If you’ve ever torn into a gold-wrapped Royal Riviera Pear or dug through a Tower of Treats, you’ve probably seen the return address. It’s usually Medford, Oregon. That’s the "spiritual home," the place with the 1930s art-deco towers and the massive orchards. But there’s a secret to how those holiday gift baskets actually make it to your door in time for Christmas if you live on the East Coast.
It's a place called Hebron.
Specifically, the Harry & David Hebron Ohio facility, known locally as the Hopewell campus. This isn't just a tiny satellite office. It is a massive, 52-acre powerhouse that basically keeps the entire company from collapsing under the weight of holiday demand. While the Oregon headquarters gets the glory and the vineyard views, the Hebron site is the engine room.
The Massive Scale of the Hopewell Facility
The site is tucked away at 500 Reliance Drive, just about 30 miles east of Columbus. It’s huge. We're talking a 275,000-square-foot distribution center. For context, that’s about five football fields under one roof.
Back in 2007, the company dropped $16 million to expand the place. Why? Because they realized shipping everything from the West Coast was costing them a fortune in fuel and time. By beefing up the Harry & David Hebron Ohio operations, they added the ability to churn out an extra 4 million pounds of Moose Munch and 3 million pounds of chocolate-covered fruit.
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Honestly, the numbers are kind of staggering. In a single peak season, the Ohio hub has been known to ship more gifts than the Medford center itself. One year, they moved 3.6 million gifts out of Hebron alone. That's a lot of popcorn.
More Than Just a Warehouse
People think of Hebron as just a place where boxes sit on shelves. It’s not. It’s actually a "vertically integrated" production site. This means they don't just store stuff; they make it.
- Gift Assembly: Teams hand-tie those iconic bows you see on the towers.
- Candy Kitchens: They have dedicated space for enrobing fruit in chocolate.
- Customer Contact Center: There is a 450-seat call center on-site. When you call to complain that your pears arrived a day late, there’s a good chance you’re talking to someone in Licking County.
Working at Harry & David Hebron Ohio
The vibe in Hebron changes wildly depending on the month. In July? It’s quiet. Maybe 100 people are milling around. But come November, the place explodes.
The workforce swells from a hundred regulars to over 2,000 seasonal employees. It’s a local rite of passage in Hebron and Newark. You’ll find college kids on winter break, retirees looking for extra cash, and people who just want the employee discount on truffles.
The Real Employee Experience
Is it all fun and games? Not exactly. It's warehouse work. It’s fast-paced.
Current and former employees often describe the pace as "comfortably fast," but let's be real—during the "holiday rush," it’s just fast. The company tries to keep morale up with things like "Harry & David Day" (officially July 24th in the village of Hebron) and casual perks like ping-pong in the breakroom.
Most reviews from sites like Comparably suggest that while the pay is standard for the region, the culture is actually decent. People generally like their coworkers. The "environment" usually gets the highest marks, while "long-term retention" is where the company struggles—which makes sense for a business that relies so heavily on seasonal help.
Why Hebron Matters for Your Delivery
If you live in New York, Florida, or anywhere east of the Mississippi, your Harry & David order almost certainly touches Hebron.
By having this massive footprint in Ohio, the company avoids the "cross-country crawl." If they had to ship a basket of fruit from Oregon to Maine in December, the logistics would be a nightmare. Weather delays in the Rockies could ruin thousands of orders. By staging everything at the Harry & David Hebron Ohio facility, they can wait for the fruit to be picked in Oregon, truck it in bulk to Ohio, and then assemble and ship the final gifts locally.
It’s about "last-mile" efficiency. It’s the difference between your gift arriving "sometime in December" and arriving "Tuesday by 4:00 PM."
Local Impact and the Community
The village of Hebron isn't exactly a metropolis. Having a massive employer like this matters. The 2007 expansion was a big deal, involving a 100% tax abatement for 12 years just to keep the company from looking elsewhere.
Even with the tax breaks, the local school districts (like Lakewood) benefited from the payroll taxes generated by those thousands of seasonal jobs. It’s a symbiotic relationship. Harry & David gets a central shipping hub with access to I-70; Hebron gets a steady stream of jobs and a bit of "gourmet" prestige.
Actionable Insights for Customers and Job Seekers
If you're looking into this facility, your needs probably fall into two camps: you're waiting for a package, or you're looking for work.
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For Customers:
- Tracking: If your tracking says "Hebron, OH," don't panic. It’s the main East Coast hub. Your package is very close to the final leg of its journey.
- Contacting: If you need to reach them directly, the local number is (740) 929-7100, though they usually prefer you go through the main 1-800-FLOWERS corporate customer service line.
- Pickup: Note that this is a distribution and call center. You generally can't just walk in and buy a box of truffles at the warehouse. Use the website.
For Job Seekers:
- Timing: Start looking for seasonal roles in September. By October, the hiring push is in full swing.
- Roles: Don't just look for "warehouse." They need chat agents, phone support, and gift assemblers too.
- The "Hopewell" Name: When searching job boards, look for the "Hopewell facility" or "Reliance Drive" location to ensure you're applying for the Ohio branch and not the Oregon headquarters.
The Harry & David Hebron Ohio facility is the quiet backbone of the American gifting industry. It’s not as flashy as the Oregon orchards, but without it, the holidays would be a lot less sweet—and a lot more delayed.