It all started in 1908 when Melhem Najjum brought his entire family from Lebanon to America. Founding the company in 1910, the Najjum family chose the produce business as their trade. Melhem's business grew and thrived throughout the years, and was one of the few of its kind to survive the Great Depression. 

 

 

 

 

 

As Roanoke Fruit and Produce grew and changed,  the business was passed down through the generations. Melhem's sons, Frederick and Joseph, took over the business after the passing of their father and the company grew to even greater lengths. Frederick then had a son, Bill Najjum, who started working in the business when he was 14, loading and unloading boxes of produce from the freight trucks. Bill worked in the company until his college years where he graduated with a degree in business from Notre Dame. In his father's old age, Bill came back to Roanoke to help run the business with his uncle Joe and would eventually take over the operations of the business.

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Now in its fourth generation, all of Bill's children still work in the family business with his son Fred Najjum taking over the reigns and running the business with help from his sister, Jennifer and nephew, Lucas. Very few family businesses make it through two generations, let alone four generations spanning over more than 100 years. With the Najjum name still thriving in the business you can always be certain that "Fresh is best!"

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