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| We recently asked the Seminack's for a bit of history on
the Delray and found that the Di Crescenzo family have been supplying food products to our commmunity since 1914. The first two pictures below were taken in the late 1930's and early 1940's. The last in 1995 at the Cancer drive. I've shopped the Delray (as run by the DiCresenzo's) for 18 years. The Delray's people, family atmosphere and unique assortments of products will be missed. webmaster@newhopepa.com .. |
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| .. In 1908 my grandfather, Nicola Di Crescenzo, left his native Italy and arrived in the U.S. to embark on a new life. His destination was Lambertville N. J. At first, "Nick" took a job in a quarry then in a rubber mill. Before long he met and married another Italian immigrant, Clara Di Tieri. In 1914 Nick started a job at Rotondo's Butcher Shop in Lambertville and immediately found his "niche". He soon became a partner in the business and eventually was the sole proprietor after Mr. Rotondo retired in 1935. My grandfather gained a widespread reputation as a first-rate butcher and had a large following of loyal customers.With a keen eye for quality, he personally selected all the meat that he sold, choosing only the very best beef from the warehouse as well as veal and lamb from local farmers.This sense of quality was instilled in his new partners, his sons. My grandparents Nick and Clara had 5 children, three of them boys -- Tony, Ray (my father), and Elmer - all of whom were trained in the business at an early age. In 1937 the butcher shop became a "Pioneer Store" which was a cooperative of small markets selling groceries as well as meats. Nick with his "boys" ran the market until 1966 when my grandfather died. Then Tony and Ray ran the business together for 10 years. Because of poor health, Tony sold his shares to my father in 1976. Ray, with the help of his wife, Adele, continued to operate the Pioneer Store until 1980 when a new business opportunity became available. Ray's long time dream was to open a full service supermarket and now he had the opportunity to do so just across the Delaware River in New Hope, Pa. Ray took advantage of this opportunity and invited his two sons-in-law Micky and Bob (my husband) to join him -- thus starting "Delray Market." (The name, DELRAY, came from my parents' first names.) Alas, in 1999 our family decided that it was time to sell the supermarket. And so, with many fond memories Delray Market became a chapter in our local history books. - Jan Seminack (April 2000) .. |
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