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Boston – More Than A Feeling

Beantown’s twin markets deliver the basics and more day in and day out
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Boston, sometimes called “The Olde Towne” is a modern marvel of skyscrapers and high-tech everything, including its two terminal markets—the New England Produce Center (NEPC) and the Boston Market Terminal (BMT). In this spotlight article, industry members on the markets talk trends to watch and roadblocks to overcome as they continue to play a central role in the city’s prominence.

From the famous Faneuil Hall marketplace to the NEPC in Chelsea and BMT in Everett, Bostonians enjoy access to a full range of fruits and vegetables, and the two markets work together to assure area businesses—retailers, restaurants, hospitals, and schools—have the fresh produce they need. The twin markets’ reach also extends far beyond the suburbs of Beantown and includes more than 8 million people located throughout Massachusetts, along the East Coast, into Canada and beyond.

Steven Piazza, president of Community-Suffolk, Inc., a longtime receiver and importer on the BMT, doesn’t really consider his fellow merchants on the NEPC as rivals. “There’s competition everywhere, and it’s dog-eat-dog, but at the end of the day—we’re still friendly. We’re all in this together to keep the terminal markets alive.”

Beantown Benefits
There are many advantages to working in and around Boston, but most produce suppliers agree one benefit trumps the rest: location, location, location. “The centrality of Boston is what I think has enabled the terminal markets to thrive,” comments Piazza, adding that Boston businesses can service all of the northern states and Canadian provinces. “We have the vacation states just north of us, where tourists visit the lakes in the summer and the ski areas in the winter,” he remarks. “That’s another reason Boston is an important hub; for grower-shippers to have representation in Boston to reach these Northeastern markets.”

Glenn Messinger, general manager and buyer for Baldor Boston, LLC in Chelsea, agrees the location can’t be beat. “There’s been a lot of growth in the foodservice business, particularly in Chelsea,” he says. “It’s a great location because we’re close to the produce center, all the major highways, the city, the airport. Plus, there’s a good workforce here.”

Boston businesses also benefit from well-established connections. “We’ve created relationships that are now close to 80 years in the making,” Piazza shares. “It’s a big comfort when everyone wants everyone to sell as much they can.”

Both markets are also continually making improvements and additions to better serve their customers. “We’re constantly renovating,” confirms Peter John Condakes, president of Peter Condakes Company, Inc., on the NEPC. “We’re looking at replacing all the water supply here since the water pipes have probably reached their lifespan. Once that’s done, they’ll do a complete redo of the pavement.”

Piazza points out that the BMT is a “safer, gentler, and kinder” facility than terminal markets in many other cities. “It’s well kept, well lit, and clean, and that makes customers comfortable.”

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Boston, sometimes called “The Olde Towne” is a modern marvel of skyscrapers and high-tech everything, including its two terminal markets—the New England Produce Center (NEPC) and the Boston Market Terminal (BMT). In this spotlight article, industry members on the markets talk trends to watch and roadblocks to overcome as they continue to play a central role in the city’s prominence.

From the famous Faneuil Hall marketplace to the NEPC in Chelsea and BMT in Everett, Bostonians enjoy access to a full range of fruits and vegetables, and the two markets work together to assure area businesses—retailers, restaurants, hospitals, and schools—have the fresh produce they need. The twin markets’ reach also extends far beyond the suburbs of Beantown and includes more than 8 million people located throughout Massachusetts, along the East Coast, into Canada and beyond.

Steven Piazza, president of Community-Suffolk, Inc., a longtime receiver and importer on the BMT, doesn’t really consider his fellow merchants on the NEPC as rivals. “There’s competition everywhere, and it’s dog-eat-dog, but at the end of the day—we’re still friendly. We’re all in this together to keep the terminal markets alive.”

