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Stacey Pack, project manager for Baltimore Public Markets. “Produce is very important to what we do at Lexington Market.”
RISE OF COMMERCIAL MARKET
As foot traffic at Washington’s Union Terminal Market steadily dwindled and consumers looked for prepared food they could pick up quickly, the produce hub for the greater metropolitan area moved a few miles away to Jessup, MD, located midway between Washington, DC, and Baltimore. The Mary- land Wholesale Produce Market is a hub receiving produce from local growers and from around the world. The facility opened its first building in 1976, consolidating a number of smaller, less modern markets. It added a second building in 1980. The market houses 27 wholesalers who fill all 101 units. Addi- tionally, four produce wholesalers operate out of a separate seafood market, which is under- going renovation.
“The Washington, DC/Baltimore metropolitan market is a vibrant economic community with a vast variety of retail and foodservice companies providing this area’s beautifully diverse population with an endless selection of culinary delights,” says Don Darnall, executive director of the Mary- land Food Center Authority (MFCA), which owns and operates the produce and seafood markets. Those foods span “everything from multitraditional cultural foods to a broad array of prepared foods fusing one culture with another, providing customers with access to one of the most diverse selections of fresh food in the world,” he says.
Giant Food, the area’s leading super- market chain, commands a 27 percent market share in Washington, DC, and 22 percent in Baltimore. In Washington, Safeway, Costco, Wegmans, Harris Teeter and Walmart add up to 49 percent of the metro area’s produce sales; in Baltimore, Safeway, Costco, Wegmans, Walmart, Weis Markets and Shoppers Food and Pharmacy, have a 41 percent market share.
Immigration over the past half-century has brought significant Asian and Hispanic populations to the greater Washington, DC and Baltimore metropolitan areas. A steady influx of people of Asian descent has created an independent restaurant market for some wholesalers. In Washington, DC blacks constitute 25 percent of the popula- tion; Hispanics 16 percent; with Asians and Pacific Islanders at 10 percent, according to the Census Bureau. For Baltimore, blacks are 29 percent with Hispanics and Asians at 5.6 percent.
One of the Harris Teeter stores in Baltimore features a wide array of produce.
Pacific Coast Produce, LLC, in Jessup, sells green beans, broccoli, mushrooms, carrots and bell peppers to Chinese restaurants and area grocery stores. “Selling to the Chinese restaurants is very competitive,” says Rick Ta, managing member and chief executive.
The variety of ethnic groups helps move produce, says Will Staples, director of sales and marketing for Lancaster Foods, Inc., based in Jessup. “Because of the diverse population, we have a lot of requests from retailers looking to expand their offerings in the Asian/ethnic produce category. Also, with the median income
being so high in the DC area, (about $82,000, according to datausa.io) we see a continuing push on organic value-added requests.”
Asian restaurants are flourishing. “Bad Saint, Thip Khao and a slew of other concept restaurants have put DC on the map in Asian food; you don’t have to go to the far suburbs for good Korean, Vietnamese or other South- east Asian cuisines,” says Kathy Hollinger, president and chief executive of the Restau- rant Association Metropolitan Washington. “Native and other local chefs are exploring the ingredients in exciting new ways.” pb
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