D’Arrigo New York renovating its facilities

As one of the most prominent produce players at the Hunts Point Produce Market in the Bronx, D’Arrigo New York relies on a rich history of more than seven decades to provide great service to its customers.

Located on Row C, evolving from four stalls in 1948 to 36 stalls today, the company operates approximately 112,000 square feet on the market and has an additional piece of property across the street from Hunts Point, and another facility at 1303 Randall Avenue, about a half mile away.

“We’ve been doing some renovations on both facilities that are right outside of the market,” said Gabriela D’Arrigo, vice president of marketing for the company. “We’ve been slowly working on that. The casual growth the company takes rather than drastic changes over night has worked for us for 75 years.”

In the early days of 2024, things at the company have been pretty normal.

“It’s been your standard January and February, business is a little slow, but that’s normal that time of year,” D’Arrigo said. “As we approach spring and transition from the southern growing region to the northern growing region and out west, the expectation is things will quickly pick up.”

This year, the company is looking to expand its banana business, adding a couple of ripening rooms to one of the newer facilities.

“The requests from our customer base, at least in the Northeast, have been growing,” D’Arrigo said. “That’s the game plan for now.”

The company will also look to continue updating the Hunts Point facility as much as possible.

“We’re still in negotiations with the city and the state on whether there will be a renovation or if there will be a brand-new facility built, so we’re a little in limbo,” D’Arrigo said. “We’re taking what steps we can outside of those negotiations to continue to grow the business.”

Because Hunts Point supplies close to 70 percent of produce to New York City, it’s vital to the food system of the Northeast, she said.

“The majority of fresh produce in the five boroughs, and even beyond in Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Maryland and New Jersey, comes out of Hunts Point,” D’Arrigo said. “Over 50 percent of individuals working at Hunts Point are from the Bronx, so it’s a huge part of the economy as well. That’s about 3,000 jobs related to the market.”

Hunts Point has seen some updates and changes in recent years, and while they continue, what has already occurred has been a big game changer.

“As far as the technology goes, it’s been leaps and bounds from where it was even five years ago,” D’Arrigo said. “We tend to follow the trends a little bit late, and I feel we’ve done a really good job catching up, and I feel a lot of that has to do with our younger generations coming in, making gradual changes that the generation above us maybe didn’t understand. That transition has had a huge impact on the business overall — everything from being more efficient in our warehousing to better inventory management.”

Over the last six months, D’Arrigo New York has brought in some new customers and seen business increase, and that will be pivotal in how the company moves forward.

“We’re gradually taking on more and more which will grow our business significantly,” D’Arrigo said. “Consistency is the key to success. You have to make sure you are providing the service they are looking for and do that regularly.”