A new market called Junior’s Produce is opening on Saturday, February 9 in the space formerly occupied by the old beloved Canino’s Produce at 2520 Airline in the Houston Farmers Market. According to a press release from building owner MLB Capital Partners, the new vendor’s offerings include “Texas produce and farm fresh goods from across the U.S. along with beans, nuts [including pecans], herbs, preserves, fresh-squeezed juices and an assortment of organic fruits and vegetables.”

Junior Saldaña owns the new produce company and has over 30 years of experience working for various food businesses. In one way or another, he’s been in the produce business since his first part-time job in a grocery store during high school. “I’ve held several positions ranging from produce buyer to inventory manager for retailers including Fiesta, H-E-B, Seekers, and Eatzi’s,” he said. “I handled all of the produce purchasing for Eatzi’s Houston location. I also spent the past 21 years working for Northside Banana Company, a wholesale produce company which operates out of the Houston Farmers Market.” Via press release, Saldaña calls his new endeavor “a dream come true.”

The debut of this new vendor is just one of the changes that MLB Capital Partners is facilitating. The Houston-based commercial real estate investment company, operated by Todd Mason, Jeff Lindenberger and Fred Baca, bought the Houston Farmers Market in May 2017 from The Farmers’ Marketing Association of Houston Inc., which owned and operated the market since its inception in 1942. While the company has no specifics to share at this time, MLB shared via press release it is going to develop “more diversified products, renovated facilities and community programming.”

Junior’s Produce’s hours are from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. For more information, call (713) 360-7295.

Update, 2/11/19, 3:36 p.m.:  Some readers has asked about what happened to a plan reported elsewhere to demolish the old Canino’s building and build a new market in its place. That is indeed still supposed to happen. “Nothing has changed,” said Todd Mason of MLB Capital Partners. “Once the project receives its permits from the City of Houston, the plan will still be to move Junior’s Produce to a new building and redevelop the site he currently occupies. This was the same plan in place when the occupying tenant was Canino’s Produce.”

Phaedra Cook

Phaedra Cook has written about Houston’s restaurant and bar scene since 2010. She was a regular contributor to My Table magazine (now closed) and was the lead restaurant critic for the Houston Press for two years, eventually being promoted to food editor. Cook founded Houston Food Finder in November 2016 and has been its editor and publisher ever since.