PLAZA PRODUCE

Food and Beverage > Fruit and Vegetables

The Plaza Produce adventure began in 1978. At that time, John Edwards had become interested in the produce business, even though he had never been in it. He had noticed how busy produce stands like 'The Big Prune' in Duarte and the old 'Irvine Ranch Produce Market' were, and thought, "Hmmmm... There's nothing like that in Glendora. What's stopping me from giving it a try?"

John opened up a 'no frills' produce stand that happened to have a roof and opened up shop. The store was conveniently located right next to 'Mrs. Simmons Bakery' and a door away from the old 'Village Meats Market'. John's youngest son, Chip was appointed boxboy/stockboy and John took over the clerk/produce buyer/sign maker duties. Business, although not exactly booming, was good enough to keep on going.

John's oldest son, Clay stopped by one Saturday morning to help out. He liked the feel of the store and being around the fresh produce, plus through another job, he had become familiar with the Los Angeles Wholesale Produce Market and its operation. One thing led to another and Clay quit his job. He decided to invest all of his time and money into Plaza Produce. Business improved slightly and they decided to go into the wholesale produce business, delivering fresh produce to local restaurants. John, Clay, and Chip struggled along for a while, but the classic family business problems began and not before long, everyone was looking for a new direction.

Clay bought out his brother and traded his half of another business to his Dad for Plaza Produce. The only problem now was that Clay could not do everything by himself and he was out of money. At this point, after a couple of beers, Clay talked his pal John Dixon into becoming his partner and investing in Plaza Produce. John and Clay decided to throw everything in the store out, remodel, and start fresh.

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