Tom Maceri migrated to the U.S. from Terracini, Sicily in 1915 and settled in Detroit. He lived with a relative here, as his family decided to remain in Italy.
His first job was with the U. S. Rubber Company on east Jefferson. He then left there to work for the old Michigan Stove Company for $1.00 a day.
While Maceri was at the stove company, he helped build the old stove monument which rested outside the building at east Jefferson and the Belle Isle bridge for many years before it was moved to the State Fair grounds.
In 1922, Maceri became an independent produce vendor with offices at the Eastern Market in Detroit. He went up and down various streets peddling produce to the residents off the truck. In 1992, when he was 95 years old, he was the oldest living produce vendor in the Detroit area.
In 1936, Tom Maceri’s son, Sam, entered the family business at the age of 13, and assisted his father. First thing Sam did was to add the words, “and son” under his fathers name on the truck, and thus the name became Tom Maceri & Son.
A year later, on April 15, 1937, after a brief illness, Tom Maceri went back to work. He worked continuously to 1958 without ever taking a vacation. During this same year, Tom Maceri began assisting his brother-in-law, Jim Riggio at his store, Mack and Conner Market on the east side.
He preferred the retail produce business to the wholesale trade. In the late sixties, Maceri re-joined his son Sam working in the company he founded, Tom Maceri & Son.
Later he worked with his grandsons Tom and Anthony Maceri at Tom Maceri’s Fruit Market on East Warren and Cadieux on Detroit’s eastside. Tom Maceri continued working there until he finally retired at age 94.
Tom Maceri and his wife Justine celebrated their 73 wedding anniversary in 1992. They were married at Holy Family Church in Detroit.
Tom Maceri was the co-founder of the Detroit Metropolitan Fruit Vendors Association and served as its first vice-president. He and his family were also active in the Eastern Market Merchants Association. The Eastern Market Merchants Association honored him with a special tribute plaque at their annual dinner June 6, 1992. Tom Maceri passed away in July of 1992. His son Sam Maceri, now 86, is still working at the wholesale business he started in 1936, Tom Maceri & Son, in Detroit’s Eastern Market. Sam was also vice-president of the Detroit Metropolitan Fruit Vendors Association for many years.
Sam Maceri’s sons have also been in the business all of their lives. Anthony Maceri, third generation, learned the ropes from his father and grandfather, and has been in retail and wholesale produce all of his life. He decided that he prefers the wholesale industry.
For your wholesale produce and food needs, contact Anthony Maceri @586-216-3288.
