Riviera Produce revamps facility, ramps up for local deal
Riviera Produce revamps facility, ramps up for local deal
ENGLEWOOD, NJ -- After nine months of hard work, Riviera Produce has started moving product into its newly revamped 10,000-square-foot warehouse that features "green" technology.
Ben Friedman, founder and president of Riviera Produce, based here just across the Hudson River from New York City, gave The Produce News a tour of the warehouse, which is part of the firm's 30,000-square-foot facility, which is third-party audited and approved and HACCP-certified, June 10, a day after it started utilizing the space.
Mr. Friedman showed The Produce News the newly revamped warehouse's doors that close automatically with motion sensors, lights that turn off after five minutes if no movement is detected and preset cooling units that power down alternately.
With business continuing to grow, Mr. Friedman is also planning to start construction of a 7,000-square-foot addition to the facility in July that he expects to be completed by the end of December.
The new space comes just in time for Riviera Produce because in addition to the full line of produce it currently offers, it recently launched its new "Sir Real" organic produce line, which it is currently sourcing directly from growers in the Northeast.
"We are currently packing 'Sir Real' mesclun greens and baby spinach and arugula from three local growers in New York state," said Mr. Friedman. "We are expanding to growers in New Jersey, Connecticut and Maine, and have a deal in Florida for the winter. We try to cut out the extras so we can have a lower price, higher quality and product that is two to three days fresher from field to table."
Mr. Friedman was proud of his relationships with local growers, noting that he is sourcing unusual items, such as heirloom tomatoes, from a grower in Pennsylvania as well as wild Italian baby arugula and sweet sucrine baby lettuce from Mountain Sweet Farms in Roscoe, NY.
"We are the only ones that we know of in the U.S. to have these items available," he said. "We are working with 30 local growers in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut with more coming on daily as the season progresses."
Mr. Friedman attributed his firm's ability to provide unusual and high-quality items as part of its "never-say-no-to-the-customer" attitude. "We have the desire and ability to forage from local growers for some of the great chefs and restaurants of New York City, including Jean-Georges restaurant, Bouley and Restaurant Daniel," he said.
Ben Friedman, founder and president of Riviera Produce, based here just across the Hudson River from New York City, gave The Produce News a tour of the warehouse, which is part of the firm's 30,000-square-foot facility, which is third-party audited and approved and HACCP-certified, June 10, a day after it started utilizing the space.
Mr. Friedman showed The Produce News the newly revamped warehouse's doors that close automatically with motion sensors, lights that turn off after five minutes if no movement is detected and preset cooling units that power down alternately.
With business continuing to grow, Mr. Friedman is also planning to start construction of a 7,000-square-foot addition to the facility in July that he expects to be completed by the end of December.
The new space comes just in time for Riviera Produce because in addition to the full line of produce it currently offers, it recently launched its new "Sir Real" organic produce line, which it is currently sourcing directly from growers in the Northeast.
"We are currently packing 'Sir Real' mesclun greens and baby spinach and arugula from three local growers in New York state," said Mr. Friedman. "We are expanding to growers in New Jersey, Connecticut and Maine, and have a deal in Florida for the winter. We try to cut out the extras so we can have a lower price, higher quality and product that is two to three days fresher from field to table."
Mr. Friedman was proud of his relationships with local growers, noting that he is sourcing unusual items, such as heirloom tomatoes, from a grower in Pennsylvania as well as wild Italian baby arugula and sweet sucrine baby lettuce from Mountain Sweet Farms in Roscoe, NY.
"We are the only ones that we know of in the U.S. to have these items available," he said. "We are working with 30 local growers in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut with more coming on daily as the season progresses."
Mr. Friedman attributed his firm's ability to provide unusual and high-quality items as part of its "never-say-no-to-the-customer" attitude. "We have the desire and ability to forage from local growers for some of the great chefs and restaurants of New York City, including Jean-Georges restaurant, Bouley and Restaurant Daniel," he said.
