The end of an era: Pechin to close its doors
After nearly eight decades, a nationally recognized supermarket known for its 10-cent burgers and bargain prices announced it will be closing its doors for good.
The Pechin Market located at 232 Pittsburgh St. in Connellsville announced the news Tuesday on its website and Facebook pages, citing economic difficulties.
鈥淚t has been an incredible 77 years,鈥� the post reads. 鈥淚t was filled with hard work, much happiness and some sadness. We operated through the years to stay relevant and adjust to what we thought our community needed, despite chain stores engulfing us. We felt the need to remain, so that corporate stores had someone to keep them in check.鈥�
News of the closure left several generations of customers reminiscing about Pechin, which has been a Fayette County institution since it opened in 1947.
鈥淭he thing that made Pechin so special was how nice everyone was there,鈥� said Dee Tishman of Dunbar. 鈥淚t was kind of a big family, if you will, with a lot of good memories.鈥�
Tishman has not only been a customer, but worked as a cashier at the Dunbar location in the early 鈥�90s. She laughed as she recalled the 鈥渕eat cart fights鈥� that she watched unfold at the store.
鈥淭hey would bring meat down in large carts, take them down the ramp to the meat department and couldn鈥檛 even get them on the shelves because people were literally fighting over all the carts,鈥� she said with a smile.
The original store is the stuff of legend in the area. The prices were extraordinarily low, which is perhaps why the ambiance left something to be desired.
Bill and Linda Aller of Mount Pleasant said those less flattering features were part of Pechin鈥檚 overall charm.
鈥淚t wouldn鈥檛 be unusual to see water coming from the ceiling,鈥� Bill said in a playful tone. 鈥淏ut it didn鈥檛 matter, the prices were good, the people were nice and I just can鈥檛 believe it鈥檚 closing.鈥�
Tishman said one of her favorite memories was the three-cent doughnuts whose aroma would float from the bakery, drawing anyone in the vicinity to the breakfast treat.
鈥淚t was kind of like the meat fights,鈥� she said, laughing. 鈥淧eople would take these red bags and just take the doughnuts off the shelf as quickly as they were put out. They were just these grease-filled doughnuts that were fried, but they were amazing.鈥�
Dan Strong of Connellsville said he鈥檚 been shopping at Pechin for as long as he can remember and had a 鈥済reat level of respect鈥� for the store鈥檚 original owner. Sullivan 鈥淪ully鈥�
D鈥橝mico started the business in 1947 out of the basement of his Dunbar home.
鈥淚 remember he came back from World War II, and he started the business for the people,鈥� Strong said. 鈥淗e was the kind of guy that if he knew you were down on your luck, he wouldn鈥檛 hesitate to help out and want nothing in return.鈥�
After D鈥橝mico died in 2005, his niece, Marie Martin, told the in an interview that her uncle instituted the popular nickel cup of coffee, the 19-cent hamburger and the free meals to senior citizens on Mondays.
She also said her uncle was a man of principle, stating that he refused to raise prices even when his family urged him to do so.
鈥淗e said that he gave it to the customer, and it was going to stay that way,鈥� she said at the time. 鈥淗e never cared how much money he was losing.鈥�
D鈥橝mico eventually moved the store out of his home as it grew into the Pechin Shopping Village, which included a supermarket, a cafeteria that offered low-cost meals, a pharmacy and sporting goods store.
In 2005, the supermarket and other Pechin assets moved into Laurel Mall in Dunbar Township. That location closed in 2020, not long after the Connellsville location opened.
鈥淚t鈥檚 for sure a part of this area鈥檚 history,鈥� said Dawn Louis of Vanderbilt. 鈥淵ou can go to West Virginia, and people will know about Pechin.鈥�
The owner of the store could not be reached for comment on Wednesday. An employee at the store indicated the last day would be sometime in mid-November or when the store sells all of its inventory.
As for why the store is closing, the store鈥檚 website indicated the store had encountered economic hardships over the past four years.
鈥淭he cost of goods, exorbitant taxes, utilities and regulations have made it impossible to continue,鈥� reads the statement, noting that those issues 鈥渉ave made no room for opportunity to survive or thrive.鈥�
Bill Aller said he is going to miss the bakery at the Connellsville location and will have to find a new place to try to replace his favorite cookies. Linda Aller shared her husband鈥檚 sentiments about the closing, but her concern lies with the locals who walked to the store.
鈥淭hey offer prescriptions here; it鈥檚 where we get ours at,鈥� Linda said. 鈥淎nd now that鈥檚 closing. It鈥檚 going to be hard, especially for the older people that live right around here and could walk here.鈥�
Tammy Tishman of Dunbar said she was 鈥渏ust sick鈥� when she heard the news that the store she鈥檚 been coming to for over three decades is going to close.
鈥淚 like their meat better than anywhere else around,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 liked it best when it was at the mall because it was closest to me, but I didn鈥檛 mind when it moved to Connellsville. I鈥檓 just sick that it鈥檚 closing. I really don鈥檛 want it to.鈥�
She harkened back to the days of the original store in Dunbar, when she and her friends could 鈥渓ive like kings鈥� in the shopping village鈥檚 cafeteria.
鈥淎ll the kids in the neighborhoods would grab a handful of change and go down to the cafeteria where the hamburgers were, I think, just 10 cents and have a blast. It was awesome, it was really nice, and I鈥檓 really going to miss this place,鈥� she said.