Modica Market: Feeding Family, Friends and Neighbors
By Bruce Collier April 19, 2007 Issue

Modica Market, a centerpiece business in the Seaside community, takes its name from the Modica family, all of whom play a part in the business. There’s Charles Sr. (Modica hereafter), wife Sarah, Charles Jr., and daughter Carmel. The house of Modica came to Seaside from Bessemer, Ala. back in 1983. The family had owned and operated a 10,000-square-foot grocery store in Alabama, and decided to start with an ice cream and soft drink shop in Seaside. Modica recalls there wasn’t much else at Seaside in those days. “There was still sand on the roads.”

Modica had mentioned to Seaside developer Robert Davis that he wanted to open a market. In 1989, Davis reminded him. “I’m too old, I told him,” says Modica, but he kept his word. Modica Market, 2,500 square feet, has been in the same location for 18 years. The place has been the same, but the focus has done some shifting.

“We started as a gourmet food shop,” says Modica. “When people moved in, they needed a grocery store. Whatever they wanted, we got it.” The Modicas began to expand the stock. In addition to imported cheeses, wine, preserves and cold cuts, the coolers and shelves were filled with milk, eggs, bacon, bread, coffee and baking mixes, to meet the daily needs of the growing Seaside population.

Recent years have seen the advent of supermarkets in the area. As a result, says Modica, his store has turned back towards it gourmet roots. There’s still butter and eggs, but the store also has regional artisanal cheeses, bread baked in-house, chocolate, imported and microbrew beers, and house-labeled pasta sauces. “I’m sure we have a lot of things that would be hard to find,” says Modica.

The centerpiece remains the deli counter, a popular lunch spot that has remained constant amid the equally constant come-and-go of Seaside restaurants. Noon on any given day sees a cluster of hungry locals and tourists, inspecting an array of salads, pastas, sandwiches and sides, made on the premises. One side of the deli counter is devoted to pastries, which are purchased from offsite sources. Beer, wine, water and soft drinks are in nearby coolers. Meals can be eaten outside at patio tables.

Modica estimates that his store carries some 1,000 items. The shelves are high, in some cases reachable only by an old-fashioned library ladder. The market’s office is above a line of coolers, accessed by stair-steps that look to have been scavenged from a boat. Moving in the market requires some navigation between and among racks and display tables.

A partial list of the goods includes spices, olive oils and vinegars, tea and coffee, crackers and chips, salsas, pastas, pickles and chutneys, steaks, frozen entrees, as well as magazines, beach gear, medications, and sun block. A customer could walk in with only a bathing suit and wallet, and emerge fully equipped for a day of sun, snacks, and reading on the beach.

Modica Market is an anchor of Seaside’s businesses, which have transformed over the years. From a random collection of beach markets, the community now sports upscale art galleries, jewelry stores, a bookstore, and both beachwear and resort wear boutiques. Other signs of advancing civilization are a professional theater company — Seaside Rep — and Seaside Neighborhood School. Both are objects of Modica’s support.

In addition to providing a place for hungry students and theater folk to eat, Modica Market offers sponsorship for Seaside Rep productions. Modica is also an active supporter of the local business association’s weekly concerts, as well as the Easter egg hunt and Christmas parade. The market also serves as an occasional “classroom” for Neighborhood School students.

“The teachers bring the students here to learn to shop,” says Modica. The kids are taught to compute prices and allocate money for purchases. According to Modica, some of the students are apt pupils. “They have cell phones and charge accounts,” he laughs.

Modica is sitting at a patio table. A family stops by to speak. Greetings and handshakes are exchanged. Modica grins at the daughter. “You’re all grown up, now,” he says, “you’re so pretty.” The girl’s father says, “She had to give Uncle Charlie a hug.”

Longtime area residents know that the market was featured in the 1990s Jim Carrey film The Truman Show,” in the role of a grocery store. A poster of the movie still hangs on the wall.

Another kind of artwork can also be seen at the market. The store makes and uses hand painted grocery signs. “It’s a lost art,” says Modica. Customers occasionally ask to buy them for framing.

Modica has no plans for expansion right now. A heart attack last year has led him to cut back on his own participation, leaving Charles Jr. to run things. Modica goes back in the store with his son, along with some 19 employees and a steady crowd of shoppers. “He does it all now,” says Modica of Charles Jr.

“Not true,” says Charles Jr., stepping behind the deli counter.

Modica Market is located at 109 Central Square in Seaside. The market is open daily from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. The telephone number is 231-1214.

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