What once was Putorti’s Broadway Market has become Broadway Market.

Fra and Cheryl Putori put the market up for sale three years ago and are now parting ways with the 95-year-old family business with feelings of love, compassion and gratefulness.

“I’m going into my 50th year of owning the store,” Fra said.

“We talked about it with our family, and no one wished to continue on, so we made the decision as we’re getting older and we decided to sell,” Cheryl said.

Humble beginnings

Caroline Martucci Putorti, an Italian immigrant, opened its doors on the first floor of the Putorti home on Mountain Street in 1927. The family was known for ice cream, meat, and Italian bread and in 1947 moved to Broadway.

The store became a staple for groceries and its friendly service.

In 1963 the apartment was built over the business. Fast forward to July 5, 1973, and it was time for Fra to take over the business.

“In 1963, my grandfather died, and my uncle built the apartment over the store because they didn’t want my mother living alone and he and his wife moved in and took over the store. In July of 1973, my uncle’s daughter got married and they decided to leave,” he said.

“I had worked in the store before as a kid and at that time I was going to ACC and working at Grand Union and I said, ‘I like the store; I’ll buy it.’”

Fra was only 19 at the time of his purchase of Putorti’s Market and needed parental cosigner for the $4,500 loan from Proctor Bank. Not only that, but he needed assistance with the beer license.

“My family owned the business and all I had to buy was the inventory. We opened on July 5, 1973, and the beer licensing was in my parents’ name because I wasn’t of age,” he said.

The $4,500 loan was paid in full a month later and the business was in no way feeling like a job.

“I’ve spent a lot of time in there and it wasn’t a job because I really enjoyed doing it,” he said.

The love story

Cheryl’s everlasting crush on Fra began in the sixth grade. She worked in the store during her high school years which gave her more time with Fra.

“I came to work for him when I was 16,” Cheryl said. “Through high school, off and on through college I worked for him. I had a crush on him since the sixth grade and that’s kind of why I wanted to get a job from him.”

“I didn’t have a crush on her at the start,” Fra added with a chuckle.

“It took him a long time to get on board,” Cheryl added.

The two were married in 1980 and have a similar trait of loving their community. When it comes to family members working together, there has always been a negative reputation of the circumstance. But Fra and Cheryl go against that stigma.

“We each had things we do within the store, so it worked for us. A lot of couples can’t do that. We were devoted to the business! We’ve left family events to cover shifts and we’re very easy-going people. It wasn’t a bother,” Cheryl said.

The couple has also served as a beacon of light among the youth in the community by welcoming those who were struggling. Whether someone needed help or a person to talk to, they were there for the community as well as their employees. Their son Matt spoke about their dedication.

“Because my parents were younger when they first owned the store, they were all similar in age to the employees. So, on Friday nights, they would all hang out at the house that was attached to the store and would have pizza and hang out. On Christmas they would have big parties and would all decorate the store for it after Thanksgiving,” he said.

Closing of a chapter

While Fra thinks about becoming active in local government by possibly helping with grant writing, the two want the community to know they will still be around. They as well as Matt hope for the community to continue supporting the store.

“The store’s roots are in immigration, and it was unusual to have a female entrepreneur in the 1920’s, let alone someone who didn’t speak the language very well. Knowing that this immigration thread is continuing with the new owners I think is poetic in the terms of the store and I think we are very hopeful the community will continue to support the store and the new owners,” Matt said.

Neal Patel is the new owner and also own Chapman’s General Store in Middle Granville and the Putortis are hoping for kindness and patience with the transition.

Both Fra and Cheryl adamantly expressed their gratitude to all the employees they had over the years and the support of their customers. They both said that there was no way the success of Putorti’s Market could have been what it was without them.

“We have wonderful memories of everything throughout the years and there’s really no way to put into words how we want to thank the community, our family, and our employees, through this journey that we’ve been on the last 50 years of our lives,” Cheryl said.

“We’re ready to look at some new things to add to our lives and have some time for us. Who knows what life will hand us two in the next few years as we’re getting older. Now we can come and go and have a little freedom.”