The Tony Vitrano Co. remains a big player on the Maryland Wholesale Market

The Tony Vitrano Co., which operates 11 units on the Maryland Wholesale Produce Market in Jessup, MD, has been a big player in the Baltimore region since 1932.

Tony Vitrano, president of the company and named for his grandfather who founded the company, said business in 2024 has been steady and he predicts things will pick up even more now that it’s back-to-school-season.

“Things are not super busy in the winter, it picks up in spring and early summer, and the fall is bigger,” he said. “We’re close to being a full-line distributor so we’ll have consistent supplies all year round. Whatever is in season, we will handle.”

This summer, Tony’s father, Justin Vitrano, who led the company for approximately 30 years, passed away. Known as “The Lettuce King” to many on the Baltimore produce scene, Vitrano was responsible for growing the company and helping it transition to what it is today.

In the 1970s, the Tony Vitrano Co. focused on serving as the Baltimore wholesaler for a wide range of products from California, Texas and Florida, particularly from the western regions. Over the years, it has evolved to more East Coast products, though western vegetables continue to account for a significant portion of its overall volume.

When the Baltimore Terminal Market moved to the Maryland Wholesale Produce Market in Jessup, MD in 1975, the company was one of its original vendors, and found great success.

Tony is building on that legacy and the company continues to thrive.

“Our area has always had a strong immigrant population, and today is no different,” Vitrano said. “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.”

He enjoys working at the market, and noted most of the neighboring companies get along really well, buying and selling to each other when needed, and working pretty well together.

There’s more delivery business and less walk-in then there was in past years, but that doesn’t impact how the team deals with its customers with top-notch service.

“We’re here every day and able to handle our customers and suppliers with whatever they need,” Vitrano said. “We have a lot of long-term relationships and work with pretty much anyone who deals with produce in the area, whether they are retailers, wholesalers, distributors, people who supply schools or restaurants…we supply everyone.”

While it still has a lot of customers in Baltimore, the company’s customers are all over the region, with Washington, D.C. representing a great deal of business as well.

“We, as well as the many other produce businesses in the area, serve much more than the Baltimore area,” Vitrano said, adding that customers come from the two metropolitan areas as well as parts of Virginia, West Virginia, Delaware and Pennsylvania.

“You experience all four seasons here and Baltimore and Washington are both big sports towns, and that’s always nice for business, too, and being on the East Coast is just a good location to be,” Vitrano said.