Before convenience stores, there were neighborhood food stores.
The time before the convenience store was the time of the neighborhood food store. And, although neighborhood food stores still exist, they're getting harder and harder to find.
As I recall, neighborhood stores were alike in many ways, but not in the indistinguishable way of today's convenience stores. The neighborhood stores had sawdust on the wood floors, meats and cheeses hanging from the ceiling and unpackaged foods that created a heavenly aroma that those of us who experienced it will never forget. Perhaps what was most memorable for me was the total organized clutter.
Mary Morello displays a choice cut of meat for a customer in the G. Morello and Sons Market on Cherry Street in Vineland in this photo from the late 1960s. I had the good fortune of having one of these stores in my family, G. Morello and Sons on Cherry Street in Vineland, where I could experience the sensory wonders firsthand. Every square inch of space in my Uncle Lou's store, and stores like it, was used to display products that ran the gamut from national brands to local specialty items. And the proprietors of such stores always knew where everything was.
Before convenience stores, Morello's and its ilk were where you went to get cold cuts ("lunch meats" in my family) or a good cut of meat for dinner. And "Cheers" wasn't the only place where everybody knew your name; you were greeted as an old friend when you entered these neighborhood food stores.
MORE: Vintage photos around New Jersey
They were located throughout the state. There was the U-Buy Market in Somerset, Celentano's Market in Newark (the birthplace of what eventually became a national brand), the Somerset Fish Market in North Plainfield with the huge crustacean on the roof, Moe's Market in Hammonton, Cameron's Meat Shoppe in Kearny and so many others.
Here's a gallery of neighborhood food stores from New Jersey, and links to other similar galleries you'll enjoy.
Vintage photos of small food stores in N.J.
Vintage photos of eclectic eats in N.J.
Greg Hatala may be reached at ghatala@starledger.com. Follow him on Twitter @GregHatala. Find Greg Hatala on Facebook.