Papa's Partners!
These are our friends and our family and we are proud to present to you some of the legends that make what we do possible.
Boyers is an Adams County fixture and (as much as my dear friend David Lower laughs when I say it) they are Adams County Royalty.
Boyers is a pre-depression presence in our county and their 1500 acre spread is a tourist attraction for a multi-state area. I count them among my closet friends out here.
Patriarch Bill Lower is still going strong in his 90’s while his sons Dave & William, both in their early sixties, run the operation these days and have an affection for old fruit varieties almost impossible to find elsewhere.
They are right over the next ridge south of us, about 500 feet lower with a different soil type, so the flavors produced are distinct from ours up here.
Their specialties include blueberries, cherries sour and sweet, antique apples, plums, apricots and peaches. The Lowers are one of the few orchards growing pears locally yet, though they are returning these days. Long story for another time….a great resource for “Old School” Fruit”
There is no better orchardist in our area than Bob Black.
Bob was last year’s Fruit Grower Magazine’s Grower of the Year. He is very well connected to the research and development community, often getting test plots before anyone else. Bob and his dad, the legendary Harry Black) have created several varieties of apples and peaches, one of the best being the “Mountain Rose” white peach derived from Rutgers 1920’s “Raritan Rose”. “Mountain Rose” is sold exclusively by Papa’s market. Another, originally known as “Harry Black Gala” now trademarked as “Autumn Gala” is revolutionizing that standard variety as the new one picks a month later and is vastly superior. Bob has mastered the very difficult “Magness” pear, a cross of Seckel & Comise. This was created at University of Maryland, released 1961 and is perhaps the best out of hand pear variety…but devilishly hard to get to set fruit. We get half his crop each year, spectacular.
Anyway, we go back 40 years with the Black’s, they are family, really. Several years ago we lost 70% of our crop up here at home. Bob took me aside and said “Dave, I know you are trouble, I am going to keep you going this year.” And he did. Bob provides us with things nobody can get… and has forgotten more than I will ever know about apples, and I know quite a bit. Bob supplies us with specialty plums (many numbered, no name!) the best apricots in the area (when they escape early frost), cherries, apples, pears, plums, blackberries, black raspberries, Kiwi berries….
Eagle Road Produce
Eagle Road Produce is our partner farm based in Quarryville in Lancaster County, PA. Arron & Emma Stoltzfus have become very close friends and provide our organic produce through the season. They also provide our organic barnyard eggs. Starting in with rhubarb and asparagus in April, Aaron’s farm produces the full range of seasonal vegetables, greens including mustard, arugula, spinach, heirloom and slicing tomato, cucumber, corn, potatoes, squashes….on and on right. Additionally, Aaron’s sister (Amish is a family affair!) produces organic blueberry, red, black & gold raspberry, blackberries, and organic strawberries…
In the heart of Franklin Counties’ historic Mennonite community are our dear friends, the Lesher family, in business since 1918.
We have been doing business with the Lesher’s for 30 years now. They among the most respected egg producers o the east coast. Product freshness and consistent quality through the year have made them a restaurant favorite. Almost always the eggs are taken right off the packing line when we pick up. They are fed completely from the Lashers Farm, which is also well known for their amazing quality sunflower seeds.
Despite Papa’s being a relatively small client, the Lesher’s always give us the lowest possible price so we can deliver as close to fresh-that-day eggs at competitive prices.
Their flock is currently “Hyline” (a German bird ) for white and Bovans for brown. Currently we are in the mid 80’s for 30 dozen large, any quantity.
Tony Vitrano Co.
We get a lot of our “Far Off”, off season, and imported produce from the Tony Vitrano Co. in Jessup, MD.
Tony Vitrano’s grandfather founded the company in Baltimore in 1932, with his father, Justin Vitrano, joining the business in the early ’50s, followed by his brother, Norman a decade later. For Tony Vitrano, the produce business is all he’s ever known and is proud to be continuing the legacy and carry on the family name.
The business is always growing. According to Tony: “[The Baltimore/D.C.] area has always had a strong immigrant population, and today is no different. Each group of immigrants brings more diverse items that eventually find their way into mainstream produce departments. The number of items we carry today is probably three times greater than just 20 years ago.”