West Milford.Health and nutrition store Harvest Moon celebrated its first anniversary under new ownership on Saturday.
To celebrate the occasion, owners Fred and daughter Sierra Shafer offered special sales, food tastings, free samples, and refreshments at their Marshall Hill Road store.
They also raffled off three different gift baskets filled with hundreds of dollars worth of goodies.
”We’re very grateful for everybody’s support,” said Sierra Shafer. “Our former customers from Taste of Dawn and the Harvest Moon community have welcomed us.”
While the anniversary marked one year of business for the new owners, the Shafers have been in the natural food business for far longer than that.
Fred Shafer opened Taste of Dawn Natural Foods in Butler back in 1976, making this his 42nd year in the business.
When Harvest Moon’s original owners, John and Sally Malatros, decided to retire last April, the Shafers were happy to shift their operations to their home community.
The Shafers are longtime residents of West Milford.
“It’s been an open-armed welcoming,” said Fred Shafer. “There’s more of a sense of community here.”
While preserving the Harvest Moon legacy was their primary focus, the new owners did make plenty of changes and additions of their own.
For instance, on top of the supplements, herbs and organic foods already offered, they now provide more aroma therapy and holistic skin care products.
They also now offer select local foods, like grass-fed meat straight from the Hudson Valley, as well as additional niche supplements, like CBD oil.
“I was thrilled that people came all the way from Butler just to follow them here,” said employee, and local resident, Karen Dalton. “And I’m thrilled to be here. Such great energy.”
David Press, a Kinnelon resident, is among the Taste of Dawn customers who followed the Shafers up to Harvest Moon.
“He’s always working,” Press said of Fred Shafer. “He’s the hardest working man.”
To learn more about Harvest Moon, you can visit their website at www.harvestmoonnj.com or check them out on Facebook.