Beantown Benefits
There are many advantages to working in and around Boston, but most produce suppliers agree one benefit trumps the rest: location, location, location. “The centrality of Boston is what I think has enabled the terminal markets to thrive,” comments Piazza, adding that Boston businesses can service all of the northern states and Canadian provinces. “We have the vacation states just north of us, where tourists visit the lakes in the summer and the ski areas in the winter,” he remarks. “That’s another reason Boston is an important hub; for grower-shippers to have representation in Boston to reach these Northeastern markets.”

Glenn Messinger, general manager and buyer for Baldor Boston, LLC in Chelsea, agrees the location can’t be beat. “There’s been a lot of growth in the foodservice business, particularly in Chelsea,” he says. “It’s a great location because we’re close to the produce center, all the major highways, the city, the airport. Plus, there’s a good workforce here.”

Boston businesses also benefit from well-established connections. “We’ve created relationships that are now close to 80 years in the making,” Piazza shares. “It’s a big comfort when everyone wants everyone to sell as much they can.”

Both markets are also continually making improvements and additions to better serve their customers. “We’re constantly renovating,” confirms Peter John Condakes, president of Peter Condakes Company, Inc., on the NEPC. “We’re looking at replacing all the water supply here since the water pipes have probably reached their lifespan. Once that’s done, they’ll do a complete redo of the pavement.”

Piazza points out that the BMT is a “safer, gentler, and kinder” facility than terminal markets in many other cities. “It’s well kept, well lit, and clean, and that makes customers comfortable.”

The BMT is also one of the few terminal markets with a “common room” where all tenants have sales desks and displays. “This room is located at the front of the building so buyers can come inside out of the weather and be super-efficient by seeing numerous companies in one small area,” he explains. Within this common room, there are displays of the product, and vendors can wheel out a pallet if customers want to take a closer look.

“If one customer is not familiar with where to get a certain commodity, we can point them in the right direction,” Piazza says. “The sense of community within the building shines in this setting. When people are working toward a common goal, things go more smoothly.”

The Latest Fads
Overall, vendors at the NEPC and the BMT say things have been “business as usual” for the past year. However, they have noticed a few interesting trends, particularly rising demand for greenhouse vegetables; the ongoing rage for locally grown produce; kale; and yes, avocado sales are still climbing.

Like shoppers across the nation, Boston consumers are constantly on the lookout for fresh fruits and vegetables grown close to home. “We’ve seen more and more demand for local product,” says Messinger. “That’s tough around here, because it’s only available a few months of the year—but people still want to know it’s local.”

Peter Condakes Company has been handling New England grown vegetables since its inception. “We’ve been selling locally grown for years,” observes Condakes. “Locally grown peppers, squash, tomatoes, green beans, zucchini, cucumbers, eggplants—when they come in, all of those products are very popular. We also have plenty of locally grown apples. That’s the biggest locally grown fruit item that we handle.” In addition, he says avocadoes remain an “extremely hot item” this year.

“I think everyone is getting more health-conscious,” says Piazza. “The item that’s really taken off is kale,” he says, noting sales have tripled. Indeed, the popular leafy green now appears on 400 percent more restaurant menus than five years ago, and has also provided a boost for other high-nutrient, healthy items hailed as ‘superfoods.’ Piazza says arugula, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, mixed greens, and baby greens are all climbing in demand too.

Greenhouse vegetables are also a top draw on the Boston markets. “We sell a fair amount of greenhouse vegetables,” says Dominic (Skip) Cavallaro, president of John Cerasuolo Company, Inc., on the NEPC. He says they import greenhouse vegetables from Mexico in the winter and from Canada in the summer. While the bulk of his greenhouse product is imported, Cavallaro says he did source a small amount from a Virginia greenhouse this year.

Going Green & Reducing Waste
Many Boston suppliers are ahead of the curve on ways to make their businesses sustainable. Peter Condakes Company overhauled its “power management about six or seven years ago, and it saved us quite a bit of money, probably 20 to 25 percent,” shares Condakes. There are also better waste protocols in place, including a designated “in-house waste management employee rather than an external outfit,” he explains, “so we handle it ourselves.”

