It’s been a little over a year now since the city of Detroit emerged from its 16-month-long municipal bankruptcy case, which officially ended on Dec. 10, 2014 and was the largest bankruptcy case in U.S. history, and produce companies on the Detroit Produce Terminal Market are noticing positive changes.

“We see good things happening in the overall Detroit area,” said Jeff Abrash, president and owner of Andrew Bros. “Positive changes inside are progressing. I feel strongly confident about Detroit’s future.”The skyline of the city of Detroit. Photo courtesy of Wikipedia Commons.

As part of the city’s approved plan to get back on track, a two-year budget was put in place last year to eliminate a majority of Detroit’s $12 billion debt load at the time. A $1.7 billion spending budget was also put in place to help improve essential services, including investments in police, fire and sanitation departments, as well as fixes to city street lights and removal of blighted buildings, over the course of ten years.

The efforts of the city have certainly not gone unnoticed.

“We have a long way to go, yes, but I am seeing so many positive things going on — it’s all on the upswing,” said Michael Badalament, sales associate for R.A.M. Produce Distributors LLC.

“It took a long time to get into that bankruptcy, and it will take a long time to get out, but the moves I see have been very positive,” he added.

Many of the companies The Produce News spoke with mentioned the opening of several new restaurants in the Detroit area, which certainly impacts business for them as well.

“We are seeing more restaurants opening their doors in locations throughout the city, which creates new opportunities for startup companies to take root in Detroit,” said Joe A. LaGrasso, fleet manager and purchasing for LaGrasso Bros.

LaGrasso also noted that the city’s positive atmosphere has helped boost business for the company.

“Business has been improving in our market over the past few years,” he told The Produce News. “We are looking forward to matching the growth of the city as it develops and flourishes.”

And Dominic Russo, buyer and sales associate for Rocky Produce, agreed.

“There’s plenty of restaurants and wine and dine around town, which helps our business indirectly,” he said. “The retail business outside the city has been excellent — it’s a great combination of independent and chainstore business.”

Another contributing factor to the improved economy in Detroit is the resurgence of young people coming into the city, noted Badalament.

“We’re noticing a lot more young people coming into the city,” he said. “I’ve lived here a majority of my life and I haven’t seen this type of enthusiasm in a long time.”

So despite its struggles in the past, it seems safe to say that the city of Detroit is bouncing back — and that’s good news for all on the Detroit Produce Terminal Market.

“The town has had such a bad reputation for so long, that sometimes people think nothing good can happen here,” said Nate Stone, chief operating officer at Ben B. Schwartz. “Fortunately for Ben B., we can only see the good — that’s in terms of volume, overall sales, customer satisfaction and distribution.”