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Seeds celebrates grocery history in Cumberland

The Marocchis brothers opened the first bakery in the region.
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Marocchi’s Store from 1894.

The year was 1884. Two brothers, John and Lewis Marocchi, together with Lewis’ wife Rosa, left the province of Tyrol in Austria to immigrate to Canada.  The Marocchis were bakers and decided to settle in Cumberland, where they opened the first bakery in the region, Marocchi Bros, as well as a grocery store and café. The bakery operated until the brothers sold it in 1938. While running the business, the family distributed tokens and small coupons that read Good for One Loaf of Bread.

In March, 2008, Tina and Jim Willard-Stepan decided to once again meet the grocery needs of a revitalized Cumberland by opening Seeds Food Market. In January, 2013, while renovating a 1918 Cumberland home, a family friend happened to find one of the original coupons from Marocchis inside of one of the walls of the structure. As Seeds celebrates its fifth year of operation, they will revive this deal by printing and distributing Good for One Loaf of Bread tickets in and around Cumberland.

“Think of it as a sort of scavenger hunt," says Willard-Stepan. “Tickets will be hidden in the Community Forest, in random copies of the Currently Cumberland paper, in mailboxes, on community boards and elsewhere. Fifty loaves in all will be given away in celebration of the history of downtown business in Cumberland, and Seeds' milestone anniversary."

“We feel fortunate about the support we receive from the community and wanted a fun way to say thank you,” adds Seeds staffer Melissa Camp.

For daily hints about the locations of these vouchers, follow Seeds on facebook at www.facebook.com/seedsfoodmarket.



About the Author: Black Press Media Staff

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