"Royal Riviera Pears are so temperamental about soil and climate that they're really at home in only a few places in the world: in the South of France, and here in the "South of Oregon" where the very finest Royal Riviera Pears are grown.
By the time a pair of young brothers took over operation of their family's Bear Creek Orchard in 1914, this exquisite fruit already enjoyed a worldwide reputation for size and quality. In fact, during the Roaring Twenties, most of the pears were being exported to the grand hotels and resorts of Europe. But the Great Depression of the early 1930's ruined this market. Faced with bankruptcy, Harry and David hit on the notion of offering their pears as Christmas gifts by mail.Harry and David set out one rainy November morning in 1934, armed with nothing more than some sample boxes of their Royal Riviera® Pears, and a lot of chutzpah. Harry spent a week in New York; David spent one in San Francisco - hand-carrying their precious fruit to every VIP they could think of.
Sure enough, one taste was all it took. Together, Harry and David took over 400 orders for Christmas delivery and the rest is history.
In the beginning was the pear ...
If the word "magnificent" has never come to mind while you were eating a pear, chances are you've never had one of ours. We call them Royal Riviera® Pears: scarce, highly prized, truly distinctive. They're our flagship fruit, "So big and juicy,you eat them with a spoon.
