Richie Freukes and his fiancée, Lexie Meyer, in early May opened Richie’s Produce in the former Hen House restaurant building in Eureka.
Freukes, 27, and Meyer, 28, live in Festus. Freukes is a third-generation produce stand owner, growing up working at his parents’ stand in Arnold, called Orlando Family Produce.
His family operates stands in Festus, House Springs, Washington and Union.
Freukes said he always wanted to open a stand of his own. In 2023, he started selling fruits and vegetables roadside in south St. Louis County, eventually purchasing a tent and expanding operations.
The Eureka location, at 601 Stockell Drive, is perfect for selling produce, he said.
“We’ve always been outdoors,” Freukes said. “Especially having air conditioning (in the new location) is going to be totally different for us. It’s going to be awesome. It’s going to help with the life of the fruit.”
Meyer added that the Eureka location is ideal for reaching a different market than the other stands operated by Freukes’ family.
“I love the country, and I like the small-town feel, but it has a really big population in this area and the surrounding areas,” Meyer said. “There’s nothing like it close by. You have to drive 20 minutes to reach one of our counterparts.”
On May 13, the Eureka Planning and Zoning Commission approved the couple’s special permit application to display produce in a portion of the building’s parking lot. Freukes said he plans to build tables and add a sturdy tent to the parking lot later this month.
The produce stand is open 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily, Freukes said.
Family of fruit sellers
Orlando’s Produce began about 80 or 90 years ago when Freukes’ grandfather, Frank Orlando, began selling produce door to door out of his truck. Frank’s wife, Ruth, “took off with it,” Freukes said, and opened a permanent stand in Pevely. They eventually moved operations to Festus, where they have operated the longest. The stand, called Richard’s Produce, is at 631 N. Creek Drive off Veterans Boulevard.
Meyer added that Freukes’ great-grandfather, Giuseppe Orlando, immigrated to the St. Louis area from Sicily, Italy.
“I actually found on his death certificate it said he was a fruit merchant,” she said.
Freukes said he worked at his parents’ stand from seventh grade until after graduating from Festus High School in 2017.
Not to be outdone by her fiancé, Meyer also has ties to the produce business. Her uncle, Donny Leach, owns the Imperial Farmers Market stand in Imperial. She said she’d help her uncle and cousins at the stand on occasion, especially during the busy Strawberry Festival weekends in nearby Kimmswick.
“(Imperial Farmers Market) is pretty much the only fruit stand in the area that’s not his (Richie’s) family,” Meyer said. “So, it’s funny that we got together.”
Up until a few weeks ago, Meyer worked as an emergency room nurse at Mercy Hospital St. Louis. She graduated from Hillsboro High School in 2016.
What’s in store
The homegrown season in Missouri generally starts around the Fourth of July, Freukes said. Until then, Freukes sources most of his produce from California or local Amish communities.
Currently, the stand has Missouri Amish tomatoes, cucumbers and butterhead lettuce. They also have peaches, grapefruit, seedless oranges, giant kiwi and seedless grapes, among other produce.
Meyer said the best fruit currently at the stand is their Black Diamond and Cracker Jack watermelons.
“We burn out of that so quickly,” she said. “The sugar content is a lot higher in those – it’s like the Cadillacs of watermelon. They cut ruby red, and they’re really heavy for their size. We always help people pick them out, because you’ve got to listen; there’s an art to it.”
The couple sells frozen seafood and will soon be carrying local beef from a farm in Dittmer. Eventually, Meyer said the stand will sell cut fruit trays as well.