This Sprawling Amish-Owned Mecca Sells Thousands Of Wholesale Bulk Goods By The Pound

The horse-drawn buggy parks outside. Inside, someone is debating between two kinds of noodles.

That contrast pretty much sums up the place. This Indiana bulk-food mecca combines the old-fashioned atmosphere of Amish Country with an enormous selection of spices, flours, candies, cheeses, coffee, and pantry staples sold by the pound.

The building grew from a family business that began in a basement in 1970, but the shopping experience feels considerably larger now. Even the ceiling gets involved, with antique pedal cars and old farm toys displayed above the aisles.

The grocery store apparently has a sense of humor.

Aisles Stacked With Thousands of Bulk Goods

Few grocery trips involve this much scooping. Bags of nuts, beans, grains, sugars, flours, pasta, popcorn, and dried fruit fill row after row, each one priced by the pound rather than by the box.

The spice selection deserves its own paragraph. Jars and bags of cinnamon, paprika, dill, curry blends, and baking staples line the shelves, which means home cooks can buy a tablespoon of something unusual instead of a full container that sits in a cabinet for years.

Coffee beans, baking chips, and pancake mixes round out the pantry side of the store.

Practical tip for first-timers: grab a cart, not a basket. Bulk shopping has a snowball effect, and those little bags add up quickly once the popcorn and cashews start piling in.

Shoppers who bake a lot often treat the trip as a restocking mission, filling bags with flour and sugar at wholesale-style quantities. Others wander with no list at all, simply reading labels and discovering ingredients they had never thought to try.

One detail worth knowing before pulling into the lot at 1265 N State Road 5 in Shipshewana. The store takes cash or check only, so plan ahead and skip the card.

That old-fashioned policy fits the place perfectly, and honestly, it adds to the charm rather than taking away from it.

A Candy Section That Turns Adults Into Kids

Something happens to grown adults near the candy shelves. Voices get a little louder, and hands reach for scoops without much hesitation.

Chocolates in dozens of forms sit alongside gummy bears, sour rings, licorice, malted milk balls, taffy, and old-fashioned hard candies that many people remember from childhood jars at a grandparent’s house.

Some varieties come in bulk bins, others in packaged form, and the selection covers both nostalgic classics and newer novelties.

Chocolate-covered everything shows up too, from pretzels to raisins to peanuts.

Families traveling with kids should budget extra time here, because choosing takes a while. A smart approach involves grabbing several small bags rather than one big one, mixing a handful of five or six kinds instead of committing to a single flavor.

That way the car ride home becomes a taste test.

The candy aisle also works well for gift building. Small bags of specialty chocolates or seasonal treats travel nicely and cost far less than boxed candy from a specialty shop.

Sales numbers hint at how popular the sweet side has become, and the volume of goods moving through this store each year is genuinely eye-opening.

Anyone with a sweet tooth will understand the appeal within about thirty seconds of turning down the aisle.

More Than 75 Cheeses at the Deli Counter

Cheese lovers tend to linger at the deli, and for good reason. The counter carries over 75 varieties, a number that sounds exaggerated until the cases come into view.

Co-jack, muenster, swiss, cheddar, colby, pepper jack, and American all make appearances, along with smoked and flavored blends that rotate through the display. Blocks get cut to order, so shoppers can take home a small wedge for sampling or a large piece for a family gathering.

Freshly prepared cold cuts sit nearby, including ham, turkey, and roast beef sliced to whatever thickness a customer prefers.

Building a picnic here makes a lot of sense, especially with the flea market and surrounding countryside so close. A block of cheese, some sliced meat, and a loaf of bread from the bakery equals lunch without much planning.

Staff behind the counter know the inventory well and will happily point toward a mild option for picky eaters or something sharper for those who want a bit of bite.

Asking questions is encouraged, and the answers usually come with a friendly explanation.

A cooler in the car helps, particularly during warm months when a long drive follows the shopping trip. Cheese travels fine for a while, but nobody wants a soft, sweaty block sitting in the back seat for three hours.

Fresh Pies, Cookies and Bread From the In-House Bakery

The smell gives it away long before the bakery case comes into view. Fresh bread, pie crust, and sugar hang in the air near the front of the store.

