With customers like these, who needs advertising?
Pechin’s does good business even though most of its advertising comes in the form of word of mouth. Bumper stickers also play a large part. Office secretary Kristy Meeks says they order 500 “I ♥ Pechin” stickers at a time, and they disappear quickly. “Kids come in here during the summer and get some to put on their demolition derby cars and dune buggies,” she says. People from as far as Florida have taken stickers.
“I’ve always been poor, always been pinching pennies. I raised four kids on Pechin’s meals.”
And once they come, most customers remain loyal to Pechin’s. Charles Ewanick of Uniontown says he’s been shopping at Pechin’s for 40 years. “I’ve always been poor, always been pinching pennies,” he says as he rolls the top of a brown paper bag filled with Styrofoam take-home containers of food. “I raised four kids on Pechin’s meals.” Ewanick, a retired cement mason, says hardworking citizens should thank D’Amico for keeping prices low. “If he made a million dollars, God bless him.”
Pechin’s has survived amidst corporate grocery stores and Wal-Marts in Uniontown and Scottdale. Both are about 10 miles from Dunbar. Now, the foundation for another Wal-Mart is being poured about two miles north of Dunbar.
Martin doesn’t think the new store will hurt Pechin’s. “Thankfully we’ve lasted this long,” she says. “All we can do is keep doing what we’ve been doing. We’ll just have to keep fighting,” she says with a laugh.
A bumper of an old sky blue Chevy truck in the parking lot displays a Pechin’s bumper sticker that has completely faded to white except for the two Pepsi logos and the red heart. One gets the feeling that the Pechin’s parking lot will always be full.
The Burr is produced by students at Kent State University twice per academic year.No part of The Burr may be reprinted without permission.