Vinny’s Market Reminds Us All of the Importance of the Small Business Economy

By Sal Giarratani

The economic foundation of America isn’t found in Fortune 500 companies, it is found right here in our own neighborhoods at local businesses like Luberto’s Pastry Shop or bodegas like Vinny’s Market over on Malden Street. Wait a minute did I just say bodega? We don’t have bodegas here. I am definitely reading the New York Post too much, huh? We in this area would never utter that New York word. Here we say corner stores because they’re stores and they’re usually located at corners.

I am now a regular at the store. I get my fruit. I get takeout dinner and Sal makes the best cappuccino in Revere, too. This is really an old-school store from back in the day. In two years, it will be celebrating its 50th anniversary. The place was founded by Angelo and Sal’s dad Vincenzo Prezioso. It opened in 1977 and is still going pretty strong.

Angelo just informed me that on April 12 the whole family remembered the 30th anniversary of the real Vinny in Vinny’s Market. This store is packed with loads of stuff and some really great Italian cuisine. Dinners to go, sandwiches loaded to the gills. I always get my cappuccino with milk and no sugar.

Customers are always in line. Scratching tickets is a big activity, too. Oh, and when it comes to newspapers, now there’s old school; when it comes to newspapers, the place sells the Herald, Globe, Wall Street Journal, New York Times and even The Daily Item from the nearby city of Lynn.

However, another big deal, this place also carries local tabloids, too, like the Post-Gazette, The Revere Advocate and even the Boston City Paper from the other side of the tunnels. These papers fly off the racks as well.

If you haven’t found Vinny’s Market, you’re missing something big in your life. Remember to tell Lucia, Sal or Vinny that Sal G sent you to the counter. As for all, he’s nearby but always busy scratching his tickets.