Produce Pete

Produce Pete was the stage name and personal media brand of Peter James Napolitano Jr., an American grocer, chef, author, and television personality associated with practical advice about buying, storing, preparing, and cooking fruits and vegetables. Although the name became widely recognized through broadcast television, it originated in a family produce business in Bergenfield, New Jersey. Napolitano began working at his family’s neighborhood farmers’ market as a child in 1953 and helped develop the family’s retail operation, Napolitano’s Produce, which opened in 1959. He assumed ownership of the business in 1970 and remained connected with the Bergen County produce trade for decades. The store was transferred to his son in 1997 and closed in 2006 after more than five decades of service. The Produce Pete identity emerged from local television rather than from a conventional packaged-goods or retail chain brand. In the late 1980s, a WWOR-TV reporter noticed Napolitano at his store and encouraged him to appear on television. After initially declining, he accepted an invitation to appear on the program People Are Talking. His early on-air exposure included a discussion of a then-current concern involving cyanide-tainted Chilean grapes; he ate one of the grapes during the segment to demonstrate his confidence in its safety. He was hired by the station in 1989, establishing the Produce Pete persona as an accessible, energetic produce authority. In the early 1990s, Napolitano began appearing on WNBC’s Weekend Today in New York. His segments were filmed both in the studio and at farms, markets, and restaurants, allowing him to connect produce selection with its agricultural origins and culinary uses. He also appeared on WCAU in Philadelphia. His television work continued for approximately 33 years on WNBC and made him a familiar regional figure in the New York area. The brand’s positioning centered on practical expertise, enthusiasm, approachability, and a direct connection to growers, retailers, cooks, and consumers. Produce Pete’s activities extended beyond broadcasting. In 1994, Napolitano published Produce Pete’s Farmacopeia: From Apples to Zucchini, and Everything in Between, a guide combining produce-buying advice, selection tips, and recipes. In 2000, he worked as a buyer for S. Katzman Produce at the Hunts Point Market in the Bronx, reinforcing his credentials within the wholesale produce industry. He also taught cooking classes for retailers including Macy’s and Bloomingdale’s. Later books included They Call Me Produce Pete, published in 2023, and In the Kitchen with Bette & Produce Pete, published in 2024. The brand also had a family dimension. His wife, Bette, frequently appeared in Produce Pete television segments, and the couple collaborated on the 2024 cookbook. Napolitano’s television style became recognizable enough to be parodied by Steve Carell on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. Produce Pete was therefore best understood as a regional personal brand built around retail produce expertise, television education, cooking instruction, publishing, and family storytelling rather than as a supermarket chain or packaged-food label. Following Napolitano’s death in January 2026, the continuing commercial or editorial status of the Produce Pete name is unclear.

Peter James Napolitano Jr. was born in Englewood, New Jersey, on February 23, 1945, and was raised in nearby Bergenfield in an Italian-American family involved in produce retail. His connection with the trade began in childhood. In 1953, at approximately eight years old, he started selling fruits and vegetables at a neighborhood farmers’ market operated by his family. The family expanded its retail activity in 1959 by opening Napolitano’s Produce in Bergenfield. Napolitano took ownership of the family business in 1970. His early career gave him first-hand knowledge of seasonal availability, produce quality, wholesale purchasing, customer preferences, and the practical challenges of running a neighborhood grocery business. In 1997, he transferred the store to his son, Peter Charles Napolitano. Napolitano’s Produce closed in 2006 after operating for 53 years. Napolitano’s public identity developed in the late 1980s when a WWOR-TV reporter encountered him at his store and suggested that he would be effective on television. He initially declined, but eventually accepted after continued encouragement and support from his wife, Bette. His first notable television exposure came on People Are Talking, where he discussed a public concern over Chilean grapes reportedly tainted with cyanide and ate one on air. WWOR hired him in 1989, and the appearance helped establish the Produce Pete name. During the early 1990s, he joined WNBC’s Weekend Today in New York. His segments combined consumer education with location-based storytelling. Some were presented from the station’s studio, while others originated at farms, restaurants, and sites connected with the production and preparation of food. He also appeared on WCAU in Philadelphia. His regional television work continued for roughly 33 years on WNBC, making him a long-running local authority on fruits and vegetables. The Produce Pete brand was built around translating trade knowledge into simple advice for consumers. Napolitano explained how to judge ripeness, choose among varieties, prepare unfamiliar produce, and connect ingredients with recipes. His credibility was supported by continuing involvement in the produce industry. In 2000, he worked as a buyer for S. Katzman Produce at the Hunts Point Market in the Bronx. He also taught cooking classes for Macy’s, Bloomingdale’s, and other retail chains. Publishing became another part of his career. His 1994 book, Produce Pete’s Farmacopeia: From Apples to Zucchini, and Everything in Between, combined recipes with guidance on buying, selecting, and cooking produce. Much later, he published They Call Me Produce Pete in 2023 and In the Kitchen with Bette & Produce Pete in 2024. Bette frequently appeared alongside him in television segments, and their joint cookbook extended the brand’s emphasis on family, cooking, and accessible food knowledge. Napolitano’s recognizable television persona also entered popular culture through a parody by actor and comedian Steve Carell on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. His career illustrates how a local grocery operator can develop a durable personal brand through regional broadcasting, practical expertise, retail education, and publishing. Napolitano died in Paramus, New Jersey, on January 26, 2026, at age 80. Because the subject was principally a personal identity rather than a separately incorporated consumer company, the posthumous status of the Produce Pete name and website is not established by the available material.

