Margarita Gallegos nominated her family’s business for this honor. She’ll tell you that’s exactly the right person to do it.
Sandoval’s Fruit Shack in Saint Joseph is the product of decades of work, sacrifice, and passed-down knowledge. The story starts with Margarita’s father, who came to Michigan in the 1970s as an immigrant and spent years working for the Nyes before eventually taking over the farm. Her brother Juan Luis Sandoval has since added Sandoval’s Fruit Shack to the operation — and has made it his mission to share not just the produce, but the story behind it.
Juan posts videos on social media year-round showing the community what it actually takes to run a fruit and vegetable farm: the planting, the watering, the harvesting, the hard days and the rewarding ones. Apple, cherry, pear, and peach trees. Fresh vegetables grown and sold directly to the community. A presence at local farmers markets, partnerships with neighboring farms, and donated produce to local churches and schools.
Working at Sandoval’s Fruit Shack means working with the family — because most of the family lives on the farm. Gallegos’s father, mother, brother, sister-in-law, and son are all part of the daily operation. Every day is a learn day, as Gallegos puts it. Employees leave with knowledge of growing cycles, cultivation techniques, and the kind of agricultural experience that doesn’t come from a textbook.
The business philosophy is simple and old-fashioned in the best way: work hard, be honest, stand behind the product, and listen when someone isn’t satisfied. Juan’s work ethic, Gallegos says, came directly from their father — a man who built something from nothing because he believed in the American dream and earned it.
At the end of the day, the family shares food, shares the work, and has each other. That, Gallegos says, is the whole point.