Everything here gets made on site by an Amish bakery team, and the output is staggering. In 2024, the store sold more than 34,000 loaves of bread and over 428,000 cookies, which says plenty about how quickly the shelves empty.

Pies rotate with the seasons, so fruit fillings change depending on what is ripe and available.

Cookies come in generous sizes, and picking just one rarely works out. Chocolate chip, oatmeal, and frosted varieties tend to disappear fastest, especially on busy weekends when flea market traffic spills over.

Bread loaves make an easy souvenir, though they rarely survive the drive home intact.

Timing matters for bakery goods. Arriving earlier in the day gives the best shot at a full case, while late afternoon visitors sometimes find popular items already gone.

Weekends bring more shoppers, so a weekday morning offers a calmer browse and better selection.

Anyone planning to bring baked goods to a gathering should call ahead about larger orders. The bakery handles volume, and the numbers above prove it can keep up with just about any request thrown its way.

Homemade Noodles Made Right on the Premises

Over 262,000 pounds of noodles left this store in a single year. That figure alone explains why so many shoppers walk out with several bags tucked under an arm.

Homemade Amish-style noodles get produced right on the premises, and they carry a thickness and chew that boxed pasta simply cannot match. Egg-rich, sturdy, and slightly uneven in shape, they hold up beautifully in chicken and noodles, beef stews, and casseroles.

Different widths are available, from fine to broad, depending on the dish being planned.

Cooking them takes a bit longer than store-bought pasta, and the payoff shows up in texture. Simmering them in broth rather than plain water adds another layer of flavor, a trick plenty of Midwest cooks swear by.

Leftovers reheat well too.

Noodles also happen to be one of the most practical items to bring home from a trip through Amish Country. Dry, lightweight, and shelf-stable, they survive a long car ride without any fuss.

Stocking up on a few bags makes sense for anyone who does not live nearby.

Gift-wise, they land better than most souvenirs. A bag of handmade noodles paired with a jar of local jam feels thoughtful without being fussy, and the recipient actually uses it.

Local Honey, Jams and Seasonal Produce

Beyond the scoops and bins sits a quieter corner of the store, and it rewards a slow look. Jars of local honey, jams, jellies, apple butter, and salsa line the shelves in colors ranging from deep purple to golden amber.

Produce shows up seasonally, which means the offerings shift through the year. Peaches arrive in summer, apples take over come fall, and other fruits and vegetables rotate through depending on what northern Indiana farms are harvesting.

Shopping this section teaches a bit about the local growing calendar without anyone giving a lecture.

Honey deserves special attention. Locally produced varieties taste noticeably different from mass-market versions, and the flavor changes based on which flowers the bees worked that season.

Small jars make excellent gifts.

Salsa and jam shelves offer a fun gamble for adventurous eaters. Trying an unfamiliar flavor combination costs very little, and the odds of finding a new favorite are surprisingly good.

Bringing a sturdy tote helps here, since glass jars and paper bags do not always cooperate. A small box in the trunk keeps everything upright on the drive.

Combining produce, honey, and bakery items turns a simple shopping stop into a genuine haul, and the variety keeps the trip interesting from start to finish.

A Family Landmark With a Big New Chapter Ahead

Back in 1970, this whole operation lived in the Chupp family basement. Ervin, known as Butch, along with Sarah, formally launched E&S Sales in 1986, and the second generation of the family now runs the show.

Growth came slowly and steadily, one expansion at a time, until the store became a genuine landmark in Shipshewana’s Amish community. Locals shop here for weekly staples.

Visitors come from other states specifically to fill a cart.

Antique pedal cars and vintage farm toys perched above the shelves hint at the store’s long history and give the place a personality no chain grocery could copy.

Bigger things are coming. In 2025 the family broke ground on a new 128,000-square-foot building north of the current location, with plans for expanded bakery, produce, and deli areas plus the return of a sandwich counter.

Anyone visiting now gets to see the original before the change.

Pairing the stop with nearby attractions makes for a full day. The Shipshewana Flea Market sits just north, and Yoder’s Department Store rounds out the route nicely.

Come hungry, bring cash, and leave room in the trunk. Those three pieces of advice cover just about everything a first-time visitor needs to know before heading out.