Market Purchase

Friske Orchards purchases Elzinga's Farm Market
this past spring ...

Courtesy of: Fruit Growers News (Dec 2000)

For 15 years operators of Friske Orchards owned three acres on busy U.S. 31 near Atwood in northwest Michigan with the hopes of opening a farm market there someday.
   Richard Friske, who grows fruit two miles from U.S. 31, didn't quite open the market on that land by the highway.
    "We didn't feel the extra effort and expense and the hassle of transporting fruit was worth it if we had to compete with Elzinga's," said Friske, about Elzinga's Farm market north of their highway property.
   Word got out that Phyllis and John Elzinga were thinking about selling their place, so Friske negotiated with the Elzingas, closing the deal in June to buy their farm market along with the adjacent home and 30 acres.
    The farm market opened this summer as Friske Farm Market. The Elzingas continue to work mornings six days a week at the market this season and will also work through the end of next season.
    "It was a unique deal. We've been neighbors here two miles apart. It's never been an antagonistic relationship. We have a really friendly relationship. They're (Elzingas) real easy to work with," said Friske.
    Friske was a classmate of the Elzingas ' oldest daughter and said he feels the sale is the next best thing to keeping the market in the family. The Elzingas have two daughters, one in Grand Rapids, Mich. and one in Florida. The Elzingas sold their remaining acreage, approximately 170 acres, to a process cherry grower.
    Friske said the decision to purchase the market would not have been made without the commitment from his sister Judy Kehr who returned to the area from Bay City, Mich. to direct the retail arena and oversee Friske's Web site (www.friske.com).
    "She's there every day and just moved here by the first of June. I wouldn't contemplate buying Elzinga's if she wasn't going to be a part of it," Friske said. His three children and wife Wendy are also involved in the business.
    One of the first decisions Friske and his family members made was to make the market a year round business.
    The main market building had a flat roof, and Friske replaced it with a bam roof. He also insulated the building, added a heating and air conditioning system and built a large back porch for additional seating outdoors.
    The crafts area attached to the market will also continue to be run by the Elzingas for two seasons before the Friskes decide what to do with the area.
    "I'm sure it will be something similar. It's too early to tell," said Friske. "We had a wonderful grand opening in the middle of August and wonderful support from the community," Friske said.
    Friske's main goal for purchasing the market is to increase retail sales of their fruit. They grow 125 acres of apples, 50 acres of cherries, 15 acres of peaches, seven acres of strawberries and smaller quantities of other commodities.
    "It's just an important part of our overall marketing mix," he said.
    The farm market is just a portion of their sales as the tourist season in northwest Michigan is a short one. Friske said he is really involved in direct marketing of all their fruit to grocery stores, private labels and to different companies.
    Friske and his brother Neil purchased the farm from their parents in 1983. Neil left the farm seven years ago leaving Friske as the sole proprietor.
    The story of Friske Orchards started in Germany less than 50 years ago. Friske is proud of his parents, Richard and Olga, who left Germany in 1952 to come to northern Michigan.
    "They came with absolutely nothing," said Friske about his parents. who are still active in the market and orchards today. Richard and Olga were sponsored by a German couple in Alpena, Mich. who guaranteed their financial future. The Friskes lived on the couple's farm in Alpena for about a year before leaving for Racine, Wis. for job opportunities. They came back to northern Michigan and owned a small farm 30 miles north of their current location where Richard was a tool and die worker. They later opened a coal yard business in Boyne City, Mich. In 1962 they found their niche in growing fruit after buying their current property, half in Antrim County and half in Charlevoix County.
    "Mom and Dad help us all the time. Mom loves people and she has really done a lot to establish retail. Everybody loves her, she's real friendly and known by her thick German accent," Friske said. His father prefers the orchard and still trains the trees and helps with many things.
    Many of their apple trees are dwarf stock with Ida Red their number one current variety. They also grow a lot of McIntosh and Red and Golden Delicious.
    "Honeycrisp is our most significant new variety. We try to have a good selection," he said.  

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