Since 1954, Marty’s Christmas Trees has been a fixture in Manteca.

The seasonal business was started by Marty Teunissen and originally located near the old Ace Hardware store along Main Street and Yosemite Avenue.

He later passed the Christmas tree business to his son, Mike Teunissen.

But the name stayed the same over the years while the locations changed. Marty’s Christmas Trees moved farther down the road on Yosemite Avenue near Union Road at the site that now occupies a McDonald’s Restaurant.

For the past 10 years, the family-owned and -operated tree lot has set up shop at the corner of Lathrop Road and the Highway 99 Frontage Road.

Joanna Fonseca, who took over the business from her uncle, Mike, about four years ago, favors this location.

“We’ve done OK over here,” she said.

Joanna shares the business with her husband, Richard Fonseca. Family members also chip in, helping out to do a variety of jobs.

In addition, her mother, Nancy Teunissen, is in the Christmas tree business. She operates Marty’s at Hammer Lane and Lower Sacramento Road in Stockton, and has been at that location for nearly 30 years.

Joanna Fonseca, meanwhile, had no problem taking over the Manteca tree lot.

“I’ve been around the (Christmas tree) business all of my life,” she said on Monday.

Marty’s Christmas Trees officially kicked off its 57th year of operation on Black Friday.

“We had a pretty good first day,” Fonseca reported.

She added that at this point business appears better than that of the previous years.

Not bad considering that Marty’s was once the only tree lot in the area. Today, they’re in competition with other tree lots in addition to the trees sold at some of the retail stores and supermarkets.

“I would say that 60 percent of our business comes from returning customers,” Richard Fonseca said.

Marty’s has a strong selection of trees, ranging from Noble, Grand, Douglas, and Fraser firs. Nordmann firs are also among the varieties but not available during the last shipment.

All told, Richard Fonseca estimated 1,400 trees in stock this early in the season. Some of the bigger trees stand up to 12 to 15 feet in height.

Nobles are their most popular selection of trees and for good reason.

“Nobles will stay greener and fresher much longer (than some of the other trees) and have larger branches, making it easier to decorate,” said Richard Fonseca.

He added that the tree lot also does custom flocking. Robert Acosta has 20 years of experience in this area.

Marty’s hours are Sundays through Thursdays, from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., and Fridays and Saturdays, from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Joanna Fonseca noted that her tree lot will stay in operation through Christmas Eve, Dec. 24.

“Even if we run out of trees here, we can always get some from our other tree lot (in Stockton),” she said.

Marty’s always keeps it in the family.