End Of An Era: Italian Market Butcher Shop Closing Soon
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - D'Angelo's Meats -- a multi-generational butcher in Philadelphia's Italian Market -- is closing at the end of the month.
69-year-old Sonny D'Angelo started working in his dad's butcher shop when he was 13 years old. He's the 3rd generation butcher at D'Angelo's, following three generations of family butchers in Sicily.
He says age spurred his decision to retire after spending a lot of time working:
"60 hours is easy -- and the rest (of the time I'm) thinking about the business. It's physically taxing."
His shop is full of antiques -- like the two butcher blocks between the counters still in use, that his grandfather bought used in 1910. And the cash register…
"We've owned it for 107 years now and it was last serviced in 1896."
D'Angelo plans to sell his shop when he retires on December 31st. While he'd love to sell it to a butcher, mostly he says there's been interest from developers -- and saying goodbye is difficult:
"It's been a blast. I've enjoyed every second of it and I hope to do well by the customers."
He adds his family "stood up and cheered" when they heard he was going to retire.
