Press
THE DETROIT NEWS
Pete and Frank's Fruit Ranch Freshens Appeal
September 24, 2004
By Maureen McDonald
EASTPOINTE - Pete and Frank's Fruit Ranch sells four different kinds of beans, 10 types of biscotti and a cooler full of deli meats. Chances are your cashier is one of five Peter Vitales.
There's Sicilian-born Peter Vitale Sr., 76, Peter Jr., 50, and three grandsons, ages 24, 18, and 17, all named Peter. In descending age order they call themselves Peter number 1, 2, 3 and so forth.
Together, they produce $7 million a year in sales of lettuce, tomatoes and Italian eggplant, among other produce, canned goods and deli offerings.
"For 50 years we've been buying the best produce and selling it to our customers," says Peter Vitale Sr., who grew up on a farm where he learned to harvest the best crop for sale.
Two of his sons now buy goods at dawn from Eastern Market and the Detroit Produce Terminal. "The fresher you buy it, the longer it lasts," Vitale says.
Pete and Frank's Fruit Ranch is undergoing a $500,000 remodeling to freshen its appeal and buy new equipment. "Our prime customers are Europeans, people who want real food when they sit down and have a meal," Vitale says.
The store buys produce from local farmers in Romeo and Vassar, hot dogs from Dearborn Sausage Co. and bread from Burkhardt Rye Bread Co. in Redford Township. Teams of employees pay constant attention to pruning and organizing the perishable stock.
Vitale and his first partner, Frank Orlandi, opened a store on the east side of Detroit in 1954 and moved it to Eastpointe in 1960, seeking a niche in fresh produce. In 1968 the store burned to the ground with $250,000 worth of perishables destroyed. Orlandi quit. Vitale's sons vowed to help their father preserve his name and their business. It reopened in 1969.
Over the years the store began adding coolers for a deli department, a full line of meats and imported cookies and festive wines. Customers told the owners they wanted one-stop shopping but Vitale drew the line at stocking toilet paper.
Today the Vitale family faces competition from the warehouse groceries, high-end fruit markets like Nino Salvaggio's and from shoppers who go direct to Eastern Market. Vitale tries to woo them back with low prices, offering fresh corn on the cob, four ears for 99 cents and large eggs for 99 cents.
"The produce is so much fresher here, and the selection is so large I come here at least once a week," says Kathie Collica of Roseville.
Vitale leans over a grocery cart as he leads a visitor through the store. He is battling stomach cancer and he expects to win. "I love my work, mingling with customers," he says, as he inspects a new shipment of Gala apples. "This is my life."
Maureen McDonald is a Metro Detroit free-lance writer.
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