Who's Who: Brian Thomas, of Rainbow Orchards

Brian Thomas, 33, trekked his way to the West Coast almost seven years ago. He has enjoyed selling blueberries and apples and pears at ever since. 

What is the name of the farm and where is it located?

The farm is called Rainbow Orchards in Camino, CA. They grow summertime blueberries and blackberries, but mostly pears, apples from a place called Apple Hill. 

How did you get involved in selling blueberries?

I came to California six or seven years ago. I was kind of stumbling around, wandering around, and my cousin was actually working for the farm. So she got me a job, and I’ve been here ever since, selling at farmers markets. It’s a third-generation family-owned farm, so they’re really good people to work for. 

You were just talking to a customer about how the weather has affected the crops.

We’ve had all sorts of odd frost, late frost, hail. The blueberries have actually been pretty good, but they’re a little bit of an earlier blossom. So it’s a very sensitive time — it’s when they’re most vulnerable to any kind of bad weather. It’s the peaches that suffered most.

What are the prices of the blueberries?

The pints are $6 and the quarts are $10. 

Do people ever tell you that the prices are too high?

Oh yeah, absolutely. You know, we can’t compete with and their prices. But our berries are local and family-run. Trader Joe's berries are from Argentina or wherever it is they get them from. So our prices are definitely higher. People understand, though. Everything is handpicked. They enjoy the quality; people will pay extra because they know they’re quality berries.

How’s business going today?

Good. I’ve already sold close to three of those big bins of blueberries. And I love it. You also get to talk with people all day and trade for all sorts of goodies with the vendors when the market’s over.