Frank Mangione

WHAT GOT YOU STARTED?

by Burke Campbell

Published in the Financial Post
October 29, 2007

Frank Mangione co-owns and manages the Pusateri Fruit Market (www.pusateri.ca) in downtown Toronto. Mr. Mangione tells Burke Campbell what motivated him to become an entrepreneur.

A FAMILY TRAIT:  “My mom and dad ran a grocery store. As a kid, I hung out there. I guess it’s in my blood.”

EARLY APPRENTICESHIP: “Joe Pusateri had established this store on Church Street.  I was fresh out of high school when he hired me for a summer job. I wound up staying here. I learned a lot but then I left to start my own business.”

COMING FULL-CIRCLE:  “I did well as a food distributor. But when I sold my company, I came back here. That’s when I realized how much I love this business. By then, Joe had become my father-in-law. So we became partners, too.”

RETAIL CHANGES YOU: “I was a shy kid. But if you work in a store, you learn to talk to people. You have to. Now, if someone can’t find something, I show them where it is. I know my customers on a first-name basis.”

EXPRESSING HIMSELF:  “I enjoy being my own boss, and I suppose I’m a bit of a perfectionist. I supervised renovations, introduced specialty foods. It’s great to show people something new.”

PART OF A HISTORY: “This store has been here since 1966. It’s nice to work in a business that’s lasted over four decades. It’s family, too.”

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