Friday, April 8, 2022
CapitalPress.com
15
Johnson Orchards: Thriving on hard work, community connections
enues. Droughts and heat
waves occasionally make
things interesting, but for the
most part, the business runs
smoothly year after year.
“Less volume, better-qual-
ity fruit — that’s become the
core of our business,” said
Eric, who uses an integrated
pest management approach to
his crops. “We’re very careful
about how we grow our prod-
By DAVE LEDER
For the Capital Press
Fortunately, he won’t
have to worry about that for
a while.
“Being part of a centu-
ry-old family farm means so
much to me that I can’t imag-
ine ever giving it up,” he said.
“I appreciate the people who
were here before me and gave
me such an amazing oppor-
tunity. Just thinking about it
brings a tear to my eye.”
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Jill and Eric Johnson
and lavender, plus desserts
from the Little Bake Shop,
which is adjacent to the fruit
warehouse.
“Everything we sell is
local,” Eric said. “That’s our
rule.”
The bakery, which opened
in 2011, uses locally grown
fruit — most of it from John-
son Orchards — to create
pies, tarts, cookies and other
delicacies for an enthusiastic
customer base.
“We sell the baked goods
almost as fast as we can
make them,” said Jill, who
partnered with her daugh-
ter, Adrienne Engelhart, on
the side venture for 10 years
before selling her share to
a longtime family friend in
2021.
The couple’s younger
daughter, Eryn Johnson,
helps out wherever she can,
working in the warehouse
and managing the business’
social media pages. Jill, 64,
handles the bookkeeping,
while Eric, 66, works in the
fi elds, doing everything from
driving tractors to spraying
crops.
“It’s hard work, but I love
it just as much now as when I
started working with my dad
in the 1980s,” Eric said. “As
long as I have my health, I
will be out here.”
Johnson Orchards has
downsized
considerably
since Eric’s great-grand-
father, Alfred, fi rst started
growing and selling apples in
the early 1900s.
He admits it’s easier to
manage only 20 acres versus
the 70-plus acres the fam-
ily oversaw decades ago,
when the business relied pri-
marily on wholesale rev-
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YAKIMA, Wash. — If
you measured Eric Johnson’s
wealth by his level of happi-
ness, he would be the richest
man in Central Washington.
In fact, the fourth-gen-
eration owner of Johnson
Orchards and his wife, Jill,
are so satisfi ed running their
118-year-old Yakima busi-
ness that they couldn’t ask
for anything more.
“It’s just a great lifestyle,
and I can’t think of anything
else I’d rather do,” said Eric,
who took over the company
from his father, Roy Johnson
Jr., in 1985. “I feel blessed to
be here.”
“It means so much to be
part of something that people
fi nd so special,” added Jill.
“Our customers are happy all
the time, and many of them
have become our friends. It
really does fi ll your cup.”
Every year, the Johnsons
look forward to welcom-
ing customers from around
the Northwest to their iconic
fruit warehouse, located a
few miles west of downtown.
The market, surrounded by
10 acres of orchards, features
cherries, peaches, nectarines,
apricots, plums and pluots
cultivated on site, and apples
and pears grown on an addi-
tional 10 acres nearby.
The family accents their
selection with an assortment
of local products, including
wine, cider, honey, candles
ucts, and that’s why we have
such loyal customers.”
After more than 40 years
maintaining his family’s ver-
dant orchards, Eric John-
son believes he has found
the sweet spot in life. And
while he doesn’t expect many
changes in the foreseeable
future, he’s not sure what will
happen to the business when
he eventually retires.