Betsy Ross Farms for Sale as Generational
Family Business Comes to an End
12 JULY 2021 | TheJournalNJ.com
BY SHANNA O’MARA
After about 100 years in operation, a
local farm and market have closed,
potentially paving the way for
new owners to take over a well-known,
family-owned and operated business.
Betsy Ross Farms of Holmdel and Port
Monmouth began more than a century
ago and was passed down from parents
to children as four generations of farmers
banded together with one common
dream: feed the community.
Gabriel Allocco moved to the northern section of Holmdel, then
known as Centerville, in 1919. With 40 acres to start with, he began
farming and later acquired land north of Union Avenue (now part of the
Brookdale Community College at Hazlet campus). He sold produce to
locals from his hub at Union Avenue and Route 35 until the 1930s. The
store closed soon after that when a jughandle was constructed on site.
Through the 1940s and 50s, Gabriel’s sons – Joe, Frank and Nicholas
– ran the farming operation. Joe tragically died of a heart attack while
starting a tractor, and Nicholas became less involved over time. Ultimately,
Frank took over and transitioned into truck farming which continued
into the late 1960s and 70s. Frank married Rose (Genovese), and together
they had three children: Gabrielle, Frank Jr. and Peter. All three grew up
farming and went on to work with their father as the business expanded.
Throughout the 60s, the family continued truck farming and supplied
smaller grocers and farm stands in New York and New Jersey. By
1970, business was booming, and a fellow farmer, who owned land on
Route 36 and Wilson Avenue in Middletown Township, was set to move
out of state. The Allocco family purchased his land with a pre-existing
friend built a new structure that still stands in Port Monmouth. Increased
population and the demand for fresh goods meant the store had to keep
up, adding an oven so that they could sell pies and other seasonal treats.
baskets, in addition to the year-round selection of vegetables grown
right here in the Garden State.
Frank P. Allocco, Peter’s son, who grew up working alongside his family.
“We would meet people coming into Sandy Hook. We knew the locals.
We were involved in the community. We created so many long-lasting re-
St. Mary’s Reverend Monsignor Robert T.
Bulman, Chief Joe McCarthy with the Mid-
-
men along the Jersey Shore.”
Frank P. Allocco worked the farm from
a young age, completing simpler chores as
a child and growing up to learn the business
side of operations. He graduated from
Delaware Valley University in 1986 with a
horticulture and agri-business degree.
“When you’re young, you water the
boxes with soil and feed the hound dogs which were used for hunting. It
was all labor-intensive but so rewarding. As I got older, my parents were
my neighbors and my business partners. They contributed everything to
the betterment of my life.”
In 2014, his parents’ health began declining. Frank P. Allocco was
taking care of them around the same time a longtime employee moved
across the country. Stress piled on as did personal commitments. Frank
moved into his grandparents’ house in Holmdel, married a school teach-
-
cult decision to leave the farming life behind.
“I continued for a season or two, but I had to look ahead,” he said.
His mom passed away in 2018 followed by his father this past May.
While Frank and his wife still own the land, they have decided to sell the
store in Port Monmouth.
“My hope is that someone continues this lifestyle,” he said. “There’s
so much to say about getting out there and working with the soil. It’s science,
art and business. You really connect with nature and so many people.
Words can’t say how good it was. Truly, I would do it all over again.”
But with other obligations taking up his time, Frank wants to ensure the
store lives up to its potential once again.
“With a little TLC, this store will thrive,” he said. “That’s what it was
built for. I would love to see it revamped, especially with this revival of
people wanting to know where their food and drinks come from. I’m con-
think big in vision but stay small with proprietorship. Have that connection
with local people, and feel good about what you sell. Have patience.
Today’s society is so fast-paced, over the top and out of the ordinary.
Something like this is really so rewarding.’”
/TheJournalNJ.com