With hugs and handshakes for shoppers by owner Andy Guzauskas, Prisco’s Family Market in Aurora reopened October 30.
Celebrating a four-day grand reopening, first-day hours were 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.. The 99-year-old store had been shut down due to storm damage August 18.
During the shutdown, staff were allowed in the building to make changes to the layout and help “freshen up” store shelves for the holidays. According to Guzauskas, truckloads of produce and meats were donated to three local food pantries.
Prisco’s dates to 1926 when Italian immigrants Tony and Mary Prisco opened a small grocery store in their home on Bishop Avenue. They lived upstairs while running the store downstairs.
Later they expanded with a “Store on Wheels” truck, delivering goods to various neighborhoods.
The family-run business has grown and is owned by Andy Guzauskas, great-grandson of the founders, who represents the fourth generation of the Prisco family to own the business.
He said the market has maintained its focus on personal service, a strong work ethic and community connection, the foundations laid by Tony and Mary in the early days.
—Al Benson