Living in California, we have no excuse to eat anything but fresh food. Surrounded by acres of rolling farmland, quality produce is ample and markets such as Tri-County Produce have spoiled us with access to the best of it all. During the past two decades, owner John Dixon has learned the ropes of running a market and building a community.
Raised in Santa Barbara, Dixon comes from a long line of farmers. First his grandfather, then his father grew corn in eastern Canada, which they sold for pennies at market. A move to Santa Barbara had Dixon working as a wholesale produce manager and buyer at several local stores. As a teen, he worked as a box boy, then a driver, then moved up to wholesale manager. One day his father proposed the two go into business together via Tri-County Produce.
Their 335 S. Milpas St. location was constructed in 1950 for Harry Bowman, a wholesale turned retail produce outlet. Dixon and his father entered a partnership and bought the business in 1985. Dixon estimates that for the first 15 years, he worked an average of 80-hour weeks.
“There was always something that needed to get done, so I worked every day to make it happen,” he said.
Today, he has 30 employees and has transitioned to focus on technology and strategy for the business.
Dixon credits their longstanding relationships — both with farmers and customers — as their secret to success. While his father emphasizes food quality, Dixon insists on providing excellent customer service — a winning combination.
Dixon knows he also must compete on price, ensuring Tri-County Produce is in line with other local markets. He says customers also come for the fresh lemonade, and carrot and orange juice, which are made daily on site.
Tri-County carries a variety of locally produced favorites from Santa Barbara Olive Co., Santa Barbara Pistachios, Santa Barbara Biscotti and Santa Barbara Salsa. Dixon names Santa Barbara Winery’s chardonnay as his top-selling wine, while coconut water is the single best-selling item overall.
In addition to operating Tri-County Produce with his father, Dixon has been highly involved within the Santa Barbara community for many years. In 1998, after becoming concerned of the growing issues in the East Beach/Lower Milpas area, he formed and chaired a community group called the East Beach Coalition. Since 1999, Dixon has served on the board of Casa Esperanza homeless center and the Milpas Action Task Force. He also has been an advocate for at-risk youth through work with the Police Activities League and was named Citizen of the Year by Santa Barbara Police Chief Cam Sanchez.
More recently, Dixon received the 2010 Local Heroes Award from the Santa Barbara Independent as well as the Spirit of Service Award from Rep. Lois Capps, D-Santa Barbara. He was also awarded a certificate of recognition from then-Assemblyman Pedro Nava, D-Santa Barbara, for his community involvement in the Milpas Community Association.
Recently, Dixon is promoting the “Where’s Your Bag?” campaign with the city of Santa Barbara in an effort to increase use of reusable bags and reduce the number of plastic and paper bags consumed by customers. As part of the program, Tri-County Produce donates five cents to local charities for every bag a customer brings in for reuse. To date, it has donated $4,200.
— Noozhawk contributor Jenn Kennedy can be reached at jennkennedy@noozhawk.com. Click here to see more of her work. Follow her on Twitter: @jennkennedy.