Rocco Riccardo retires after sale of family business

By Steve Svetovich

All good things come to an end.

Such is the case with Riccardo’s Market, 1219 Wheeler Avenue, in Dunmore..

Riccardo’s Market has been a staple in the Dunmore community for close to 100 years.

However, Riccardo’s final day of business was Wednesday, October 30, as store owner Rocco Riccardo retired after selling to Schiel’s Market, a Shursave supermarket chain that owns stores  in Wilkes-Barre and Plains.

Riccardo, 61, Dunmore, is used to working 70 to 80 hours seven days a week and is ready for a rest.

“They know me very well at McDonald’s on the O’Neill Highway,” he said. “I am the first one there every morning for a coffee at 5:01 a.m. Then I head to the store to start my day. It’s a daily ritual seven days a week.

“I do a lot of different things at the store, including the maintenance. It’s all hands on. This is going to be a long-awaited vacation.”

There will be some renovations to the building this month as Schiel’s is slated to begin business December 1.

“My customers and employees mean a lot to me,” he said. “I had offers to sell before, but the deal had to include that all of my employees would be retained by the new company. Schiel’s agreed to that. We made that deal. So it’s good for me, good for the Schiel’s family and good for my employees and customers.”

Riccardo, the final owner and operator of the family business, has been a major part of the operation for the past 48 years.

There have been three locations in 100 years. The business has been owned by four generations of Riccardos.

Originally owned by his great-grandfather Salvatore Riccardo, the family-owned business originated in the early 1920’s.

“Our family dealt in produce back then,” said Riccardo, who will turn 62 in February. “Those were the horse-and-buggy days. We were hucksters.”

Riccardo’s original location was where DePietro’s Pharmacy stands today at 617 Third St., Dunmore.

In 1993, Rocco took over the family-owned business and bought the old Giant Market building on Blakely Street near the Dunmore police station and borough building. In 2008, Riccardo’s moved to its current location at 1219 Wheeler Ave., Dunmore.

Son of Betty and Salvatore Riccardo, Rocco has been working in the family business since he was 14.

“I used to go there right after school and on weekends. I worked there 40 hours a week when I was in high school.”

Rocco’s grandfather, also Rocco, took over the family business in the 1930’s. Eventually, Rocco’s dad Salvatore took over Riccardo’s Market. Rocco has been running the family business since 1993.

Rocco is married to the former Nancy Jennings. Their children have all been involved in the family business at one time or another. Those five children are Anna, 42; Sal, 41; Lexxus, 26, Elizabeth, 23, and Michael, 18. Michael was still working in the business up to its final day of operation.

The couple also has two grandchildren: Annalea, 8, and Aribella, 5.

Riccardo’s Market was open seven days a week, Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Saturday from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Rocco said the Riccardo and DePietro families go back over 100 years. The two families used to be neighbors in the Bunker Hill section of Dunmore.

Rocco is a 1981 graduate of Bishop O’Hara in Dunmore. He also has a pilot’s license and studied welding at Johnson School of Technology. He once owned a plane.

“I loved working in this business everyday. I loved the customers and my great employees. I’ve seen three generations of customers. Some of my employees were with me 20 to 30 years. It’s going to be hard without my customers and employees. They are all like family to me. It’s tough to leave, but Schiel’s is going to be a nice fit for Dunmore,” Rocco says.

“My wife and I are going on a well-deserved vacation and then I want to spend more time with the family. My wife worked in the business, too. She did a lot in the greenhouse and with cooking. We want to spend a lot of time with our two grandchildren in Dover, PA.

“My dad and grandfather both died at 65. I thought it was time to retire now. I want to live to be 100. I want to enjoy my retirement.”