Legacy of Charlie D. & Rosa Defa Fabrizio   

The Store Business  

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The Store Business

  Shortly after Charlie and Rosie were married, they moved from Magna to Hanna and bought their own home and some land. They shared ownership with Rosie’s brother Joe in their own vehicle service business. The shack-like structure had a single gas pump out front, and inside they sold only gas, oil, and other products for vehicle maintenance. 

Charlie (left) standing in front of gas pump, learning on the old car, talking to his brother-in-law, Leo S. Defa. Click photo for full image

The gas pump was somewhat of a novelty in those days and quite unique. It had a long handle on the front, with a large glass bowl on top. Tom described how it looked and how it was used:

To fill the glass bowl with gas, we would pump the handle back and forth, sideways. Then we put the hose with the nozzle into the gas tank of the car. By pulling on the handle, the valve would release the gas from the bowl and it would flow into the gas tank of the car. The bowl was numbered from one to ten. The customer would tell us how many gallons they wanted and we would pump to that level. If they needed more than ten gallons, we would empty the first ten into their tank and then start the process over again. That old hand gas pump had a sign on top that read, "22 cents a gallon."

This first store was the beginning of what eventually evolved into their successful convenience store business.

Next to Charlie and Joe’s vehicle service business, the Frank Defa and Fabrizio families constructed a building in the early 1930's that was divided into three sections. The west side of the building housed a café and a small hotel above. The rooms were rarely rented unless someone "got stranded in Hanna." The café, on the other hand, was frequented by both the out-of-towners and the locals. The first person hired to run the café was a relative, Blanche Defa (Dominico’s daughter-in-law). Then in September 1936, the Allred family moved into the community and Irene Allred ran the café. She writes, ". . . I was so happy to get to take care of the café. Charlie and his family were so nice to us. He said it was OK for me to cook at school and take care of the café also, which helped me so much."

The middle section of this building was used as a supply room, and the third section to the east was a garage where Rosie’s brother, Joe, and a neighbor, Jack Lee, worked as mechanics. The garage was high tech for those days. If a car or truck needed repairs, the vehicle was driven through the big door where a chain was attached securely to the vehicle. The car could then be lifted up or down as needed. Frank Clark, a friend from Tabiona wrote about an incident he remembered in that store:

Charlie and Rosie were running a little store and garage where the café stands. Joe Defa and Charlie were trying to put a barrel of oil on another one so they could pour it easier, but they were too short. So I asked them if they really wanted it put up there and Charlie said, "I’ll give you five dollars if you can." So I rolled it up my legs and onto my belly and put it on top of the other barrel. Charlie then said, "If I hadn’t seen it I wouldn’t believe it, you’re too damn strong!

Within a short time Charlie and Joe built an addition onto the front of the hotel and tore down their first business establishment. With more room they expanded their business to include groceries. This was the beginning of the first convenience store! Charlie and Rosie ran the store (Rosie’s mother, Mary tended their children) and Joe routinely traveled to the city for supplies to stock their store. It was an exciting time. Back in those days in Hanna, money was scarce so when someone couldn’t pay cash for their goods or groceries at the store, Charlie traded for almost anything–eggs, chickens, pigs, posts, stock, even real estate. As a last resort he gave credit.

This store was a temporary arrangement, however, because they had plans to build a larger supermarket. In the meantime, around 1938, Charlie and Joe opened another store in an existing building in Tabiona. They reasoned it would be more economical to bring supplies from Salt Lake for two small stores rather than one very small store. Opening the store in Tabiona would also be a convenience to his Tabiona neighbors. The LaMar Johnson family ran this store for about five years and then, Charlie sold it. Meanwhile the temporary location in Hanna went up in flames in the early 1930's. The fire destroyed the store, garage, hotel, and café. This could have been a stumbling block, but Charlie and Rosie turned it into a stepping stone. By the late 1930's the new building was underway on the north side of main street. Tom described it:

It was a big modern building, at least in those days it was considered modern and up-to-date as any building in Hanna or Tabiona. It was named "Mercantile and Service Co." It had two hand gas pumps out in front to sell gas to customers. [They built] a big awning with the name of the company on the top that reached out over the gas pumps. They (the Frank Defa and Fabrizio families who were partners at that time) sold everything in this big store. They sold groceries, hardware, meat, beer, and many other items.

Meat that was sold was butchered by my dad. He would dress it out, and cut it up. He used a large cleaver and a hand meat saw to cut it on a wooden block. He had a walk-in refrigerator to keep the meat cool before it was cut and a display cooler where it was put after it was cut into smaller portions.

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  For many years, Rosie and her sister, Tracy, worked happily together in this new store. Rosie and Tracy enjoyed this close relationship.

Mercantile and Service Co. Built in the 1930s. Click photo for full image.

Another little side business that required time and effort was the creamery that Frank, Joe and Charlie began in the 1930's. They hired a cousin, Leo B. [Brig] and Blanche Defa to run it for them. Brig’s job was to collect cans of cream from the farmers who lived between the small town, Utahn and Hanna. The cans were loaded and transported to the creamery behind "Mercantile and Co.," in Hanna. Each can was unloaded and tested. The approved cream was loaded back on the truck and taken to Price, where it was freighted on a train that ended up at Nelson Ricks Creamery in Salt Lake City. The empty cans were taken back to the train, sent back to Price that night for redistribution the next morning to the farmers, and then the process started all over again. Moving cream in unrefrigerated trucks and trains during the hot Summer months was sometimes a disaster. For this reason and others they only conducted this business for about five years.

Store business was very productive until fire destroyed this beautiful building and the two gas pumps out front ten years later. All that remained of "Mercantile and Service, Co." were ashes and the cement foundation. Once again they rolled up their sleeves and built another temporary building west of the burn out. When it was finished it had a modern gas pump in front! This was just a small facility, but served its purpose until the new "Fabrizio & Sons, Mercantile" was built on the remaining burned cement foundation. This beauty was completed May 1948. Besides a full grocery store, it was equipped with a full garage repair shop, a refrigerated walk-in locker and freezer, café, office, full basement, and a home attached to the back side. This structure still stands and is in use today.

With all his business operations in Hanna, Charlie needed help from people on the outside. With his pleasing personality and honest reputation, it was relatively simple for him to establish credit with large wholesale companies in Salt Lake like Z.C.M.I, Salt Lake Hardware, John Scowcroft & Sons, Utah Lumber, Chris & Dick’s, Steve Regan & Co., Bennion Oil Co., Banquet Better Foods, Armco, Associated Food Stores, as well as Greer Oil Co. in Heber City. "His name was known for good," Tom said, "and as I grew up I found that many of the people in Salt Lake City knew Charlie Fabrizio by name only. Later, when I took over the business, all I had to do to get credit was walk into a bank or a company and tell them I was Charlie Fabrizio’s son, from Hanna, and my credit was good!"

He had a unique relationship with the owner of Chris & Dick’s, a builder’s supply store on the west side of Salt Lake, the first Home Depot! Charlie sold Chris his first load of lumber to start his business. Tom remembers:

Dad told me it took Chris some time to pay his bill for that first load because Chris had to sell it before he could pay his debt. Dick, his son, was about my age at that time and soon afterwards went into business with his father and their company became known as "Chris & Dick’s."

Charlie gave credit to those in need, especially those who were trying to get a business going themselves. Credit was given to many of the local townspeople as well as others in the Uintah Basin. He knew how important it was to be trusted.

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