Twin Pond Farms Combines Personalized Touches and Family Atmosphere

For as long as they can remember brothers Chris and Gary DiGregorio have spent much of their time playing in the dirt. While most children eventually move on to jobs in the business world, the DiGregorio brothers have taken their love of the land to continuing what has become a proud Howell family tradition.

In addition to their older brother George, the three make up the third generation of family members running the Twin Pond Farm business with locations on Route 9 and Adelphia Rd.  The farm has come a long way since Chris and Gary first got involved as young children driving the tractor and helping their family grow their seasonal produce. 

Now there is not only a farm stand on Route 524 but a Garden Center and Country Market located right on Route 9. According to Gary the different facilities give the family a chance to provide something for the community no matter what time of year it is. "We're a seasonal business so every season there has to be something else for a draw," he said. "Summer is going to be your produce season, Spring is going to be your flowers, shrubs and trees and Christmas is wreaths, poinsettias and Christmas trees."

Chris said something that sets Twin Pond apart from its competition is that the things they sell are all locally grown. "We grow all our own produce so when the market comes in really well we have our own produce that we chop up and cook up and make all the foods there with fresh local produce and we sell the local produce so it all kind of rolls together."

With each day that they serve the Howell community, Chris said it helps knowing that he is not only representing the town, but also following in the footsteps their grandfather Giacinto laid the groundwork more than 50 years ago. "This is what our grandfather worked so hard to achieve and we just want to keep it going," he said. "We try not to let anything stop us from keeping it going which is what we want."

Not only does Twin Pond provide a wide variety of products, but the outside decorations can be a good barometer of what season it is. Gary said in the spring the flowers come out to tell people it is time to get over their cabin fever. Then in the fall the pumpkins come out for Halloween. But these days the Christmas trees fill the yard while an army of toy soldiers stands a vigilant watch over Route 9.   

With the quality products and the meticulous decorations put into the appearance of their business, the brothers agreed that it is also the people who work there and who come to shop there that make it special. "We have a great staff that helps us with everything and for the most part they come every year and work hard at it with us," he said. "It's like a family."

His brother added, "We see a lot of regulars. Some people come four or five times a week. They know us all by name, they know the ins and outs of the whole business because they're here so much."

With so much familiarity on both sides of the counter, Gary said, "It's part of being local in the town and being a family business. The customers relate to that and they like to see where everything is made from and where it comes from from the ground up."

Chris said the people at Twin Pond are also proud to represent the town of Howell in their day to day workings. "Everything we're doing is giving back to the town," he said. "We're growing the produce in the town and selling it to the people of the town. It's all being sold to the people in our town to make our town a nicer and better place."

The DiGregorio brothers also know that as each day goes by they become part of what Gary called a "dying breed," of farm stand owners, making what they do that much more special and important to them. "It's a tough, tough, tough ,tough, tough business," he said. "There's very limited time other than to work. Work unfortunately comes first because part of the business and being a farmer is no sleep. Mother Nature is the ruler of all. She can be very vicious or she can be very kind."

The market at Twin Pond is open from 7 a.m. until 6 p.m. giving customers a chance to enjoy the efforts of the DiGregorio family for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. They also offer a wide variety of catering options for bigger parties or events as an added layer to the personal touches they provide. 

When the day is done, the brothers say it all comes back to them enjoying what they do and having their family help and work with the other families of the town. "It's an enjoyable thing to go to work and make smiles on people's faces," Gary said. "You see a little kid leaving so happy that it makes your day that he got that perfect tree, or he got that perfect pumpkin or he's going to plant those beautiful flowers with mom and dad."

Added Chris, "We're very family oriented. We like to see families come in and have their family time together.

More information on Twin Pond Farms can be found  on their website at http://www.twinpondfarm.com or on their Facebook page.