In the 1950s, Sharonville, OH was the northern border of the suburban development of greater Cincinnati and the farms of Butler County. It was considered then by many to be way up there, just a little south of Dayton. I-275 was not on any map.
Sharonville was my universe as a little boy and home to the “Giuliani family” owned Sharon Farm Market as noted in A Cincinnati Farm and Food History. The following are stories of the Sharon Farm Market as written and told by Dr. Michael Giuliani, my fellow classmate of Princeton High School - class of 1972. Michael now lives in St. Louis, MO.
May these stories inspire readers to ponder the relationships, sourcing, and sustainability of the local food movement of days gone by, now, and of those yet to come.
Relationships
Sharon Farm Market provided a local landmark ... Edward and Mickey Giuliani, the owners, operated the business with a constant presence. The location of the Market at the corner of Kemper Road and US Route 42 in Sharonville, OH never changed. The business started in 1957 and the last year that the Giuliani family operated the Sharon Farm Market was 1987.
The business hours ran from 9 AM to 9 PM seven days a week including all weekends and holidays. Even when people would show up a little late, Ed usually would delay closing until these patrons could buy their goods.
Mickey Giuliani (Michael’s mom) reliably opened the market every day of the week and ran the cash register from opening until closing. Mickey provided a strong consistent force in the business; the strength of Mickey’s character enabled the business to succeed for 30 years.
Many shoppers acknowledged being the third generation of customers from their family to shop at the market. Parents brought their children, who in turn brought their children. Shopping at Sharon Farm Market was a group activity and many customers routinely brought the whole family to shop.
Sourcing
The workday started when Edward would drive his truck to the commission houses in downtown Cincinnati. He shopped for new merchandise every day. His commute would begin at 4:30 AM. The desire to be back to the market for the opening and the fact the commission houses only operated in the morning necessitated the early start.
During the early years of the Market, refrigerated train cars carried most merchandise to Cincinnati. Later, trucks carried virtually all the goods to Cincinnati. When Sharon Farm Market first opened there were multiple commission houses in Cincinnati, which created a very competitive environment. Consolidation of the commission houses over the years drastically reduced the competition among this segment of the retail supply chain.
Their attention to fresh produce warrants special focus. Ed and Mickey insisted that sweet corn from a farm in Harrison, Ohio be sold every day on the same morning it was picked. They also could thump a melon and by the sound it produced, pick a melon at the peak of ripeness.
Several local farmers and nurseries enjoyed long-standing relationships with Sharon Farm Market. The Market also served the needs of a bygone era. Many local residents canned both fruit and vegetables during the summer to enjoy all year.
Michael recounted, “(when) I was 16 years old, mom and dad gave me $1000 and I took the family pick-up truck equipped with wooden rails to the produce auction in northern Indiana. I came back with a truckload of merchandise and a few dollars left over.” Talk about building trust and confidence and growing up fast.
In the early years of the Sharon Farm Market, you could even buy your Christmas tree there. Ed would go to Canada and mark his trees sometime in early fall. Ed and some hearty assistants would pound metal stakes into the sometimes-frozen ground to display the Christmas trees when they arrived. Around three weeks before Christmas, he would return to Canada to cut the trees prior to shipping them to the Sharon Farm Market.
Sustainability
The initial ‘building’ and setting created a lasting impression. Wooden poles with attached metal fencing created the ‘walls’. Gravel formed the floor of the shop. Gravel also formed the parking lot. The parking lot lacked any markings for parking spaces or lanes. Customers parked in all directions and at all angles. Lots of horns sounded throughout the day. A single cash register and scale appeared out of place in the original Spartan set up. The two walk-in coolers that kept the merchandise fresh represented the only two real structures. The rest of the location was entirely open to the environment. Wind, rain, or cold occasionally greeted the customers. Selling Christmas trees in the month of December in that open environment required fortitude.
Edward and Mickey did relocate just a few yards up the hill to an aluminum building in 1981. The aluminum building was intentionally designed with several giant garage doors that could be opened. This recreated the open feel of old Market. No employee or customer ever missed the previous gravel floors or the gravel parking lot. In later years, Edward and Mickey added health foods, specialty food items, assorted nuts, and various honeys to satisfy evolving tastes.
Edward and Mickey retired from the Sharon Farm Market in 1987. The profits of the business funded their three children to go to college. All three children prospered and became a clinical psychologist, doctor, and chemical engineer respectively. Edward passed away in 2008. Recently Mickey moved to Texas to live with her daughter Teresa.
2020
The look, smell, and family pride of Sharon Farm Market feel just like today’s Pipkin’s Market in Blue Ash, Scherpies Produce and Deli in St. Bernard and the Newtown Farm Market.
A brand new mega UDF store and gas station opened in 2019 on the exact location of the Sharon Farm Market - a stone’s throw from Produce Perks Midwest.
Giuliani Family
Edward Joseph “Big Ed” Giuliani
Mickey Louise Giuliani
Teresa Louise
Michael Joseph
Anthony Thomas
submitted by Mike Eck in collaboration with Dr. Michael Giuliani