Mixon Fruit Farms Could Get New Owners After 84 Years: Reports

BRADENTON, FL — After 84 years in the same family, the owners of Mixon Fruit Farms in Bradenton — a Manatee County icon — is considering selling the business, according to reports.

Owners Dean and Janet Mixon, addressing social media rumors about the farm being sold, told the Bradenton Herald that they have a prospective buyer for the family business, though no contract has been signed yet.

“We have dealt with so much, from NAFTA bringing in all the disease that has killed our citrus trees, COVID closing us down, staffing issues, the hurricane knocking off half the fruit, just to name a few,” Dean Mixon said. “Because of all the issues, we are having to take a serious look at offers. We don’t have a signed contract, at this time, however we are in the process of seeing what can be done on our land.”

They’ve long fielded offers to purchase the property, but have always turned them down – until now, Jean Mixon said, according to the Business Observer. “We get several offers every year from people that would like to buy the property and we never really gave it a second thought.”

If the sale goes through, nothing will change at the farm until at least 2024, reports said.

In April, Mixon sold 4.5 acres of property south of 26th Avenue East — bordered by 27th Street East on the west and the Manatee County Schools’ Matzke Complex to the east and south — according to the Bradenton Herald. The land will be the future home of a 7-Eleven gas station.

Janet Mixon told WWSB that part of the reason they decided to sell this portion of the far was because of a roundabout built nearby that made it difficult to operate their farm equipment.

Patch reached out to Mixon Fruit Farms for additional information.