Fall River fruit company now open more than 100 years, thanks to 5 generations of one family
Very few businesses in Massachusetts can say they're still operating after a century. But, one family in Fall River is still doing the work that their great-great-grandfather began in 1924.
When Faris Nasiff came to Fall River from Lebanon, he saw so many people working in the local mills and factories, he realized they were going to need a lot of food. That's when the Nasiff Fruit Company was born.
Five generations in Nasiff Fruit Company
Jordan Nasiff is the fifth generation to run the company started by his great-great-grandfather. He's now a vice president and he has fond memories of starting out in the business by sorting fruit when he was a little boy.
"I'm sitting where my father sat, I'm sitting where his father sat and every day I come in and I think about that and I have a lot to live up to and I plan on doing that going forward as well," said Nasiff.
It's been fruitful, so to speak. They serve more than 500 clients, including local stores, restaurants and many schools. How have they been able to do it all of these years?
"Determination," said Nasiff. "That's definitely one thing that's been passed down throughout the generations is the determination to survive and to support our family."
You see where that determination comes from when you talk to Nasiff's 83-year-old grandmother, Marilyn. Everyone told her to shut the business down when her husband Fred died in 1995 at age 57.
"I said no, we're putting up that building and we're going to carry on," said Marilyn Nasiff. "I'll be here every day and I was."
Fruit for Fall River and beyond
They've supplied the fruit in Fall River through two world wars, the depression and COVID.
"People have to eat! And they want to have good food and produce is the number one food," said Marilyn Nasiff.
They've thrived since the pandemic, when Nasiff's aunt Melissa pivoted to sidewalk delivery and then opened Nasiff Marketplace in Mansfield. They refuse to sell to the big guy.
"Big companies, if you call them on a Saturday, and you need a delivery, you forgot to put in, they're not going to hop in their car and bring it over and miss their kids' soccer game but we would," said Melissa Nasiff-Almeida, the vice president of purchasing.
The Nasiff Fruit Company now has an app customers can use to request orders and Faris Nasiff wouldn't recognize it.
"He'd have no idea what's going on," said Nasiff.
As for why they haven't sold the company and cashed in on the success, Nasiff said it's not happening.
"The legacy. You know, 100 years is something that not a lot of businesses have been able to accomplish," said Nasiff.
