Greetings All,

I hope this note finds you and your family well.

I would like to give an update on the upcoming fruit season and discuss how we are planning to operate this year due to COVID-19.

First of all, the fruit set looks good. All five varieties of lychee have set fruit. The mangoes look good as well. There were two blooms on the mango trees this year and the trees have a combination of large and small fruit on them. If we can only keep the storms away, we can keep more fruit on the trees.

More importantly, how are we going to sell this year?
We will be following the guidance from the Center for Disease Control (CDC) as well as all other governmental guidelines. We will also be implementing some of our own safeguards to keep everyone safe.
Hopefully, we can return to normal operations next year. Unfortunately, this year we are forced to operate in “non-ideal” conditions. We want to notify you up front, so you can be prepared for our operations when you arrive.

Unfortunately, this is not the year to bring the whole family to tour the orchard. I know after being confined to your homes, a visit to the orchard would be the perfect getaway. However, nobody will be allowed in the orchard. Hopefully we can post more videos online.

THIS YEAR

No one will be allowed into the orchard and you will not need to leave your car.

THERE WILL BE NO OPPORTUNITY FOR YOU TO HANDLE ANY OF THE FRUIT.

There will not be an opportunity to sample anything.

Your experience will be much better if you know before you arrive, what you would like.
You can download an order form from our website (NOT THERE YET), fill it out before you arrive and hand it to us when you arrive. We will then do our best to fulfill your order depending on supply.

There will be no handling of fruit by customers. This means you will not be able to “pick and choose” each piece of fruit like you have in the past.

This year we will be selling fruit in pre-packaged quantities that is simply ready for pick up.

For example;
We will be offering lychees in the following set quantities at a price of $6.00 per pound:
3 pounds for $18.00
5 pounds for $30.00
10 pounds for $60.00

So, If you would like 20 pounds, simply buy two of the ten pound bags.

Mangoes will be sold the same way. For the varieties we will have available, they will be in pre-determined quantities. Probably like 5 pound, 10 pound and 20 pound packages. Mangoes will be priced between $2.50 and $3.00 per pound

This is not the way we want to operate, however, this is the way we are going to have to operate this year.
We ask for your patience as we have never done this before and don’t know what to expect. If you are an impatient person, a super important person, or a toilet paper hoarder, you may be better off fruit shopping elsewhere. (believe it or not, I’ve already been yelled once for apparently not answering my phone.)

As usual, payments will still be in cash. Please do not be offended as we take your money while wearing gloves and then spray it with bleach or some other cancer causing agent. Please have the exact amount ready. This will help keep interactions to a minimum.

We are also exploring the idea of using ZELLE https://www.zellepay.com/ as a form of electronic payment. Check with your bank to see if they offer ZELLE options. I do not foresee us accepting any kind of credit card at this time.

Any questions, call 321-243-2997
(..if I don’t answer, leave a message, it that doesn’t work, send a text)

Regards, Nick

You can also follow us on Instagram. #nicksfruit
www.islandtropicalfruit.com

Regards,
Okie