Brad and Lea Barker of Lincoln bought the Front Porch Vineyards near Crab Orchard in 2021. Lea, a home builder/realtor, said, “This was our empty-nester thing.”
A vineyard had already been established, though the previous owners were hobbyists and kept their wines for personal use. The property already had a big main house and two separate air b-n-b rental cottages. One cottage has a bedroom separate from the kitchen/living area and the other, the Corn Crib Cottage, has an efficiency, all-one-room layout in a converted, cement block corn crib that is about 100 years old and has a balcony overlooking a lake.
At first, the Barkers rented out the main house as well as the two cottages, but last year, they decided to move onto the property permanently and stopped renting out the house so they could move in earlier this spring. “We’re loving it!” Lea said.
