https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2018/04/23/the-maraschino-moguls-secret-life Skip to main content The New Yorker * Newsletter To revisit this article, select My Account, then View saved stories Close Alert Sign In Search * News * Books & Culture * Fiction & Poetry * Humor & Cartoons * Magazine * Puzzles & Games * Video * Podcasts * Archive * Goings On * Shop Open Navigation Menu To revisit this article, visit My Profile, then View saved stories Close Alert The New Yorker Our Local Correspondents April 23, 2018 Issue The Maraschino Mogul After the bees turned red, Arthur Mondella's cherry empire revealed its secrets. By Ian Frazier April 16, 2018 * * * * * Save this story for later. An illustration of a lavalike flow of red cherries in a factory line In the basement, police discovered a hydroponic system for cultivating marijuana.Illustration by Janne Iivonen * * * * * Save this story for later. Content This content can also be viewed on the site it originates from. Audio: Listen to this story. To hear more feature stories, download the Audm app for your iPhone. Arthur Mondella is mourned. Up until the moment of his death, on February 24, 2015, he ran his family's company, Dell's Maraschino Cherries, in the Red Hook section of Brooklyn. His daughters Dana Mondella Bentz and Dominique Mondella, who run the company now, miss him every day. They remember him in their prayers and wish he could see how they've done with the business. Their great-grandfather Arthur Mondella, senior, and their grandfather Ralph founded it in 1948. Dell's Maraschino Cherries processes and sells nothing but cherries--about fourteen million pounds a year--from its single Red Hook factory. Dana, the president and C.E.O., is thirty, and Dominique, the vice-president, is thirty-two. One might not expect that Mondella's death also would have saddened many of New York City's beekeepers, but it did. People in the beekeeping community, or their bees, had crossed paths with Mondella in 2010, less than five years before he died. In fact, the complications in Mondella's life that led to his demise had a minor but significant bee component. The first small signs that all was not right with him arrived buzzing in the air. Though circumstances put Mondella and the bees on opposite sides of an issue, the beekeepers still speak admiringly of him, and express regret at his unhappy end. Published in the print edition of the April 23, 2018, issue. Ian Frazier is a staff writer at The New Yorker. His most recent book is "Cranial Fracking," a collection of humor pieces. More:Maraschino CherriesArthur MondellaDell's Maraschino CherriesRed Hook, BrooklynBeekeepersFoodBeesCrime This Week's Issue Never miss a big New Yorker story again. Sign up for This Week's Issue and get an e-mail every week with the stories you have to read. E-mail address [ ] Sign up By signing up, you agree to our User Agreement and Privacy Policy & Cookie Statement. Read More Stingers Up on the Roof Stingers By Calvin Tomkins Vertical farming can allow former cropland to go back to nature and reverse the plundering of the earth. Our Local Correspondents The Vertical Farm Growing crops in the city, without soil or natural light. By Ian Frazier Highlights from Mark Zuckerberg's Congressional Hearings Video Highlights from Mark Zuckerberg's Congressional Hearings In his first-ever appearance before lawmakers, the Facebook founder answered questions about data privacy, fake news, hate speech, and Russian interference in the 2016 Presidential election. Malcolm Gladwell on School Shooters and Police Bias Video Malcolm Gladwell on School Shooters and Police Bias David Remnick speaks with Gladwell about using theory to understand complex phenomena, and how that understanding can change. The New Yorker Sections * News * Books & Culture * Fiction & Poetry * Humor & Cartoons * Magazine * Crossword * Video * Podcasts * Archive * Goings On More * Customer Care * Shop The New Yorker * Buy Covers and Cartoons * Conde Nast Store * Digital Access * Newsletters * Jigsaw Puzzle * RSS * Site Map * About * Careers * Contact * F.A.Q. * Media Kit * Press * Accessibility Help * Conde Nast Spotlight (c) 2022 Conde Nast. All rights reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement and Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement and Your California Privacy Rights. The New Yorker may earn a portion of sales from products that are purchased through our site as part of our Affiliate Partnerships with retailers. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Conde Nast. Ad Choices * * * * * Do Not Sell My Personal Info