http://thefruitbowl.com/

San Joaquin - Index

San Joaquin - may08 - Index

209
sAN jOAquIN
PEOPLE l PLACEs l THINGs
Tree to Table
STOCKTOn’S FRUiT BOWL BRingS FReSH gOODS inTO LOCaL HOmeS
for the sixty-first year, ralph and denene
Lucchetti have rolled out the familiar bins of
juicy Bing cherries and deep green zucchini
that make the fruit Bowl farm market and
bake shop one of the most highly regarded
fruit stands in all of san Joaquin County.
Just drive along east Waterloo road in
stockton and you can smell the apple pie
baking or the freestone peaches ripening on
their trees behind the family owned business.
We hear you can get a fresh peach anytime
from now through september. More than
fifty-five varieties are grown on-site alongside
other fruits and vegetables—and what the
Lucchettis don’t grow, they bring in from
other local farmers.
named for the sample bowl of fruit offered
by “Ma” in the early days, the fruit Bowl
came about in 1947 almost by accident, when
ralph Lucchetti’s parents, frank and Ina,
were forced to rent a house when their own
burned down. The new property was covered
with peach trees, so they decided to sell the
fruits roadside. They made a fortune (by 1940s
standards) by drawing vacationers headed back
to the Bay area from the foothills.
from its humble beginnings, the fruit
Bowl has grown into a nearly year-round
business, with early pickings of asparagus sold
at the beginning of March, kicking off the
fruit Bowl’s season, which runs through late
december. visitors can also buy locally made
jams, jellies, and barbecue sauce; pick up a
homemade pie and ciabatta bread still warm
from the oven; and, as was Ina Lucchetti’s
dream, the fruit Bowl also has an ice cream
shop on-site.
during the summer, the family hosts benefit
dinners outside in their orchard for the
Italian Language school in stockton, founded
by Ina Lucchetti. —Jennifer Bonnett
iF you Go: The Fruit Bowl, 8767 e.
Waterloo Rd., Stockton, (209) 931-1196,
www.thefruitbowl.com
24 san joaquin magazine maY 15-JULY 1 2008
photo courtesy THe FRUiT BOWL