Hurricane Irma was the last straw for a citrus store with deep roots in Brevard County.
The Policicchio Groves on Merritt Island has sold Indian River Fruit since the 1920s.
Now its retail store is closed for good.
The grove across the street that supplied the store was flooded for days and without power, there was no way to pump all that water out.
Policicchio Groves will continue its mail-order business, but the citrus will come from elsewhere.
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The store has operated on North Merritt Island for generations, but Hurricane Irma flooded the 25-acre grove, effectively ending what decades of citrus diseases could not.
A statement on the family-owned company’s website reads, “We are unable to reopen our retail store due to the substantial damage to our citrus grove from Hurricane Irma.”
It goes on to say, “It was a difficult decision approaching our 100th year of the planting of the orange groves.”
John Ramsey is a lifelong Merritt Island resident and a long-time business owner.
For him, the store's closure is an end of an era.
“I remember one of my first dates with my wife, I picked her up on my horse and rode through all the orange groves,” said Ramsey.
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The Policicchio Grove was flooded for days, rotting away at the fruit trees' roots.
The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services said the initial estimate of the damage done by Irma to the state's citrus industry is more than $760 million.
“I could see why the Policicchio would have a tear in their eye. It's special to all of us,” said Ramsey.
Another Brevard County citrus company, Harvey’s Groves also recently closed its two retail stores, but the closures were not related to the storm.
Cox Media Group
