From the corner of Union Street and Princess in Strathcona, the Benedetti family has seen it all.
For a century, three generations have dutifully served their customers from behind the counters of the beloved Benny鈥檚 Market.
The venerable independent Italian grocery celebrated its 100th birthday in August.
In 1919, Alfonso Benedetti, a young Italian immigrant from Navelli, opened an ice cream parlour at 598 Union St. with help from the winnings in a backroom poker game. He and a partner paid $900 for the business. The partner was bought out soon after, and it鈥檚 been Benedetti-owned ever since, morphing from the ice cream parlour into Benedetti Grocery after a few years.
Strathcona was a popular neighbourhood for Italian immigrants in the early 20th century, and by the late 1930s, after surviving the Depression, Alfonso and his wife Violet managed to purchase the property. The Benedetti family have owned it ever since.
When did it change from Benedetti to Benny鈥檚? For the answer, you鈥檇 have to go back to the 1940s and the onslaught of the Second World War.
鈥淵eah, well, the Italians sided with the Germans,鈥� says Alfonso鈥檚 grandson Ramon Benedetti Junior who, along with his wife Janet, now operate both the store and its wholesale food business. 鈥淭he war had an impact all the way over here, so my grandparents shortened the name on the sign from 鈥楤enedetti鈥� to 鈥楤enny.鈥� It鈥檚 stuck ever since, but that was the reason for that name change.鈥�
Alfonso Benedetti passed away in 1970, and his wife Violet suffered a stroke the same night, which meant their son Ramon Senior took over both the business and the nickname 鈥淏enny.鈥� Over the years, Ramon would become known as the 鈥淜ing of Strathcona鈥� for his outgoing nature, community advocacy and endless storytelling.
Strathcona went through another change in mid-鈥�70s, with the threat of a major highway ripping through East Vancouver, right over top of Benny鈥檚 Market. Many of the Italians sold out and moved east to Commercial Drive, Hastings-Sunrise and Burnaby Heights, but the Benedettis remained.
By the 1980s, buoyed by cheap rent, Strathcona had become a Bohemian, artist-friendly district, and many of the alternative sect shopped at Benny鈥檚, including Grammy Award-winning singer k.d. lang.
鈥渒.d. lang used to live in the neighbourhood and, yes, she shopped here,鈥� remembers Janet, who joined the family business in 1989. By that time, Benny and his wife Irma, had managed to purchase the house next door and were renting out a few apartments above the store.
鈥淲e rented to all sorts of artists,鈥� remembers Janice Benedetti, sibling to Ramon Junior and sisters Francesca and Sandra. 鈥淜eith Porteous and Allen Moy, who managed 54-40, were our tenants. The band Bolero Lava practised in the basement, too.鈥� In the house next door, the Benedettis also rented to bands such as Tankhog and Bum.
鈥淏enny knew everybody,鈥� recalls Bill Baker, co-owner of Mint Records, who rented an apartment above Benny鈥檚 Market in the 1990s along with his then-wife, singer Rose Melberg. 鈥淏enny had a fiery personality and was a really colourful character. Cadillacs would line the street outside the market while Rose and I sat on our upstairs porch and watched Benny and his friends play bocce ball in a court in the backyard, a bunch of classic old Italian guys swearing and smoking cigars.鈥�
Ramon Junior fondly remembers those backyard bocce ball tournaments. 鈥淭he losing team would have to buy the winning team drinks in dad鈥檚 basement bar after the game.鈥�
By the 2000s, Juno-winning musical twins Tegan and Sara were regular Benny鈥檚 customers, as was the CBC鈥檚 Bill Richardson. These days, one of the regular indie rock luminary customers is Dan Bejar of Destroyer and the New Pornographers.
鈥淒an lives across the street and comes in about four or five times a day when he鈥檚 in town鈥�, says Janet. 鈥淗e buys it as he needs it. He鈥檚 such a funny, nice, kind man.鈥�
As the Benedettis were gearing up for their 100th anniversary party, tragedy struck when Ramon Senior died at age 90 on April 12.
鈥淗e was working here just prior to his passing, six days a week, three or four hours a day, doing our books, right up to the end,鈥� says Janet.
Benny鈥檚 Market is still a bustling business, selling specialized Italian goods, an array of fresh deli sandwiches, organic meats, produce, cheeses and lots of regular and hard-to-find grocery items, and even some original boxes of wax matches imported from Italy generations ago.
When reflecting on their century in business, Ramon Junior tries to sum up the secret of their success. 鈥淚 think it鈥檚 customer service,鈥� he says quietly. 鈥淧ersonalized service, as opposed to what you get in the big box stores. Some people don鈥檛 understand the vast variety we carry in this store. It鈥檚 jammed, it鈥檚 full, I don鈥檛 think we could fit much more.鈥�
