MEDINA — Andrea Walton’s proposed new business is a work in progress, one that won’t materialize overnight.
Walton, a daughter of Sharon and the late Walter Hurd who recently graduated from Orleans County Economic Development’s Microenterprise Assistance Program, plans to create a family entertainment center on her family’s farm at 11412 Maple Ridge Road, where she grew up.
“There are a lot of pieces to this puzzle and I will add one piece at a time,” Walton said.
She is calling her proposed venture the Donkey’s Barnyard, and her plans include a miniature golf course along the bank of Oak Orchard Creek, which runs through the property. Then she wants to have gemstone mining for children, U-pick pumpkins, a corn maze, a petting zoo and a playground. One of the barns will become an ice cream and hot dog stand.
Walton, who works for a wholesale plumbing and heating contractor in Batavia, looked at developing such a site 12 years ago. She took an entrepreneurial class then, but the plan fell apart, she said.
“The idea has been back in my head for a long time,” she said.
She decided to take the Orleans County Microenterprise Assistance class for the networking opportunities and potential to work with other entrepreneurs.
Walton’s parents bought the farm in 1961. The land is rented out now, but Walton plans to repurpose part of it for her venture.
“I want this to be a place where families can have fun,” Walton said.
Her goal is to be able to start construction on the miniature golf course by next spring.
