Last updated on July 28th, 2024 at 03:01 pm
The first Cosentino’s Market was on the east side of Kansas City. Brothers Jerry and Jim Cosentino had recently returned to Kansas City from serving their country during World War II and were trying to determine what to do next. They took a gamble and bought a small grocery store in Blue Ridge. With no prior grocery experience, they were given just two weeks of training by the previous owner. Dante Jr. joined his older brothers in the business soon after.
The Blue Ridge location is described by the family as a small general store that sold produce, meat and liquor. The Cosentino brothers quickly became well known in the area, with their friendliness and customer service helping make the business a success. They worked 12 hours a day, seven days a week, but the family always made time to gather for Sunday dinner – something that still holds true today.
Joyce Bodenhamer, formerly Cosentino, recalled how her brothers kept their inventory in the basement during these times. When the shelves needed to be stocked, products came up on a conveyor belt. She pointed out that the relationships they had with the vendor community carried them through.
“Times were hard back then, and there were stretches when we didn’t have the money to pay our vendors,” she said. “They graciously allowed us to pay our bill when we could. We wouldn’t have made it without their generosity.
“When we gave our vendors our word, they knew that it was gold. These were the days when you didn’t sign a deal – you shook hands. And my brothers knew the importance of this and never went back on their word.”
Expanding on this, David Cosentino added, “In those days, many of our customers were struggling, too. If folks didn’t have the money to pay their bill, they paid us back when they could. Our family would go without rather than letting a customer go without food.
“Sometimes they went weeks or months without anyone getting a paycheck. What little money they did have was kept by Aunt Mickey [Yarnevich] in a cigar box. She passed away a few years ago at the age of 98.”
A few years later, Jerry and Jim’s brother, Dante, joined the business. By 1957, the family was able to build a more modern store totaling 10,000 square feet.
[RELATED: Generations Strong, Cosentino’s Food Stores Building Success On Old-Time Values]
Enterprise President Don Cosentino, their cousin, noted that the post-war boom created a lot of new housing, which attracted grocery competition. “My aunts and uncles helped as much as they could. Service was the way they built their business – that and a very good meat department.”
At age 12, Don was sweeping floors, picking up trash and beginning to shadow his family to learn the grocery business.
“From that young age, we were taught that the customer comes first. It wasn’t something we had to do – it is something we really wanted to do,” he explained. “You wanted to take care of that customer because they were your friends, neighbors and people we went to school with. We took pride in taking care of our customers and giving them the best service, the best products that we could.”
The store count may have increased but the extended Cosentino family has remained close. Kyli Maddox, third generation, recalls the family’s grocery stores being the backdrop for most of her childhood memories.
“The greatest gift in my life is getting to witness my aunts and uncles work together,” she said. “Their spirit of generosity has placed the desire to do whatever we need to do for the person in front of us.
“My grandpa, Dante, loved nothing more than to give back because it brought him so much joy. He was always doing things for other people, but he never wanted anyone to know. He was very modest, humble and had broad shoulders.”
Each Cosentino generation has passed down this way of doing business. Added Kyli, “As kids, we were taught the value of knowing the person’s name you are talking to, caring about the person first and the deal second.”
In 1980, Cosentino’s opened its first Price Chopper in Blue Springs, Missouri. David Cosentino was the store director then and fondly recalled the differences between that format and today’s.
“Back then, it was one of those bare-bones discount stores. It had warehouse shelving, everything was out on pallets. Per square foot, we probably did more volume than any other store in the area,” he said. “Over the years, we evolved the format to include full service and added service departments like deli.”
In 2009, the family had the opportunity to build a store in downtown Kansas City, which was a bit of a risk at the time as that area was seeing more businesses leave than enter. Initially, the store was built to fit the needs of downtown workers looking for lunch and grocery staples.
“Our most popular item for lunch was our 80-foot-long salad bar,” John said.
As the city evolved, Cosentino’s experimented with different things to make the store work for its changing customer base.
“All these high rises were built,” he said. “And for the first time in a long time, the number of people living downtown increased. It was critical for our staying power that as the customer demographic shifted, we shifted with them.”
The Overland Park Cosentino’s Market that opened in 2017 is considered one of the area’s most unique and aesthetically appealing shopping experiences. According to John, much effort was put into creating a visually stunning building. “One of the last things my dad said to me before he passed away was to make this the nicest store we could,” he said.
The plan clearly worked – the Overland Park store is doing well and keeps growing every year. A photo of David and John’s parents, Dante and Mary Sue, hangs at the front of the store as a reminder of the generations of Cosentinos who have built the company up over the years.
