Gateway Produce Owner Ken Knight said his customers still have a taste for fresh fruits and vegetables even if wallets are lighter these days.
He’s happy to help. Since opening the store in March 1994, it has offered shoppers a variety of food and drink at prices Knight said are cheaper than supermarkets.
A fluctuating staff of eight to 15 mostly full-time employees help run the 9,800-square-feet store, which carries Mexican, Russian and Romanian food products in addition to other staples.
When locally grown selections are in season, Knight goes directly to the farms, getting apples and red cherries from Hood River and The Dalles area, peaches, nectarines, apricots and plums from Yakima, and corn, strawberries, raspberries from several farms in the Vancouver/Woodland area.
“I buy from eight different wholesalers,” he said. “The chains buy from warehouses and the warehouses buy it from the same people I buy from.”
Knight said he doesn’t mind nearby competition because shoppers usually stop by anyway. In fact, after the nearby WinCo opened, business increased 10 to 20 percent.
Knight’s pursuit of high-quality produce runs deep. His grandfather and father both ran produce stands in Woodland, and his uncle owned two grocery stores there. Knight began his career at one of his uncle’s stores, working his way up to assistant manager, and later, produce worker.
“A guy called in sick and they asked me to fill in,” he said. “I picked things up easily and started liking it … I never looked back after that.”
Knight is planning to open a new fruit stand in Woodland in the coming weeks.
Despite a challenging winter that saw heavy snowfall and widespread economic woes, Knight said sales are staying close to last year’s. They dipped slightly until he introduced a new store section that features discontinued products and dented cans at a steep discount. Bargain hunters ate it up and sales shot up 20 percent.
Gateway Produce is at 2507 N.E. Andresen Road in Vancouver. Knight can be reached at 360-693-6258 or at www.gatewayproduceinc.com.
Collin Rickman can be contacted at 360-448-6009.
