J. Bonafede Co. traces Boston roots to mid-1900s
J. Bonafede Co. traces Boston roots to mid-1900s
J. Bonafede Co. Inc., located at the New England Produce Center in Chelsea, MA, was founded in 1912. The company began as a produce company at the market that was then located in downtown Boston. In 1966, officials in the city wanted to renovate the area, and gave businesses within a half-mile-square section orders to evacuate. Produce professionals came together and the New England Produce Center in Chelsea opened in 1968.
Today, J. Bonafede Co. is operated by Eugene Fabio, president, and his brother, Butch, who is treasurer.
Eugene and Butch’s uncle, John Bonafede, and his brother, Peter, took over the business from their father in the 1950s and 1960s. John Bonafede is retired today, but he comes into the office regularly to help out. The Fabio brothers joined the company in the 1970s.
John Bonafede told The Produce News that the company was the first wholesale distributor of tropical products in Boston.
Eugene Fabio, co-owner of J. Bonafede Co., at the New England Produce Center.“At one time, we carried every imaginable tropical fruit and vegetable item, but the business became so competitive over the years that we eased out of a lot of the more unusual items,” he said. “Today we handle a full line of the more popular items, like coconuts, mangos, avocados, pineapples, exotics and bananas.”
In the middle of the last century, ships came in every week from United Fruit Co. loaded with bananas for J. Bonafede Co., he said.
“Today our distribution range is all over New England, and we’re a major supplier to the Maritime Provinces of Canada,” said Bonafede. “Logistically it’s a win-win for businesses on both sides of the border. They ship potatoes, fish and other products to us, and they fill the trucks with fresh produce to go back. Boston is the last northern market, and so it is geographically valuable to these provinces.”
J. Bonafede Co.’s customers are wholesale distributors, chain retailers and independent grocers.
Bonafede said that in general volume sales have increased, but that is likely due to the overall population increase in the area.
“There’s a heavy major chainstore concentration today,” he noted. “They use the Boston markets when they run short of product. That’s a significant part of the market’s business today.
“Those chain buyers used to walk the market, but today it’s all done by email and phone,” he continued. “Small regional markets are gradually fading from sight, so only the major markets like Boston’s are left in major cities.”
Bonafede noted that his brother and partner, Peter, died in February of this year. The brothers ran the business together for around 50 years.
