Texas wholesalers gearing up for springtime sales

Many Texas distributors say they’re in kind of an in-between mode ? between the sales bump of the holidays and the next buildup that starts as spring nears, tourists arrive and conventions come to town.?,As schools reopen after the winter break, suppliers who serve institutions of higher learning, such as Big State Produce on the San Antonio Produce Terminal Market, say business is picking up again.,“We’re starting to see an increase now in volume,” Lucky Gonzalez, general manager, said in mid-January.,But prices on some items were a bit hard to swallow because of tight supplies caused by rain in California.,“Tomatoes are way up right now,” he said, as are prices on green bell peppers. And he added that shortages are in evidence on some greens, like baby arugula.,“The prices go up, and you have to adjust your margins and try to convince the customers that it’s just a temporary shortage,” he said.?,Still, Gonzalez was optimistic about the coming year.,“I think the conditions are ...