Urban Italian Grocer to Close

Downtown, Midtown, and all parts east of 72nd.
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Big E
City Council
Posts: 8176
Joined: Thu Jan 27, 2005 11:12 am

Urban Italian Grocer to Close

Post by Big E »

http://www.omaha.com/index.php?u_page=2 ... d=10149747

I'm admittedly quite ashamed to not even be aware of this joint. I'll be there Saturday morning to see what's up.

Again, this is the type of business downtowns everywhere need... but Jesus... there IS an onus on the business to adapt and promote. Looks like they did half of hlaf.
OWH.com wrote:Owner Frank Marino will close the store Saturday, 88 years after his Sicilian immigrant father opened it at 1716 S. 13th St., when Omaha was young and the neighborhood was teeming with Czech and Italian families.

No more popping over — or road-tripping down — to 13th Street for freshly made ricotta cheese to make traditional Italian Easter pies.

By the 1950s and '60s, many Omaha Italians were moving out of the old neighborhoods. Frank and Jennie built a house in Westgate — near the site of a former farm where his father had delivered sugar to bootleggers during Prohibition.

As the western exodus from old Omaha continued, supermarkets started gobbling up the grocery business. Marino and his father decided they needed to specialize to survive. It worked.
Until they close in two days.

I'm sad, ashamed and apologetic.

-Big E
Stable genius.
OmahaChef
Parks & Recreation
Posts: 1047
Joined: Sat May 28, 2005 6:55 am
Location: Omaha

Urban Italian Grocer to Close

Post by OmahaChef »

Yeah, I was upset! My source for Italian tuna packed in olive oil is gone. The sliced to order Italian meats was nice too. Luckily I know how to make the Italian Easter Pie. Goodbye Marino's! Sniff, sniff.....
Always a business-oriented city hungry for growth and focused on development with laser intensity, Omaha aimed high, reached for momentum and found critical mass.