Community-Suffolk’s Piazza finds maintaining “control over your waste disposal is huge. It’s just the right thing to do; it’s about being aware of what can be done other than filling up the dumpsters.” Another part of the reduce-reuse-recycle mantra includes a giant pile of woodchips, from a pallet grinder. “Whenever someone has a need for it, they come and take it. We also use it around here to help beautify and keep down weeds,” Condakes says.

The merchants also drastically reduce waste by setting aside any food that can’t be sent to foodbanks for a local pig farmer and embrace the ‘ugly produce’ initiative. “We’re really trying to stay on top of food waste, whether it’s bad product or scraps or fresh product that’s not beautiful—that’s been a company-wide initiative,” points out Baldor’s Messinger.

“We’re trying to work with farmers to get stuff they would just leave in the ground because it’s not perfect, and repurpose it,” Messinger explains. “It helps the local farmer because instead of leaving stuff in the ground, he’s getting money for it. And of course, it helps with the environment.”

For Cavallaro, cleaning and maintenance are important too. “We try to do a spring cleaning every year and clean all the equipment, the refrigeration units, steam everything down and make sure the trucks are working efficiently,” Callavaro says. “There are always little things that have to be fixed, new tires on trucks, and units to be worked on. You’ve got to keep everything running as efficiently as you possibly can.”

Wicked Challenges
Although the economy has shown significant improvement over the past year, vendors at the NEPC and BMT are still contending with plenty of obstacles. “Maintaining and trying to expand your customer base—that’s a big challenge,” asserts Condakes.

Richard Travers, a co-owner of Travers Fruit Company, Inc. at the NEPC, puts it this way: “The biggest challenge we have is just balancing supply and demand,” he says, “a challenge everyone in the produce industry faces. Getting the right quality and quantity of product to match demand—that’s always a challenge.”

But most merchants say transportation is their biggest roadblock. “Transportation is always a challenge, whether it’s rail or trucks,” Piazza remarks. “Rail is often unpredictable, and that can make things difficult.” Thanks to lower fuel prices, trucking costs have been more reasonable this year, but it doesn’t always translate to lower freight expenses. “We handle a lot of the bulk heavy products like carrots, onions, potatoes, celery, and broccoli, so to keep freight costs down is a challenge.”

So, Piazza says they get ‘creative’ by trying to mix lighter product, like salads, in with heavy loads to bring down the weight and cost. “We have to be smarter and more aware of cubic feet and weight and all the things that come into play.”

Cavallaro agrees trucking is always a trial. “Getting good trucks and communicating with them is difficult,” he says. “The federal government is putting a lot of heat on them as far as regulations. I know it’s hurting many of these guys, and it’s already very difficult to recruit drivers because it’s a tough, lonely job.”

An Expanding Future
Despite a few glitches and hurdles, the produce business is booming in Boston. “The economy is good, and business is growing,” Messinger enthuses.

Travers agrees: “The produce industry is strong,” he asserts. “The trend with consumers has been to eat more fresh fruit and vegetables, so I think it’s definitely a viable industry.”

“Unless Boston moves, the future looks good,” Piazza laughs. “It’s all about location, representation, integrity, trust, and relationships. We’ve got well-established, family-owned companies in Boston that are generations old, and they’re keeping up with the changes.”

There are also plans on the horizon for a casino to be constructed in Everett, which could boost business even more for the NEPC and BMT. At an estimated total cost of $2.1 billion, the 24-story casino and hotel complex, to be named Wynn Boston Harbor, is expected to open in spring 2019.

“I think there’s still plenty of growth in Boston,” Messinger adds. “There are new buildings and developments going up, and new restaurants coming in. So the future looks good for new and increased business.”

As is clear from this article, Boston’s bright future is more than a feeling.

Images: Ehrman Photographic/Shutterstock.com

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