Pete Pappas & Sons partners with Fish family in joint venture for tomatoes
Pete Pappas & Sons partners with Fish family in joint venture for tomatoes
Pete Pappas & Sons Inc., a fourth-generation, family-owned-and-operated company based in Jessup, MD, has joined the Fish family of Tennessee to start Smoky Mountain Family Farms.
SMFF is the culmination of over 100 years of family business expertise between the Pappas and Fish families in the growing, packing and distribution of top-quality tomatoes. SMFF utilizes the rich Tennessee farmland of the Smoky Mountains to grow round, roma, grape, cherry and vine-ripened tomatoes, and will focus on high standards of product quality and business integrity with a forward-thinking business model.
“This business venture represents a unique opportunity for both the Pappas and Fish family businesses. I’m thrilled to vertically integrate my company with a family-run growing operation and we look forward to a long future of full-service tomato distribution from farm to fork,” Pete Pappas, chief executive officer of Pete Pappas & Sons, said in a press release.
“Everyone at Fish Farms is excited to be a part of this great merger with the Pappas family,” added Christine Fish Gilliam, general manager of SMFF. “We are confident that with our growing abilities and the Pappas marketing strategies that SMFF will become a leading entity of farm fresh produce.”
“The principals involved in Smoky Mountain Family Farms understand completely that first-class quality and customer service are key,” said Robert Tambone, sales manager at SMFF. “This new venture will further enhance a year-round footprint in supplying our quality minded customers 52 weeks a year utilizing the other growers with whom I am associated.”
The Fish and Pappas families have a long and humble history in the tomato industry. The Fish family began growing tomatoes with a mule and plow one-man operation. The Pappas family business began as a man selling produce out of a cart. These modest beginnings each blossomed into two booming businesses with a focus on family, quality and integrity. SMFF is the continuation of these ideals through a full-service, farm to fork, family-run tomato operation.
