Pam Montgomery Preserves a Family Legacy with Chukar Cherries

Pam Montgomery didn’t set out to revolutionize the cherry industry—but that’s exactly what she did. As the founder of Chukar Cherries, a beloved Washington State-based brand known for its premium chocolate-covered and dried cherry products, Montgomery has spent more than three decades blending tradition, innovation, and an unwavering commitment to quality.

“I’ve always been entrepreneurial,” Montgomery said. “I think it comes from a long line of pioneer women in my family. My great-grandmother ran a saloon, boarding house, and hotel near Missoula, Montana, in the 1800s. Independence is in our blood.”

That independent streak took root early. After losing her mother at a young age, Pam spent several formative years with her father, a forester, walking the forests of Washington. “We’d drive into the mountains, and I’d walk with him all day while he worked,” she said. “That time gave me a deep connection to nature and the confidence to do things my own way.”

It’s a mindset that proved critical when she and her husband, with no prior agricultural experience, sold everything they owned and purchased the largest cherry orchard in Washington State. “We had 8,000 trees and no idea what we were doing,” she recalled. “We either had to learn fast or go out of business.”

Walking the orchard each morning with her young daughters, Montgomery became intimately familiar with the land and its cycles. Over time, she noticed something unusual: cherries left longer on the tree developed more natural sugar and took on a rich, candy-like quality. “That observation became the foundation of Chukar Cherries,” she explained. “Tree-ripened cherries, dried properly, are completely different from the tart, underripe ones picked early for packing.”

Unable to find a processor willing to dehydrate cherries with the care and precision she envisioned, Montgomery did what any resourceful entrepreneur would—she built the process herself. “Cherries are delicate,” she said. “You can’t dump them by the ton. You need to handle them gently, layer by layer.”

In the early years, Montgomery was the definition of hands-on. She designed the packaging, typed the catalogs, and oversaw every step of production. “I didn’t want to do it all myself, but outsourcing never met our standards,” she said. “So we brought everything in-house—from dehydration to chocolate-coating and fulfillment.”

Her pursuit of excellence took an international turn when a visit to London’s historic Harrods department store introduced her to a German-made chocolate-covered cherry that would forever raise her standards. “It was a dried cherry coated in the most exquisite dark chocolate,” she said. “After that, I knew I had to use pastry-grade chocolate and nothing less.”

Montgomery didn’t stop at quality. She also cultivated community. Early customers, like a professor from Rhode Island who discovered Chukar at the company’s storefront in Prosser, Washington, became loyal supporters. “He ordered from us every year until he passed away,” she said. “We built relationships. That’s what mattered most.”

Chukar’s presence at Seattle’s Pike Place Market soon became another key to its success. “I knew the area well from my real estate days in Seattle,” Montgomery said. “Being there allowed us to interact directly with customers and get immediate feedback.”

That feedback led to a streamlined business model: direct-to-consumer sales through their website and catalog, supported by two retail stores and a curated wholesale strategy. Today, Chukar offers a wide range of products—about half of them chocolate-covered indulgences, and half health-focused snacks with no added sugar. All of them stay true to Montgomery’s founding values.

Looking ahead, the company is planning a packaging refresh featuring botanical illustrations from artist Jim Hayes, whose artwork has graced Chukar’s labels since the beginning. “Jim’s work has given our brand a real Pacific Northwest identity,” Montgomery said. “We’re proud to keep that legacy alive.”

Still very much a family business, Chukar Cherries now includes Montgomery’s daughters, a longtime general manager-turned-partner, and an extended team rooted in the rural town of Prosser. “It’s not just about making a great product,” Montgomery said. “It’s about doing it the right way—with integrity, with care, and with the community in mind.”

From orchard walks with her children to becoming a trailblazer in premium confections, Pam Montgomery’s journey is a testament to vision, resilience, and the power of keeping things personal in an industry that too often forgets its roots.

Listen to the full interview with Pam Montgomery on The Savoir Faire Audio Experience.