Fruitland produce

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Fresh Fruit/Vegetables

Come Get Your Fresh Produce at Fruitland
- Article & photo by Ben Boehl -

With summer officially only a few days away, its time to look forward to all the great foods of the season: watermelon, corn, tomatoes, crabs and a whole bunch more. Where do you go for all these great foods? How about Fruitland Produce in Essex? Fruitland has all types of fresh fruit and vegetables every day. Owner Tony Walters says his produce is all local, and you wont find fresh produce in a grocery store. What makes us different from the rest is we give you more personalized service. We will help you take produce out to your car. We also cater to families that need to buy a large amount of food, he said. We give them that old time service. In the grocery stores, you dont know how long their stuff has been sitting around. Our products are always fresh. Right next to Fruitland is Crabland, which is also owned and operated by Walters. Fruitland has always sold crabs, but he wanted to open a clean facility where customers can sit and eat crabs. Crabland is the home of the Big Bushel. Crabland has been open for over 11 years and Walters thanks his customer base for helping Fruitland stay successful for over 40 years. We have loyal customers. Some of them have been with us for 40 years. Now we are getting children and grandchildren of our customers from 40 years ago, Walter explained. Fruitland started 45 years ago near Robert Hall in Middlesex. After outgrowing that building, Walters moved Fruitland to its current location of 106 Eastern Blvd. We decided we had to move. We outgrew that building, so we decided to take over the vacant gas station down here. Over 40 years later, we are still here, Walters said. When I started, you could get a soft crab for 15 and a bushel of crabs was only $8. Times have changes and Ive seen it all. Walters is the second-generation produce man. He is the son of Charlie Walters, who was known for his Cheap Charlies stands in Dundalk. I still have his wagon on display in Crabland. He used to drive his horse and wagon and sell fruit and vegetables on North Point Road when all the Sparrow Point workers came off work, he recalled. There would be a long line of traffic and he would go up and sell produce to them. Today Walters sons work with him and he hopes to keep the family tradition alive by passing the family business down to them. He remembers going to work with his father at a young age and has worked in the produce business his whole life. Its a business I know well and I dont know anything else.

 

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