Hadley Fruit Orchards - Moved Next Door - California
This is how the old Hadley Fruit Orchard building looks as of May, 2024. Speeding past on Interstate 10, maybe a half dozen times a year, the “abandoned place gravity well” has tried to pick me off the freeway to stop and take some pics. It finally happened.
This is my memory of the place my family used to stop at on the rare occasion we visited Palm Springs or Joshua Tree National Monument back when I was a kid. Always a full parking lot and inside, rows and rows of rustic counter bins with every kind of nut or dried fruit you could think of. And beef jerky. And over in the left end of the building, a cafe where you could order food and drinks, and their specialty: The Date Shake. I never tried one. I was a kid.
Founded in 1931 by Paul and Peggy Hadley in nearby Banning, the store opened in Cabazon in 1953. A combination of high quality fruit, nuts, jams, honey, cereals and trail mix and even wine from organically grown grapes, were sold by friendly and helpful employees and the business prospered and grew over the years (I especially enjoyed the free samples).
The Morongo Band of Mission Indians purchased the Hadley stores and mail order business in 1999. After a while, the original store became a bit dated (no pun intended) and in 2016 a brand new building was ready right next door, where Hadley Fruit Orchards continues to supply travelers and local residents with all kind of healthy snacks and goodies. I stocked up on beef jerky and freeze-dried skittles on this visit.
This was most likely the entrance to the wine tasting/selling portion of the business.
This is the entrance I most remember using. The cafe was immediately beyond that door.
I rubbed clear a spot on the front window and put the iPhone directly on the glass. A trick that generally provides a pretty good result.
The checkout counters, back behind them is where all the rows of bins and shelving held the good stuff.
And the new sign. With the tip of snow-capped Mt. San Jacinto in the background. If you get the chance, take the tram ride up from Palm Springs and then hike to the top, it’s a wonderful outing.
If I’ve made any factual errors in the text above, I blame video games. But, please let me know in the comments below if you spot something off.
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