The Chukar Story

Founder’s Story

The Inspiration

A daughter of the Pacific Northwest, Pam Montgomery was raised in an atmosphere of creativity and ingenuity. By the 1980’s she was running a successful marketing firm in Seattle. It was a heady time in the Northwest—Microsoft was leading the boom in home computers, Boeing was manufacturing its 1,000th 737 aircraft and Pam was selling real estate hand over fist. But her heart was not in the city.

An 8,000 tree cherry orchard had come up for sale in Washington’s fertile Yakima Valley and Pam and her young family were entranced. Motivated by the idea of raising their daughters in a small town, the family sold their business and purchased the orchard. With newborn Vivian in tow and twins Alexandra and Wynne soon to come, they began life as orchardists.

After cherry harvest was over, many cherries were left unpicked. This allowed the natural sugar solids to build until the fruit dried on the branch. On impulse one day Pam ate a few of the shriveled cherries. They were chewy, naturally sweet and delicious. Pam began to glean cherries and fabricated a dryer from window screens. Despite experts’ insistence that cherries could not be dried without artificial preservatives, Pam felt she was on to something. Were not sunlight and the cherries’ natural sweetness enough?

A Business born

In 1988, after several years of research, Pam leased a building from the local Port authority and opened a factory and storefront. During a trip to Harrods in London, a room sized display of European chocolate-covered fruit awed her with possibilities. She came home and began dipping her dried cherries in custom blend chocolate. Successful, she developed recipes for whole fruit preserves, sauces and toppings. Enthusiastic customers fueled growth and in 1992 Chukar Cherries launched its second key store in Seattle’s Pike Place Market.

Life at Chukar

Chukar is now in its 22nd year and has a flagship store in Prosser as well as the Pike store which introduces millions of customers to Chukar every year. The original orchard has changed hands, freeing Pam to focus on what she loves—coming up with delicious, innovative products for her customers. Her vision remains simple:

• Use only local fruits and the finest domestic ingredients
• Combine them in delicious and creative ways
• Utilize just-in-time manufacturing practices so everything is made fresh and ships market fresh
• Listen to our customers and coworkers
• Grow in a rational manner
• …and have fun!

And life at Chukar is fun. From the malfunction of a new machine that spilled chocolate all over CFO JT Montgomery (christening him JT Wonka) to the everyday joy of sharing a bag of chocolate Honey Pecans (a staff favorite), we at Chukar believe quality only happens in an environment of committed teamwork. We value laughter, healthy living, great food and the great outdoors. That’s why we strive to make Chukar® brand products great tasting and good for you.

Cherry Cheers!
Ma Chukar, Pa Chukar and Team Chukar