You’ve heard it before—when it comes to size, just about everything is bigger in Texas.
As a big, bustling city full of consumers eager to get their five servings a day and a major market for millions of pounds of fresh produce from Mexico, you might think Houston is home to multiple thriving terminal markets. Given the metropolitan area’s reach and high population, it could support at least two markets, like Boston or Detroit, where each city has two wholesale markets to serve the needs of their respective regions.
But there is only one official terminal market, the Houston Produce Center, on the aptly named Produce Row, to serve the expansive area. Set on 56 acres just south of downtown, the Houston Produce Center leases warehouse space to various wholesalers. In recent years, it has upgraded equipment and modernized operations—though some suppliers want more and believe the city and county could do more to support the fresh produce pipeline.
“The problem is the disconnect between the real cost of doing business now versus the prices consumers want to pay,” explains Jorge Vazquez, president of Latin Specialties, LLC in Houston, which imports a wide range of produce from Mexico, and Central and South America. “Produce houses need and want new facilities, but they’re unwilling to pay the higher rent or real estate prices.”
Further, he notes,“the state of terminal markets in Houston is dismal; there’s a huge need for state-of-the-art produce facilities.”
Real estate plays a role in the other venue in the vicinity for procuring fresh fruits and vegetables, the Houston Farmer’s Market, better known as Canino’s Market after its biggest tenant, Canino Produce Company, Inc.
The 18-acre mixed use property on Airline Drive has been owned and operated by the Farmer’s Marketing Association of Houston since it first opened in 1942. While it’s a busy place with storefronts, bakeries, and stall upon stall of fresh produce, early last year the property was sold to a local commercial developer and will be undergoing major changes.
In what’s being dubbed a three-year $10 million project, the new owner plans to renovate and transform the property into a spiffed-up version of itself as a
‘retail destination,’ while preserving some of its original ambience. Although work has yet to begin, some think the cost of renovation might prove challenging and will end up limiting fresh produce availability in favor of other retail pursuits.
