D'Arrigo Brothers is a

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

-based grower and seller of fresh

lettuce Lettuce (''Lactuca sativa'') is an annual plant of the family Asteraceae mostly grown as a leaf vegetable. The leaves are most often used raw in Green salad, green salads, although lettuce is also seen in other kinds of food, such as sandwiche ...

broccoli Broccoli (''Brassica oleracea'' var. ''italica'') is an edible green plant in the Brassicaceae, cabbage family (family Brassicaceae, genus ''Brassica'') whose large Pseudanthium, flowering head, plant stem, stalk and small associated leafy gre ...

broccoli rabe Rapini (broccoli rabe or raab) () is a green cruciferous vegetables, cruciferous vegetable, with the leaves, buds, and stems all being edible; the buds somewhat resemble broccoli. Rapini is known for its bitter taste, and is particularly associ ...

(rapini),

cauliflower Cauliflower is one of several vegetables cultivated from the species '' Brassica oleracea'' in the genus '' Brassica'', which is in the Brassicaceae (or mustard) family. Cauliflower usually grows with one main stem that carries a large, rou ...

and other

vegetables Vegetables are edible parts of plants that are consumed by humans or other animals as food. This original meaning is still commonly used, and is applied to plants collectively to refer to all edible plant matter, including flowers, fruits, ...

, as well as cactus pear. It is a family business that has been in the D'Arrigo brothers' families since its founding in 1923. It is composed of 3 D'Arrigo Brothers entities, respectively headquartered in

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, and

Spreckels, California Spreckels is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in the Salinas Valley of Monterey County, California, United States. Spreckels is located south of Salinas, at an elevation of . Its population was 692 at the 2020 ce ...

History

Brothers Andrea and Stefano D’Arrigo emigrated from Sicily to the United States in 1904 and 1911, respectively. They both obtained engineering degrees and served during World War I before starting their produce business. In 1923 the two brothers established their first business in Boston, bringing fresh produce from around the country to the Boston market. While on a trip to California in 1925, Stefano D’Arrigo noted the abundance of land perfect for growing produce near what is now

San Jose, California San Jose, officially the City of San José ( ; ), is a cultural, commercial, and political center within Silicon Valley and the San Francisco Bay Area. With a city population of 997,368 and a metropolitan area population of 1.95 million, it is ...

With a packet of broccoli seeds from Sicily, the brothers established a growing operation on the West Coast. That operation is now headquartered in Spreckels, California 50 miles south of San Jose in the

Salinas Valley The Salinas Valley (Spanish language, Spanish: ''Valle de Salinas'') is one of the major valleys and most productive Agriculture, agricultural regions in California. It is located west of the San Joaquin Valley and south of San Francisco Bay and ...

, sometimes called the Salad Bowl of the World. The brothers developed a refrigeration system to keep produce fresh during cross-country train trips, and became the first company to ship fresh fruits and vegetables from California to the

East Coast of the United States The East Coast of the United States, also known as the Eastern Seaboard, the Atlantic Coast, and the Atlantic Seaboard, is the region encompassing the coast, coastline where the Eastern United States meets the Atlantic Ocean; it has always pla ...

, year-round. This was unprecedented at the time, and initiated the modern fresh produce industry. The company trademarked "Andy Boy" in 1927 as the first-ever brand of fresh vegetables in the United States. After many years in Boston, the D’Arrigo brothers opened their New York operation in 1948 with Andrea's oldest son, Stephen, in charge. Like all of the other major

agribusiness Agribusiness is the industry, enterprises, and the field of study of value chains in agriculture and in the bio-economy, in which case it is also called bio-business or bio-enterprise. The primary goal of agribusiness is to maximize profit ...

es of the

, D'Arrigo Brothers have had their share of difficulties with labor shortages and strikes.

Operations

The Boston and New York operations serve as distribution centers for fresh produce. The California operation serves as both a growing operation with over 30,000 acres under cultivation, and a distribution center, with approximately 3,000 employees. In August 2006 D'Arrigo Brothers opened a new headquarters facility that would house cooling, shipping, business and administrative operations all under one roof. In 2011 D'Arrigo Brothers introduced four new, improved varieties of cactus pears— orange, red, purple and green — that are firmer, sweeter and juicier than the traditional variety. The climate of the

Santa Clara Valley The Santa Clara Valley (Spanish language, Spanish: ''Valle de Santa Clara'') is a geologic trough in Northern California that extends south–southeast from San Francisco to Hollister, California, Hollister. The longitudinal valley is bordered ...

and Salinas Valley, where they grow their cactus pear, is ideally suited for these unusual fruits. In December 2015, 'Andy Boy' D'Arrigo, the namesake of their premier brand, retired. In 2016, D'Arrigo Brothers partnered with

Driscoll's Driscoll's, Inc. is a California-based seller of fresh strawberries and other berries. It is a fourth-generation family business that has been in the Reiter and Driscoll families since the late 1800s. In 2017, it controlled roughly one-third of ...

berry growers to use the newly expanding D'Arrigo cooler facility for Driscoll's berries. In 2017 D’Arrigo Brothers initiated a 2.2 megawatt solar power system that allows them to lower utility bills by about $1 million annually. This has expanded in 2018 by an additional 1.1 megawatts, and in mid-2018 should increase to a total of 5.5 megawatts.

D'Arrigo Clinic

In July 2012 the Natividad Medical Center launched D’Arrigo Family Specialty Services to benefit a patient population that includes many farmworkers, based on a donation from the D'Arrigo Brothers.

External links

*D'Arrigo California Original "Andy Boy" *D'Arrigo Massachusetts *D'Arrigo New York

References

{{reflist 1923 establishments in Massachusetts Companies based in Monterey County, California