Long before sunrise, while most of Cleveland is still asleep, Russell Romero is already on the road. At least three days a week, his morning begins at 4:45 a.m. as he heads toward the sprawling produce markets in Houston. With a sharp eye for quality, he moves from stall to stall, searching for the freshest fruits and vegetables he can find for his customers back home.
“This business doesn’t let you sleep in,” Russell said with a laugh. “But when you love what you do, those early mornings don’t bother you. My customers trust me to bring them the best, and that’s what keeps me going.”
His work doesn’t stop in Texas. Throughout the year, Russell and his fiancé Tammy Austin, travel across state lines to source specialty items customers have come to expect. This season’s pecans came from Georgia, while his watermelons are gathered from farms across Texas—wherever they’re sweetest, ripest and worth hauling back.
Running a fruit stand may look simple from the outside, but Russell explains that it’s anything but. The work takes long hours, careful planning, and a commitment to finding quality that can’t be met by large grocery chains. For Russell, though, the hours are part of a much bigger story—one that stretches back nearly a century.
Russell’s dedication is no accident. He is part of the fourth generation of the Romero family, a name that has been synonymous with fresh produce in Texas and Louisiana for 100 years. The story began in 1925, when his great-grandfather, Eugene Romero Sr., started selling produce in Port Arthur, Texas. Before that, Eugene worked as an engineer for the Texas Oil Company, but it was produce—moving it, hauling it, and getting it to families who needed it—that became his lifelong calling.
Eugene shipped fruits and vegetables by rail from Louisiana to Houston’s Terminal Market and other major cities across the country. After retiring from Texas Oil, he bought 10 two-ton trucks and built Romero’s Trucking Company, where his sons helped haul produce from Louisiana, the Rio Grande Valley, and West Texas. Grandchildren peddled melons and vegetables door to door in Port Arthur neighborhoods. The entire family had a hand in the work, creating a small produce empire long before supermarkets dominated the landscape.
Eugene raised eight children, four of whom—Travis, Aulvus “Babe,” Eugene Joseph “T-Boy,” and Ray—devoted their lives to the produce industry. They hauled crops, opened markets, and taught their children the same trade their father had passed down.
Travis handed the business to his son Rodney, who ran Romero’s Produce in Groves, Texas, for more than 50 years. Babe’s children operated markets stretching from Arcola to Winnie. T-Boy became known as the “Crazy Frenchman,” opening stands across Texas and Louisiana before passing the torch to his daughter Deborah, whose market in Arcola continues today. Ray and his wife operated their market in Sulphur, La., for 45 years, later handing it down to their son Michael.
Russell is the son of Ronald Romero Sr., who himself spent more than 60 years in the business and once opened the largest roadside market in Texas. Today, Russell carries the legacy forward in Cleveland at First Quality Fresh Produce Market, located at 26311 SH 321, where he has served the community for 20 years. He shares the space with his fiancée, Tammy Austin, owner of Tammy’s Wild Roots, a local plant nursery that complements the stand.
Russell grew up surrounded by produce, but he says he never felt pressured to join the trade. The pull came naturally.
“I like knowing where my food comes from,” he said.
The Romero family now spans five—and soon six—generations, with children and grandchildren learning the trade through hands-on experience. From roadside stands to weekly market runs, the work is demanding, but it’s also deeply meaningful.
Russell says the family hopes small markets like theirs will continue to thrive even as large grocery chains dominate the industry.
“People want fresh, real food,” he said. “As long as they want it, we’ll be here.”