Beach's Markets

Uh...California.

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boxboy19
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Joined: 19 Dec 2009 15:59

Beach's Markets

Post by boxboy19 »

I worked at a Beach's Market in the late 70's. The store, one of three to four "mom & pop" Beach's stores, was located on the NW corner of Glendale Blvd. and Glenhurst Ave. I lived on Glenhurst Ave. from a young age, at a time when my mom would send me to the store to pick up a loaf of bread, or package of Oscar Mayer "Salami for Beer," on my BigWheel... and I would return safely, without question. I started working there at the age of 14 as a boxboy (clerks helper... clerks assistant? .... bagger...?? (whatever the pc vernacular is nowadays...)) after my father had passed, and was taken in (hired) by David & Vince (both managers and both early models and examples of great work ethic).

The store itself was odd, in that the store was located in a two-story brick building, with tenements on the second floor, the store on the bottom. The store chain was small, with a couple of other stores being in Montrose? and somewhere else.

My work experience was great, formative, and positive. I remember learning to punch my timecard in, stock my paper bags, mop, clean, other stuff. The store was old, in an old neighborhood, with old people that shopped there. The floors had years of shiny wax coatings, the bins of Brachs candy were always ripe for a "sample" and the meat and produce was always fresh. Always. I can still break down what was stocked (in a general sense) on each isle.

Prior to my departure in 1980, the son of "Mr. Beach", Ron, began showing up to assist running the store, even the register, presumably to learn the family business...or perhaps to keep Ron out of trouble, who knew? I remember him to be young, tall, and uptight; easy to upset and a bit nutty sometimes. Greg would sometimes get him laughing, but that wasn't often; usually Ron just tried to appear boss-like, but it didn't work for him in my opinion. Greg and Ron would banter back and forth, it was pretty funny (and it passed the time when the store was slow, though there was ALWAYS something for me to do).

Our family moved a year later to Santa Clarita, where I began working for another mom & pop, Phil's Market, but that's a story for another thread....

I came back after I had some leave from the military, after having moved from Atwater to Santa Clarita, and the store, as well as the building, was gone, ca. 1990 (or maybe some years before... but by the time I got to visit... it was gone).

My memories:

"Uncle Bud" The butcher... a man of great stature and booming Texas accent who would give us free slices of tavern ham to "test." What a nice man he was, and a gentleman's gentleman to all the customers.

Greg Clancy... a funny, funny, clerk who took me under his wing; he loved the Celtics, Moosehead beer, made fun of that nutty customer who wore a clock around her neck on a string (before it was fashionable for Flava Flave to do so...)... Acid Alice, as she was affectionately known, and took me backpacking to help ease the pain of my dad passing.

Vince Lucci... manager, my first boss... great guy; a lot of respect given and received by that man. Hired me and gave me a chance to help my mom out.

The Beach's Market sign: it was on gray flat painted I beam that was cemented into a round three foot high pedestal. When we were little, my siblings and I would climb on the pedestal and walk around it until my mom was done shopping.

The smell of the compressors humming away with the faint smell of grocery store garbage around back.. unique, and I miss it.

When the store closed, I remember putting whetted down burlap bags over the refrigerated produce to keep it/them fresh.

The store room in back of the building, a place were the recyclable bottles were kept, yielded treasures of their own. I spotted old soda bottles... brands that I never heard of in oddly shaped or colored bottles. I saw two cases of 7up commemorative UCLA Basketball bottles... all neat stuff.

Break time: a can of apple Aspen soda and a honeybun made the world right. Gathering carts, sweeping the sawdust up around the meat department... mopping wet clean-ups...good times and fun place to work. I miss those days..
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