Waterloo Region Generations
A record of the people of Waterloo Region, Ontario.

Bert Recchia

Male 1919 - 1997  (78 years)


Personal Information    |    Notes    |    Sources    |    Event Map    |    All    |    PDF

  • Name Bert Recchia 
    Born 30 Jan 1919  [1
    Gender Male 
    FindAGrave https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/204536854 
    Residence 1959  Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Eby ID Number Waterloo-466392 
    Died 27 Mar 1997  Treasure Island, Pinellas, Florida, United States Find all individuals with events at this location  [1
    Buried Woodland Cem., Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Find all individuals with events at this location  [1
    Person ID I466392  Generations
    Last Modified 25 Apr 2024 

    Father Giuseppe "George" Recchia,   b. , Italy Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 11 Aug 1962, Toronto, York Co., Ontario, Canada Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Mother Adele Fiola,   b. , Italy Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. Mar 1968 
    Married 1905  , Italy Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Family ID F54036  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

    Family Norma Hintz,   b. 5 Mar 1927,   d. 9 Sep 2004  (Age 77 years) 
    Last Modified 26 Apr 2024 
    Family ID F290400  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  • Notes 
    • Bert Recchia was longtime grocer

      By Mike Strathdee Record staff

      Bert Recchia was always eager to try a new opportunity, Chuck Reochia said of his elder brother and longtime partner in Central Meat Market, who died March 24.

      Kitchener resident Bert Recchia, a co-founder of Central Meat and partner in the venture until he retired in 1981, passed away at his daughter's home in Treasure Island, Fla.

      He was 78.

      A memorial service will be held Saturday at St. Andrew's Presbyterian Charch, 51 Queen St. N., at 1 p.m.

      First store in 1948

      Bert Recchia opened Bert's Fruit Market at 216 King. St. W in 1948, on the site of what is now Kitchener city hall. The store moved one door over a year later, expanding into meat and produce.

      With the move, the store was renamed Dutch Boy, which has become a well-known supermarket banner in the Twin Cities. Bert ran that operation, sending Chuck off to open another Dutch Boy store at the air base in Centralia, Ont.

      Bert soon acquired another store, run by the Hoffman family, across the street from the Lyric Theatre, the first of two Central Meat Markets the Recchias would own. Not satisfied with three grocery stores, he built the Sherwood Motel on King Street East in 1953, operating it with his wife Norma.

      The foray into the motel business led him to conclude that the Dutch Boy operations in Centralia and Kitchener should be sold. The Kitchener store, the first in what would become a local chain, was sold to Barry and George Humphrey and Frank Beresford.

      At Central Meat Market, "business was good, but it (the store) was too small for what we were doing." Chuck recalls.

      Bert solved that problem in 1961, by purchasing a Dominion store at Central Meat's current location. "By this time, Bert was tired of the motel business, and decided he'd like to come join me."

      The motel and the downtown store were put up for sale, and the Recchia brothers worked together at Central Meat, one of Kitchener's busiest supermarkets, for the next 20 years. Outside of business, Bert loved to play cards and go fishing. After retiring, he and his wife travelled, wintering at a condo in Long Boat Key, Fla. every year.

      The Record 11 Apr 1997, Fri Page 23

  • Sources 
    1. [S87] Cemetery - ON, Waterloo, Kitchener - Woodland CC#4510 Internet Link .
      Recchia/ Bert/ Jan. 30, 1919-Mar. 24, 1997/ Loving Husband Of/ Norma/ Mar. 5, 1927- / Ever Remembered/ Ever Loved [2020 update] Norma died Sept. 9, 2004

  • Event Map
    Link to Google MapsResidence - 1959 - Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Link to Google Earth
    Link to Google MapsDied - 27 Mar 1997 - Treasure Island, Pinellas, Florida, United States Link to Google Earth
    Link to Google MapsBuried - - Woodland Cem., Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Link to Google Earth
     = Link to Google Earth