Today we’d like to introduce you to Attia Qureshi.
Hi Attia, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
Attia and Isaiah started the Upick on Wilson Rd in 2019. Isaiah had come back to the family farm about five years earlier, so he knew how to grow cherries but had never tried opening the farm up the public. Attia set up a website and planned out our first season, but we had no idea what to expect until our first day when cars started pulling into the driveway. Since then, we’ve experienced sunny days and rainy ones, bumper crops and early freezes, and everything in between, but we’re thrilled that the farm has become a family tradition for many of our customers.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Farming is always an adventure and every season presents new challenges and opportunities. We’ve had some very difficult crop years, as well as some really good crop years with rains, frost and even rainy days during harvest impacting the success of our upick. Every year we try to add something new to the farm—sometimes it sticks, and sometimes we decide that the idea is ahead of its time. Overall, we’ve had a pretty smooth road, but we also try to challenge the farm to find a balance between creating lasting memories and traditions, and finding new ways to excite and delight our customers..
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Third Coast fruit Company?
We are a 101 year-old Farm based on the Old Mission Peninsula. We grow cherries and apples for Michigan eaters. And we sell our cherries at our Upick, to local and regional grocery stores and online at goldbelly.com. In addition to trying to grow the best sweet cherries in Michigan, readers should also know that we are a mission driven company with a focus on creating career and life pathways for our employees and a commitment to protecting farmland on the old Mission Peninsula.
What were you like growing up?
Isaiah and Attia were both serious but funny as kids, and we have both always liked to find a creative and adventurous way to course through life. Attia grew up in SE Michigan and northern Ohio, and lived in big cities on the coasts before meeting Isaiah. Isaiah grew up on the farm and has always been passionate about fruit farming. We both had little entrepreneurial operations as preteens—Attia sold healthy baked goods to her classmates, and Isaiah had a honeycrisp stand at the Traverse City farmers market, so the upick has been a fun way for us to each relive those chapters of our childhood.
Pricing:
- Upick cherries $5.50/lb
- Upick strawberries $5.50/lb
- We also carry pre-picked fruit at basically the same price as u-pick.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://Cherryupick.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cherryupick/?hl=en
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/18fk1RASCu/?mibextid=wwXIfr
