kelsey said he and his wife still create numerous from-scratch pies, turnovers and more using the farm’s original recipes.
In 2022, Becka Kelsey decided to spruce up the bakery’s menu with a new offering: Coffee.
“(Becka) decided to bring coffee flights into the bakery because we needed a new idea on the hill, and that was her bet,” Kelsey said. “We ran with the coffee flights, and those kind of put us back on the map.”
Her classic Grandpa’s cold brew flight — which comes with s’mores, caramel and mocha varieties, with a special birthday cake flavor this year for the Kelseys’ fifth anniversary at the farm — was an instant hit — and customers soon asked for more.
After hours of experimenting with countless flavor syrup combinations, the family developed a solid set of flights and rotating specialties. At the start of the season, the classic and fall flights are accompanied by a lemonade flight featuring blueberry-coconut, watermelon-mint, spicy peach-chamoy and apple cider.
Possibly the most exciting selling point for hill-goers looking for the perfect Instagram shot is the whipped cream topping on the drinks, piled high and topped with sauces and colorful sprinkles. The Kelseys began posting pictures of the drinks on the farm’s social media channels, and they quickly became inundated with customers.
“The first or second week after (Becka) posted the coffee flights, her phone started to beep and ring and buzz, and I’m talking all night long — 7 p.m. to the morning,” Kelsey said. “Last year ... we had to move the ovens, we had to move stuff around, just to open the front up for the drinks.” Grandpa’s Cellar now has more than 16,000 followers on Instagram and nearly 10,000 on Facebook, much of which Kelsey attributed to his wife’s efforts to engage the community with the picturesque drinks.
“It kind of just shows that, you know, there’s no coffee up this way and her (launching coffee flights) kind of brought a whole new crowd to us,” he said. “I keep saying it put us back on the map.”
Kelsey teased some upcoming flights visitors to the hill can expect throughout the next two months, such as an all-pink flight at the start of October in honor of breast cancer awareness, a “spooky”-themed flight as Halloween approaches and a limited-time hot chocolate flight in the weeks leading up to December. All of the drink flights cost $15 for four drinks.
Grandpa’s Cellar is open 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Monday, Thursday and Friday, and 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday through Dec. 1 this year.
What I’m Eating
Entering Bober Tea in Elk Grove feels like a dream come true for 6-year-old me — the elaborately decorated shop is bursting at the seams with bright pink carousel unicorns, disco balls and flowers, plus an upstairs “boba pool” ball pit and a menu full of sweet, colorful beverages.
The boba shop primarily focuses on its bubble teas, Vietnamese coffees and Barbie-pink aesthetic, but it is also one of the only places around the country where you can find a Korean-inspired sandwich from Philippines-based chain Momo Korean Egg Drop. The chain sells seven varieties of sandwiches, many named after cities in South Korea, like the Gwangju bacon sandwich ($11.90) and Seoul Spam sandwich ($11.90). All come with a standard base of creamy, fluffy scrambled eggs, cheddar cheese and “Momo sauce,” which tastes like umami-forward Kewpie mayonnaise, between slices of buttery, golden brioche milk bread. The sandwich options vary by protein, with choices including Spam, bacon, ham and spicy pork.
The benefit of picking up a sandwich at a boba shop is washing it down with a fresh specialty coffee or bubble tea drink, like the coconut cloud Vietnamese coffee ($6.60) that includes a light coconut-flavored cream cutting the coffee’s bitter flavors.
Momo Korean Egg Drop at Bober Tea
Address: 8848 Calvine Road, Suite 160, Elk Grove; 1164 Galleria Blvd., Roseville
Hours: 10 a.m.-9 p.m. daily
Phone: Elk Grove, 916-829-2321; Roseville, 916-594-7043
Websites: momoeggdropusa.com; boberteausa.com
Vegetarian options: Gangnam double cheese sandwich and slider
Noise level: Moderate
Outdoor seating: Available at Roseville location
Openings & Closings
• Regional taco chain Tequileros Taqueria opened a Fair Oaks restaurant Saturday in the former site of a Chando’s Tacos location, at 5323 Sunrise Blvd. In August, the chain announced it was opening the Fair Oaks outpost and new sites in Roseville — also at a former Chando’s Tacos, 943 Pleasant Grove Blvd. — in Davis, at 737 Russell Blvd., Suite 120, in the new Davis Collection, and in Elk Grove, at 9600 Bruceville Road, Suite 100.
• Peet’s Coffee and Esquire Grill, both in the Sacramento International Airport, shut down Tuesday as part of the airport’s dining refresh project. Replacing the Terminal B coffee chain will be a Wendy’s fast food eatery. Café Bernardo will be taking Esquire Grill’s Terminal B unit, according to the airport’s social media posts announcing the closures.
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