Watertown Neighborhood Grocery Stores – Gotham St Market

According to the Watertown Daily Times, there were as many as 87 neighborhood grocery stores operating in the city back in 1907. While there will always be a place for chains – some of them serving up a number of fond memories themselves such as the much-beloved Mohican, there’s something about the neighborhood stores and their place within our communities, and particularly our childhood memories, that made them endearing.

Over the years, more and more large grocery stores infiltrated the area offering more competitive pricing, and larger varieties of goods.  A&P, Weston, Super Duper, P&C and many others have come and gone through the years and while the neighborhood grocery stores are (very) few and far between, if you look around, you still might see a little mom and pop store… somewhere.

In an ever-evolving world, it’s the chain stores themselves who now face stiff competition from the likes of large conglomerates such as Sam’s Club and Walmart, or the likes of Amazon.com.  While some of them may be able to boast even MORE offerings and DEEPER discounts, they’ll never aspire to be, and thusly never match, the quaintness of the old neighborhood grocery stores.

As one astute commenter, Lee Crandall, wrote on the You Haven’t Lived in Watertown, NY if— Facebook page,

In most American cities our zoning laws have put this type of store out of business. So now we miss out on the interaction with neighbors, drive miles to a big box store, get less exercise, and waste fossil fuels to get the stuff that used to be at the corner store.

A list of neighborhood grocery stores in Watertown over the years include the following below (feel free to email support@memoryln.net for any additional ones not mentioned.)

Aboud & Bahou

Academy St Market

Ashkar’s

Bajally’s

Boora’s Soda Shop

Breen Avenue Market

Calendar’s Market

California Fruit Market

Capone Grocery

General Store, Coffeen Street

Clay Street Market

Cooper Street Market

Crescent’s Market

Derrigo’s Fruit Stand

Dorr’s Market

Eveleigh’s Market

Fobert’s Market

Gayle Street Market

Gotham Street Market

Greico’s Produce

Habeeb Bros. Red & White

Hickey’s Grocery Store

Horning’s Grocery

Johnnie’s Fruit Stand

LeRay Street Market

Meadow Street Market

Mathar’s Market

Parkview Market

Rocky’s Fruit Stand

Ruth’s Market

Tony’s Fruit Stand

The Gotham Street Market, shown above, had a long run at its location, for quite some time being the only neighborhood grocery store on Gotham Street.  It would have many owners over the course of the years, one of the longest stints of ownership belonging to George W. Maxon.  In 1910, Mr. Maxon would purchase the store and operate it until 1951, selling it to the Kissel family who had one of the shortest stints of two years running it until 1953.

The store would then pass to the Pucia family who would operate the store for another 26 years, making it a true family-affair.  From NNY Biz Magazine’s March 2013 edition* –

The store, open seven says a week, became a “Family Affair,” Gary Puccia said, with the three boys assigned responsibilities according to their ages.

“Joe Jr. was cashier.  Anthony was responsible for stocking the shelves and keeping the coolers full of beverages.  In later years, he learned how to butcher.  I was the youngest and delegated to sorting, the thousands of returnable beer and soda bottles in the cellar, and stocking shelves.”

It was during the Joseph Puccia Years that the business became the Gotham Street Market.  And as the building had for previous owners, it also provided a home for the Puccias.

The store would change ownership one last time, to the Vincent Cavallario who would operate it until 1982 before closing shop for good.  At the time, many of the old neighborhood grocery stores had closed with the few remaining, such as Habeeb’s Red & White, a Mill Street mainstay for nearly 50 years at that point, would close within the next few years as owners retired with grocery shopping landscape vastly different from the times they began their careers.

*The NNY Biz Magazine piece, ‘Mom-and-pop’ Market Memories, originally appeared in the Watertown Daily times on Feb. 22, 2009, as Dave Shampine’s “Times Gone By” column.