Company History

Front Row Produce’s Owner and President, Anthony (Tony) Pupillo got his start in the St. Louis produce industry at a very young age working for the family owned, Pupillo Fruit Company. Pupillo Fruit Company was founded in the early 1900’s by Tony’s grandfather who later passed it down generationally to Tony’s father, Dan Pupillo. Tony worked in the St. Louis produce industry his whole life before taking his industry knowledge and strong relationships out on his own to start Front Row Produce in 2004. Originally located on 9th street in the City of St. Louis just steps in front of the St. Louis Produce Terminal Market. Hince the name “Front Row” Produce. Tony, along with his son, Tony Jr. are excited to push these family values for years to come.

Since day one, Front Row Produce has focused on serving its retail, foodservice and wholesale customers with the freshest quality produce available, while providing a level of service that takes a back seat to none. As Front Row grew, it became obvious the business was outgrowing the current warehouse and would need to upgrade and expand to a larger, more modern warehouse. In 2014, Tony took a leap of faith and moved Front Row Produce from its 18,000 sq. ft. warehouse to a new 60,000 sq. ft. fully refrigerated facility in Overland, MO. Front Row installed fully climate-controlled repack room, dock space and state-of-the-art coolers with multiple temperature zones to maintain ideal product freshness. The new building also allowed Front Row to enhance its food safety program and maintain a higher standard of safe quality product for the end consumer.

The dedicated team of fresh produce experts at Front Row have spent the last 20+ years working hard to establish themselves as a leading supplier in the Midwest, building and maintaining very close personal and professional, grower direct relationships in all the growing regions. These relationships have allowed Front Row to offer their customers highly competitive pricing on the freshest produce possible all year-round. Through the belief of investing in a family of well-trained dedicated employees we can continue to adapt and grow with the everchanging produce industry well into the future.