Florida City

July 2024

If You’re in the Everglades, Don’t Miss This Famous Fruit Stand

By Jeff Klinkenberg, Visit Florida

An Everglades traveler needs sustenance. As I approach the national park’s main entrance in Florida City, that means a stop at Robert Is Here.

Florida’s most famous produce stand was started when Robert’s dad, a farmer, set up a coffee table on the side of the road, loaded it with cucumbers, and erected a sign pointing in the direction of a small boy. “Robert Is Here,’’ said the sign. The year was 1959, and at the time, Robert was 7. In the 21st century, Robert is still here.

Robert Moehling’s produce stand is now a huge barn-like building. An enormous Robert Is Here sign beckons from the roof. Robert’s is one of those places you truly can’t miss, and you shouldn’t.

He keeps a power drill behind the counter that he uses to pierce the hard shell of a coconut to open a hole for a straw for sipping the milk. He sells dragon fruit, lychee, and sapodilla. He also sells guavas, eggfruit, and passionfruit. Yes, you can buy tomatoes, squash, and lettuce, too. But Robert Is Here is something like the Disney World of tropical fruit. Robert grows most of what he sells.

He will sell you mangoes, papayas and avocados. He will sell you monstera deliciosa, the delicious monster, a tropical fruit that resembles a cucumber but tastes like a cross between a banana and a pineapple. In the summer, he sells jackfruit that can weigh 80 pounds. He’ll set you up with a strapping helper to carry the giant fruit to your car. But don’t leave yet. You’ll want to come back inside and order a milkshake made with any tropical fruit in the house.

Robert is a big, friendly man who will talk your ear off. He wears shorts, a T-shirt, and an apron. Tools hang from his belt. Sometimes a pencil is propped behind his ear. By the way, you won’t see a computer at Robert’s. He adds up your bill using his trusty pencil on a paper bag while the caged parrots near him squawk out their amusement.

About a million travelers drive through Everglades National Park’s main gate every year, which means Robert gets a crack at them first. He doesn’t get a million customers, but he gets a lot, and he stays busy from November through August before taking a couple of months off. Everybody in his immediate family works with him, including his kids and their kids.

The famous television chef Emeril Lagasse shops at Robert’s during his South Florida visits. Robert’s autobiography— titled “Robert Is Here: Looking East for a Lifetime” and written with historian Cesar Becerra—was published in 2015.

He still says “Have a nice day’’ as customers stand at the counter with a sack of mamey sapotes. And while you’re walking out, he’ll tell you, “You’re going to like the mamey. It tastes something like a strawberry pumpkin cheesecake.”