Sam’s grandson, Derek, grew up spending his summer vacations working in the store. Derek told me he has early memories of folding pie boxes and doing odd jobs around the market. Now the 26-year-old is taking a leadership role in the family business.Both Sam and Sally were children during World War II when they were forced from their homes and incarcerated at a prison camp at Tule Lake. Their experiences at Tule Lake marked their beginnings, Derek said.
When Sam and Sally were freed from Tule Lake, they were in high school and they went to work as farm laborers in the Central Valley. Eventually, they moved to Auburn and bought a tomato field from another farmer named Everett Gibson, who would become a mentor and business partner to the Ikedas. The fruit stand expanded quickly, thanks to Gibson’s clientele from the Bay Area and Sam’s green thumb.
“[Sam] didn’t call it farm-to-fork back then, but he said, ‘Let’s start a fruit stand where we sell directly to the customers,’” Derek said. “They woke up in the morning, picked the peaches at 5 a.m., then came back at 9 a.m. and started selling them right at the store.”“The farm is 1 mile away from our store in Auburn,” he said. “The interstate wasn’t built when they opened their first fruit stand. When the interstate came, it was like gasoline to a fire. We were already doing great.
100% agree! Love stopping there on the way up to Tahoe
It’s busy enough without this extra promotion 🤦🏻♂️