Hale Groves: A History of Excellence

The Hale Groves story began like so many American traditions, with the dream of a single person. In 1939, Steve Hale, Jr. visited Vero Beach, Florida while on his spring break from Georgia Tech. During his trip, Hale met a man that would change his life forever. This man explained to Hale that he had moved to Florida due to poor health, and to make a living he started a mail-order fruit shipping business.

Until this time, Hale had never tasted grove-fresh citrus fruit. After sampling the delicious and juicy just-picked oranges and grapefruit in the man’s packing house, Hale was amazed at the incredible difference in taste from citrus fruit back home. He then learned that Vero Beach was the place to be if you were in the citrus-fruit business, right in the center of the citrus belt–the Indian River region.

A Citrus Dream

Steve Hale was inspired by the discovery of the citrus business in Florida, thinking that he could expand on what he had learned to create a dynamic citrus company, which would deliver the best of grove-fresh fruit to outlying areas. A dream was born.

War Interferes

Hale graduated in 1940 with a degree in Mechanical Engineering, but war was on its way. He volunteered for active duty in the Navy. His duty ended in 1946, after which he and his wife, Polly, took their two children to Vero Beach to live and start their produce business.

The Beginning of Hale Groves

The Hales started out small like most family businesses, with a roadside fruit stand on U.S. Highway #1. They based their business out of their home, and packed citrus fruit in their backyard shed. They started building a mailing list with people they knew and continued to find new customers at the fruit stand.

Grove-Fresh Flavor

Steve and Polly Hale offered fresh-squeezed orange juice at their stand, squeezed from grove-fresh fruit. The flavor was so good that customers lined up to buy baskets of fruit to take home for themselves and ship to friends back home.

Hale’s job was picking the citrus fruit, packing the fruit carefully in the shed, and then traveling to the Railway Express Station to ship it. Polly was the office manager, full-time mom, all-around chief clerk and order taker.

The Hale Business Difference

The Hales built caring and freshness into their business right from the start. Their obvious care with choosing, packing and shipping their tasty hand-picked oranges and grapefruits has stayed with the company through its growth and development. After more than 50 years in the business, Hale Groves is now one of the top Florida citrus growers, and ships fruit all over the United States and Canada. Hale Groves continues to deliver the highest quality standards in every part of the business from the minute the trees are planted until the fruit gifts reach the customer’s doorstep.