As you walk into Battaglia’s Marketplace you are always greeted with a friendly smile from all the staff and Saturday, February 22nd was no exception as they celebrated 19 years since opening its doors to the residents of Lorne Park, Clarkson and surrounding neighbourhoods. Shoppers were offered a coffee and cupcake upon arrival and a chance to win a $250 Battaglia’s gift certificate. Live music was played all day by local musicians and the kids went home with helium balloons. The best neighbourhood grocery store with wonderful staff!
Here’s to another 19 years!
Our History
Our Grandparents emigrated here from Italy in the 1920’s. They opened and operated a produce market on Queen Street in Toronto, which was very small by today’s standards at 1,000 square feet in total. Our grandfather died at the young age of 50 and it was left up to our Grandmother, our Uncle (17 years old) and our Dad (then 9 years old), to run the market. It was a very tough time but they worked tirelessly to make it work.
After operating a few other business ventures, they opened a larger grocery store on Bloor Street near High Park in Toronto. As the business grew, they moved to a 10,000 square foot store in Etobicoke and opened up the “Red and White” banner. This was in the early 60’s and the area was under significant residential development near Centennial Park. They were able to take their old-fashioned values and service to a new level. Head office and our Dad and Uncle had different views on how the store was to be run, so they left the store to run a small fruit stand on Clarkson Road. For our Dad and Uncle, this was a return to their roots, operating a smaller location with a focus on high-quality produce and personal customer service. It wasn’t long before people responded to what they had to offer and their business flourished in short order.
In the meantime, the store they left behind was failing and soon head office was pleading for them to come back. Knowing that they could make something of the “Red and White” location, the move was made back to Etobicoke where they continued to operate a grocery store until 2001. It was during this time that they became involved in the operation of the grocery business and learned alongside the brothers expanding the business over the years.
In 2001, it was time to follow in our Dad’s footsteps and make a move for the future of the business. The Lorne Park area was a perfect fit and Battaglia’s Lorne Park Marketplace came into existence, opening its doors on February 23, 2001. We never forgot the lessons taught to us by our Dad and his way of operating a store. We believe we had the best mentor in our Dad and are proud to carry on the family business bearing his name.
Today, Battaglia’s Lorne Park Marketplace is owned and operated by Anthony and Frank Battaglia, sons and grandsons of a marketplace tradition. Like their Dad, their commitment to quality and service is relentless. The mission of Battaglia’s Lorne Park Marketplace is to provide the highest quality of product in the marketplace at competitive prices and to service our customers as if they were part of the family. We want to build long term relationships with our customers to ensure years of pleasurable shopping at our store.
Battaglia Family Story
