In a world where the rich get richer and the big get bigger, surviving as a family-owned business can seem like an act of defiance – or a downright miracle.
Somehow, through the Great Depression, a recession, a pandemic, inflation, floods and a possible “microburst” last summer that took out the back of the building on Prairie Street in Aurora, Prisco’s Family Market has done exactly that for 100 years.
For fourth-generation President Andy Guzauskas, the reason comes down to one basic fact: “We have one income stream,” he said, noting there is no corporate chain to absorb a tough year or challenging hurdles.
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“People have to walk through the front door. We have to give them what they want. And if we don’t they won’t come.”
And so, over the years, Prisco has leaned into what a neighborhood grocery store can offer that the big ones can’t: Food made the old-fashioned way – with recipes from its own kitchen, ingredients often sourced from local growers and a commitment to fresh homemade meals prepared with the kind of care that comes from knowing so many of your customers by name.
Guzauskas admits it is a formula that has become harder to sustain with each passing decade, making this Aurora grocery store’s longevity all the more remarkable.
“Every day,” he told me, “I ask myself, how do we stay relevant?”
The answer, in part, can be found by looking back to where it all began.
This Aurora story kicked off in 1926 when Italian immigrant Tony Prisco started selling fresh fruit and vegetables from the back of a truck, eventually opening a storefront on Lake Street with the help of his father Gaetano.
As the Prisco family expanded, so did the business that proudly carried their name. In 1938, the market moved into a larger building on Lake Street and Jericho Road, then put down roots in 1992 at 1108 Prairie St. on the city’s West Side.
Through four generations, the Prisco family tree became deeply rooted in the store – with aunts, uncles, spouses and dozens of cousins all pitching in to stock shelves, slice meat and display produce.
“That’s how you ran the business,” said Guzauskas with a smile. “You filled it with a bunch of kids.”
Tony Jr. and wife Ann took over the business from his father and wife Mary, before turning it over to their five children, Rob, Ann Louise, Beth, Margaret and Tony “G.” The next generation, however, had more career options and fewer takers to continue the legacy.
After earning his business degree from Northern Illinois University in 2010, Guzauskas had planned to build experience in the corporate world before returning to the family store. But what had been a future possibility suddenly became an immediate responsibility when his Uncle Rob, who was president of the grocery store, experienced health issues. And in 2016, the torch was again passed when he and his mother assumed ownership.
He is, says Beth Guzauskas, the perfect person to write Prisco’s next chapter.
Of her five children, “he is most like my grandfather (founder Tony Sr.) in the way he easily relates to people,” she said. “And I also appreciated Andy’s analytical mind,” which is necessary to study challenges, understand numbers and make thoughtful decisions about the future.
There’s no question challenges lie ahead
Today, 38-year-old Guzauskas finds himself navigating a landscape that may be more complicated than any his grandfather or great-grandfather faced. It is not enough to simply offer healthy, locally-sourced food, he insisted. The challenge for all independent grocers is getting that fresh-is-best message to break through to consumers who are pulled in countless directions by competing voices that most often have far bigger advertising and marketing budgets.
“Unfortunately,” said Guzauskas, “nobody has figured that out.”
Complicating things even more, he continued, is that grocery stores have become targets of public frustration as food prices continue to climb, with customers often directing their anger at the very businesses struggling with the same rising costs.
“We are not making money,” said Guzauskas. “Everybody’s budgets are more than pinched. And when people are that pinched, it’s the Walmarts of the world that win.”
Still, as Prisco’s celebrates its 100th anniversary, Beth and Andy Guzauskas are more committed than ever to the values that carried the business through four generations.
Nowhere is that more evident than in the store’s kitchen.
There, Beth, her daughter Bridget, who runs this busy part of the store, and a small but dedicated staff produce all that is showcased in the market’s large fresh foods section. Among the many offerings are salsas, sauces, salads, sandwiches, wraps and more than a dozen meal options that range from salmon and rice to beef stroganoff to spaghetti and meatballs.
Those made-from-scratch options also extend beyond the store through catering and delivery – a service Prisco’s provided long before COVID-19 made home delivery commonplace.
“We have been kind of a DoorDash since 1926,” said Andy Guzauskas.
Prisco’s Family Market is celebrating its centennial by creating new traditions alongside longtime ones. The market is partnering with Whiskey Acres Distilling Co. in DeKalb and Brother Chimp Brewing in North Aurora on limited edition anniversary beverages, and is offering special sales through October that include some items rolled back to 1926 prices.
If there’s one ingredient that has sustained the Priscos for a century, it is family – and not just the one whose name is above the front door.
The Priscos were raised to believe the store exists only because the community chooses to embrace it – making it the family’s responsibility to return that support in every way possible
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That includes donating to food pantries, schools, churches and other nonprofits, as well as Aurora’s police and fire departments, who turned the market’s parking lot into the staging area during the February 2019 mass shooting at Henry Pratt Co. Later, the market not only sent thank-you sandwich trays to the APD but also took part in a community day of gratitude for all first responders of that tragic event.
When asked what the future holds, Guzauskas didn’t pretend to have any answers.
For all the challenges Prisco’s weathered over the century, nothing tested the family resolve like damage from a violent wind storm last August that tore into the store, causing part of the back wall to collapse and sending water pouring inside.
The damage – which the owners described as a “wake-up call” – forced the store to close for more than two months. Even though the insurance issue has been settled, contract work has yet to begin, which means temporary food freezers are still needed outside, office space and the breakroom are shared and “water is still coming in every time it rains,” noted Beth.
“This was,” she adds, “the closest thing to shutting us down.”
Still, amid that devastation came a powerful reminder of why Prisco’s has survived for so many decades.
As employees stood in the parking lot the day after that August storm, explaining to would-be shoppers why they could not open, those faithful customers asked how they could help. Some offered cleanup labor. Others wanted to provide financial assistance.
“I can’t tell you the number of people who said if you need money we will write you a check,” recalled Beth.
It is a not-so-long-ago memory that still makes mother and son emotional.
“The understanding is that we are here because you want us here,” said Andy. “And you want us here because we do what we do. That is the essence of why independent grocers still exist.”