 "Photo: Bradford Hunter Leonard")
Melissa Kenney has seen the trucks a couple of times. And although they stand out with their bright yellow logo and background, she has no idea what their reason is for being on campus.
"You never know around here," the junior history major said. "For all I know, they could deliver laundry."
Mathew Biondolillo has also spotted the trucks. In fact, the sophomore acting major sees the truck parked in front of one of the businesses on his way to class every morning around 9 a.m. as he walks down South Crouse Avenue or Marshall Street. It bears a Syracuse Banana Company logo over a yellow background, resembling something straight out of the '50s. Biondolillo isn't certain, but he thinks the company just delivers bananas.
"It's pretty self-explanatory," he said.
Syracuse University students like Biondolillo may have seen the Syracuse Banana Company trucks roaming across campus, but few have a clear idea about what the company actually does.
In some ways, the company affects students' lives more than they may think. Syracuse Banana Company, which started out uniquely as a "banana house" in 1966, is one of the biggest suppliers of fruits and vegetables in Central New York. It is SU's main source of produce, as well as a supply source for some Marshall Street eateries. The company also delivers produce to locations ranging from Albany to Buffalo.
Frank Inserra, a 75-year-old Liverpool resident, started the Syracuse company in 1966 after the company started by his grandfather lacked support in Utica. For years, the company supplied bananas to grocery stores like Wegmans, P&C Foods and Price Chopper, but as grocery stores started buying produce directly from farmers in the early '70s, the company was forced to diversify. Now it sells products ranging from pineapples to broccoli and tomatillos to Belgian endive.
Inserra said he made the right decision to come to Syracuse.
"It's beautiful to me," he said. His family settled in Liverpool, his kids went to Liverpool High School and they all did "OK." One of Inserra's sons, Steven Inserra, joined the company in the late '70s after graduating from Le Moyne College, and is now the company's chief executive officer.
Although Frank Inserra retired from the company at one point, he ended up going back to work. Inserra said he missed the company too much, and doesn't mind getting to work by 3 a.m. In fact, when he was retired, he would wake up at 2:30 or 3 a.m. out of habit.
Another employee, 54-year-old Harold Mahoney of Lakeland, also arrives at work by 3 a.m. every day, and has worked early hours since he joined the company 35 years ago. He started out as a truck driver, and now manages the company's 35,000 square foot warehouse. Although Mahoney jokes he is "still torturing (himself)," he continues to work the early hours that the business demands.
Mahoney said the company had only a couple of trucks and a few employees when he started. Today, the company has a fleet of 25 trucks and 50 employees.
Some of those trucks and employees deliver produce to SU and nearby businesses like Faegan's Cafe & Pub, Varsity Pizza, Jimmy John's Gourmet Sandwich, State University of New York Upstate Medical University, the University Sheraton and Chuck's Cafe, Steven Inserra said. The company started working with SU 20 years ago, and it sends two trucks to SU a day, six days a week.
Tim Maloney, SU's campus catering manager, said the company pretty much serves the whole campus. Suppliers are chosen based on bids, but Syracuse Banana Company is also chosen for its good customer service policies and consistency.
"Consistency is very important," Maloney said. "They seem to be able to do that."
In addition to being fair and consistent, the company is successful in many areas of New York state. It delivers products to locations ranging from Albany to Buffalo, such as St. John Fisher College in Rochester, Hamilton College and Outback Steakhouse, Carrabbas' Italian Grill and Bonefish Grill restaurants.
Furthermore, the company has a reputation for quality and service, Steven Inserra said. Potential clients often find out about the company through word-of-mouth recommendations. That is why when people advise Inserra to change the company's name, since the company doesn't just sell bananas anymore. Nonetheless, he tells them he will not.
"Chefs know who you are," he said.
Derek Mueller, a graduate composition and cultural rhetoric student, said he thinks the name is a smart name for a business, since it is memorable.
"(The trucks) stand out on the campus landscape," Mueller said.
The name also seems to play on SU's orange theme, serving as a kind of commentary on the university and the city, Mueller said. One of his Web log entries, which includes a picture he took of a Syracuse Banana Company truck, elaborates on that point.
"No, this isn't a one-fruit town, if you ever supposed it was," it reads.
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