About Atom Banana
A-Peeling To The Masses
When Atom Banana first began operations on Chicago’s historic South Water Market as a fresh produce distributor, it was recognized primarily as a banana wholesaler providing high-quality produce. Today, with expanded operations, Atom Banana continues to carry on its proud heritage in the wholesale produce industry. Our facility is equipped with 23 tarpless, humidity-controlled banana rooms – designed specifically to enhance the color consistency, ripening, and overall appearance of the bananas. There is no other banana wholesaler, or fresh produce distributor for that matter, in the Chicago area that provides this type of care and maintenance for its products – and, more importantly, its customers.
While we are widely known as a banana wholesaler, we also serve as a very capable fresh produce distributor, providing a number of other produce items including pineapples, cantaloupes, lemons, limes, oranges, avocados, mangoes, papayas, seasonal fruit and much more. This product variety allows us to meet more of our customers’ needs while upholding the tradition of quality and value that has defined our business over the past century. In fact, we have even developed programs that are customized for individual needs, proving that for unmatched service and cost savings, the choice is Atom Banana.
Atom Banana History
Founded at the turn of the 20th century on South Water Street, Atom Banana survived many tough times including the Great Depression and World War II, and continued to flourish in the 1950s and 60s under the direction of George and John Gatziolis. When Dean Gatziolis took over in the 1970s as the third generation owner, he helped the company reach new levels of success. He pioneered new technology in the industry with the introduction of pressurized ripening rooms. By the time Atom Banana entered the 1990s, it had become one of the largest privately owned banana ripeners in North America. At the turn of the new millennium, Atom Banana became a fourth generation company, directed by Alec Gatziolis. In 2005, Alec helped initiate construction of a brand new facility, and from 2007 to 2008 he completed a two-phase project including 23 brand new double- and triple-tier ripening rooms, which today offer the most advanced ripening technology available in the industry.
Click here for History of Chicago Produce Market