model's 3(gmem6er when... .V Monday, July 4,1994 . · J Continued from frnm Page D<M*I 1, <· Continued Modern store was air conditioned snlrl fiio W~«* Q^ J ou__ sold his West Bridge Street store and concentrated on the new, larger supermarket. It was considered a very modern store with air conditioning, four check-out counters, refrigerated display cases, including a four-tiered case for dairy products, and 60 feet of meat displays. Amodeo says it was one of only a handful of large businesses on North Front Street when it opened. The Sun Valley Motel, Elliott Motors, Tops Motel (later the Black Hawk) ware expanded its store and needed the space occupied by Amodeo, so he constructed a new building at 242 N. Front St. and hooked up with the Super Save chain serviced by National Grocers Company Ltd., but with independent operators. His new building had extra space and Amodeo rented this to the Royal Bank and Radio Shack. The Royal Bank now occupies the entire space.' The following year Amodeo i and Charlie Scott's livestock sales barn were the other major businesses on the strip. Amodeo remembers buying his pork from the sales barn. He had some of it smoked at Spencer Frigid Locker and made his own sausages with the trimmings. "We sold an awful lot of sausage at 3 Ibs. for a dollar," he says. The cost of a few other items in 1965 shows how much inflation has occurred since then. Steak and roasts were 69 cents a pound, ketchup 24 cents a bottle, peanut butter $1 for three pounds, a pint of ice cream 20 cents and bread was selling for 22 cents a loaf. Some of the employees included manager Art Conley, Pearl White, Al Bird, Tom Brownlee, butcher and meat department manager Al Shoniker, his daughter Ann Shoniker and all Amodeo's five children (Susan, Cathy, Jeannie, Paul and Mark) who worked after school or on weekends. Lome Sparling, who later married Jeannie Amodeo, was also an employee. Some things about the supermarket business have changed since Amodeo left. He says he never put green bananas on the shelves and never ran out of the staples. If he was low on some items, he borrowed them from another gro- A visit from the Salad Queen with Amodeo on the right. eery store until his shipment arrived. There was no animosity between the various grocery stores. In fact, there was almost an unofficial club of grocery store managers and produce company representatives, says Amodeo. In 1978 Amodeo closed the business. There were several factors involved, including a lack of parking space and the rise of the large grocery store, which made Amodeo's Supe Save look small by comparisor As well, his children were pui suing other interests and th Royal Bank wanted to expan its premises. Since then Amodeo had bee involved with real estate sale and as a consult with the Fee eral Business Developinen Bank, but is now basically re tired. ton!