Watermelon experts for four generations: How Philadelphia’s Carter Melons got their start and became a staple

By Janelle Burrell

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    PHILADELPHIA, Pennsylvania (KYW) — At the intersection of 84th Street and Lindbergh Boulevard, look closely or you’ll miss the mounds of melons.

“We just don’t sell melons,” Joshua Carter said. “We specialize in them.”

There’s no parking lot or fancy technology on this roadside operation — and there’s no need. The Carters are the experts and they have watermelons for any day — ripe to eat today, tomorrow or for your weekend.

Carter Melons is now a fourth-generation family business, and loyal customers gush about the Carters’ status as a staple in Southwest Philadelphia.

“Everybody know about this spot,” said one man who pulled up along the shoulder of the road to buy one of the fruits.

Carter Melons dates back more than 70 years in Philly, known for quality and consistency.

“My father had that philosophy that just like Dr. King would say, if you’re going to be a street sweeper, then sweep your street so well that it would draw a path to your door,” Carter said.

His father Dov Carter was the founder of an NAACP chapter in central Georgia, who moved his family to Philadelphia in 1948 after almost being beaten to death for helping Black people get registered to vote.

Once relocated to Philly, “my father would get trailer loads of watermelon,” Joshua Carter said.

It was a way to make extra money for the family of 12, and in this section of the city, a fresh fruit option the community wouldn’t find anywhere else.

“You won’t find these in the supermarket,” he added. “We have yellow meat, red meat, orange meat,” he said of watermelon varieties they sell.

He walked over to a pile stacked neatly on the roadside.

“They call these sugar babies. And they live up to their names,” Carter said, showing the sweet red melons he sells.

He uses a unique approach to determine exactly when a melon is ready to eat, patting it with the fingers and palm of his hand and then listening.

“That flat sound,” Carter explained, “that’s an indication that the watermelon is ripe. Just like when you meet with someone and you feel their spirit, with the melon, you go by the vibration, and that determines the longevity of the melon.”

It’s that knowledge that draws repeat customers from across the region and even tourists.

“I’m on my way to pick up my daughter, and then from there, we’re on our way to Wildwood,” said Nadine Harvey, who stopped by the stand to buy a few. “And that’s all they’re talking about is these yellow watermelons. That’s what they want.”

The location is only a few minutes from Philadelphia International Airport.

“I’m not bragging, but they say, ‘You’re the watermelon king,'” Carter said. “Just like you come to Philadelphia, and you want to get a cheesesteak, a Philly pretzel — we want to have it so that when you come to Philly, you want to get a Carter melon as well.”

With the next generation of Carter men now working the fruit stand, Carter Melons just expanded to a second location at 52nd and Pine streets in West Philadelphia.

“To honor my father, honor our grandfather. Every day that we spend out here together, these are memories that we are creating,” Corey Carter, Joshua’s nephew, said.

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