Fruitland in Seekonk a True Local Tradition

Dave Foster of Quality Fruitland in Seekonk said he is the fourth generation of his family to run the shop for more than 56 years.

“My great grandfather and grandfather opened it in 1957,” he said.

Foster said the main difference between his shop and a chain market would have to be the local connections. He said they buy as much as they can locally, as the seasons allow.

“We were doing the local thing before it was cool,” he said.

Foster said, though the landscape of Seekonk has changed a lot over the years since the shop opened, the farmers and local growers they deal with have only changed in first names.

“Basically, they’re the farmers my grandfather dealt with,” he said. “They’re the same farms. Through the generations the names change, but the farms stay the same. We’re dealing with the same people generation to generation.”

Foster said the shop tries to keep things local as best they can, but it can get tricky in the off seasons for many different fruits and vegetables.

“You just go to the farm, see what they have and you do the best that you can,” he said.

He said he and his father pick everything out themselves, instead of just ordering crates from a wholesaler; they try to go a bit further.

“Everything in the store is handpicked by my father or myself,” he said. “This time of year for example, we get oranges from California.”

Foster said originally he wasn’t interested in the shop when he was growing up, but found his calling after college.

“Turns out, I love it,” he said. “I love the challenge of the way that things change with the seasons and weather, it’s just so volatile.”

Foster said in 2012 they opened a full florist in the shop, and florist Emily Stock said she loves the location.

Stock said she has worked in the florist business for about eight years, and she thoroughly enjoys the creative aspect of the job.

“You get all of those beautiful things with lots of colors and textures,” she said. “You just look at something and toss it together and wow yourself when its’ all done.”

Stock said at the moment, winter does not allow much in the way of local flowers, but in the spring the shop will start buying from planters in Rehobeth, Tiverton and other places they find.