1. 2026Napolitano dies

   Peter James Napolitano Jr. died in New Jersey on January 26, 2026.

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2. 2024Publishes a cookbook with Bette

   In the Kitchen with Bette & Produce Pete was published as a joint cooking project.

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3. 2023Publishes They Call Me Produce Pete

   Napolitano released a later book centered on his career and public identity.

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4. 2006Napolitano’s Produce closes

   The Bergenfield store closed after 53 years of operation.

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5. 2000Works as a Hunts Point Market buyer

   Napolitano worked as a buyer for S. Katzman Produce at Hunts Point Market in the Bronx.

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6. 1997Family store passes to his son

   Napolitano turned the family business over to his son, Peter Charles Napolitano.

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7. 1994Publishes first book

   Produce Pete’s Farmacopeia brought his produce advice and recipes to a national book audience.

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8. 1990Begins appearing on WNBC

   Napolitano began appearing on WNBC’s Weekend Today in New York and later added WCAU appearances.

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9. 1989WWOR hires Produce Pete

   After appearing on People Are Talking, Napolitano began his professional television career with WWOR-TV.

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10. 1970Napolitano takes ownership of the family store

    Peter James Napolitano Jr. assumed ownership of Napolitano’s Produce.

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11. 1959Napolitano’s Produce opens

    The Napolitano family opened a produce store in Bergenfield, New Jersey.

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12. 1953Begins selling produce at the family market

    As a child in Bergenfield, Napolitano began selling fruits and vegetables at his family’s neighborhood farmers’ market.

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A regional, personality-led produce authority combining grocery-trade experience with friendly television education, cookbook publishing, and practical cooking instruction.

• Produce Pete television segmentsTelevision and consumer education1989

  The central offering associated with the Produce Pete name was Napolitano’s recurring television coverage of fruits and vegetables. His segments appeared on WWOR, WNBC’s Weekend Today in New York, and WCAU. He discussed selection, freshness, preparation, and culinary use, often reporting from farms, restaurants, and other food-related locations.

• Produce Pete’s Farmacopeia: From Apples to Zucchini, and Everything in BetweenCookbook and produce guide1994

  Napolitano’s first known book combined recipes with practical guidance for selecting, buying, and cooking fruits and vegetables. It extended the television persona into a reference format for home cooks and consumers seeking advice on a broad range of produce.

• They Call Me Produce PeteMemoir and food book2023

  Published in 2023, this book represented a later literary extension of the Produce Pete identity and documented aspects of Napolitano’s career as a grocer, television personality, and produce educator.

• In the Kitchen with Bette & Produce PeteCookbook2024

  Published in 2024, this cookbook was created with Napolitano’s wife, Bette, who had frequently appeared with him in television segments. It continued the brand’s focus on approachable home cooking and produce-based recipes.

• 2026Produce Pete dies at age 80

  Peter James Napolitano Jr. died in Paramus, New Jersey, on January 26, 2026. He had been living in North Haledon at the time of his death.

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• 2024In the Kitchen with Bette & Produce Pete is published

  Napolitano and his wife Bette published a collaborative cookbook extending their television partnership into home cooking.

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• 2023Produce Pete publishes They Call Me Produce Pete

  Napolitano released a later book reflecting on the Produce Pete identity and his career.

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• 1994Produce Pete publishes a produce guide and recipe book

  Produce Pete’s Farmacopeia provided advice on selecting, purchasing, and cooking fruits and vegetables, broadening the brand beyond television.

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• 1990Produce Pete expands regional television presence

  Napolitano began appearing on WNBC’s Weekend Today in New York and later also appeared on WCAU in Philadelphia, presenting produce segments from studios, farms, and restaurants.

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• 1989Produce Pete begins television career after WWOR appearance

  Peter Napolitano was hired by WWOR-TV after appearing on People Are Talking and demonstrating his confidence in the safety of Chilean grapes during a segment about a contamination scare.

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1. Produce Pete
2. Produce Pete official website