After 50 years, St. Charles grocery guy hangs up his apron
When David Pichik started working at the Blue Goose Supermarket in 1966, stockboys stamped the prices on cans of beans. Lady cashiers wore dresses. And there was only one kind of Oreo.
When he retired Friday, the store's shelves were filled with more than a dozen variations on the classic Oreo. The frozen-food section wasn't just vegetables and TV dinners, but also included vegan products.
One thing is the same: His love for the customers, and theirs for him.
“Be kind to people and people are kind to you,” he said, waiting to cut the celebratory cake the store served to customers, who shook his hand or hugged him.
”David is like an uncle to me,” said Blue Goose owner Paul Lencioni, the third generation of Lencionis to own the St. Charles store. “Thank you for everything. It has been an absolute pleasure.”
Pichik, 65, has grown up in, and with, the store.
His father, Witold “Pich” Pichik, was the store's general manager, working there from 1955 to 1990.
Although David officially started in 1966, he would help in the store before that.
He recalls stocking the Goose's new store at 164 S. First St. in 1963, in preparation for the grand opening day: Nov. 22. And finding the store empty after school, given the afternoon's news.
He was in the store as a child when shipments of Christmas trees from Nova Scotia arrived. He found a note, written by a boy named Sheldon. He and Sheldon were penpals for many years, Pichik said.
Pichik graduated from St. Charles High School in 1969, and thought about attending college to learn to be a sports writer or a basketball coach. And like other men his age, he watched the mail for an un-refusable invitation from Uncle Sam to join the military.
But he ended up attending “The University of Blue Goose,” he said with a laugh.
“My father always said 'People have to eat,'” Pichik said of his career choice.
He followed the store to its current incarnation in 2008 at 300 S. Second St.
He has always concentrated on the grocery side, including ordering product and stocking shelves. In his younger days, he helped out in the deli on Sundays, and occasionally in the produce department.
Deciding what new products to stock was a challenge. He would take samples home. “My kids were good guinea pigs,” Pichik said. He figured if they liked something, the other kids in St. Charles would.
He pitched in where needed, including bagging groceries, or making sure a worker at a samples stand had cardboard on which to stand, to relieve pressure on their feet and back.
“He's just one of those guys who is always watching out for everybody,” cashier Wendy McGann said after giving him a hug, and a card signed by many people.
Years of squatting and kneeling took their toll. He has had surgery on both knees, and visits a chiropractor for his back. That, and the desire to travel with his wife Char, and spend more time with their grandchildren, prompted the decision to retire.
He will continue watching St. Charles East High School basketball games, and plans to watch his son help coach football for Buffalo Grove High School.
And he may travel to Nova Scotia to try to find Sheldon.
“It's just time,” he said.