NORTHAMPTON — This fall, a new chapter will begin in the history of Northampton, when Richard Cooper sells State Street Fruit Store and Cooper’s Corner to employee Michael Natale.
State Street and Cooper’s Corner are longtime family businesses that Cooper, 67, inherited from his father. He has run them on his own since the death of his brother Ronald Cooper in 2004. His brother Edward Cooper, who also ran the business with them, died in 1996.
“It’s a little scary,” Cooper said. “I haven’t had two days off in a row for a very long time.”
Natale, however, doesn’t intend to bring big changes to the local grocery icons.
“I don’t perceive many things changing,” Natale said. “It’s a new face that’s an old face because of my longevity here.”
Natale, 31, has worked at State Street and Cooper’s Corner since 2005 when he was 14 years old and he is currently the general manager at both stores. Natale grew up in Florence and lives in Easthampton with his wife and their daughter. His work for State Street and Cooper’s Corner represents the only full-time job he’s ever had, and his brother used to work at Cooper’s Corner beginning in 1987.
Both businesses have grocery, deli and liquor sections. The stores have more than 100 employees between them, approximately 40 of which are full-time.
Cooper said that it was important to him and his family that the businesses stay the same.
He approached Natale last year about selling the business to him. “You’re the natural choice,” Cooper recalled telling him.
“It’s the continuation of the businesses’ legacy for the community and the staff involved,” Natale said. “I feel an obligation to serve the community and our staff.”
Cooper has expressed plans to continue working alongside Natale part-time before retiring.
“We’ll be flipping roles,” Cooper said. “He’ll become my boss.”
Cooper’s father, Russell Cooper, became a business owner at 18-years-old in 1936 when he purchased Bridgman’s Dairy in Florence from his boss who was looking to retire, doing so with a $5,000 loan from Smith Charities.
Russell Cooper found success in the dairy business and around 1950 he opened the Cooper’s Dairy facility at the location where Cooper’s Corner stands currently. It was in the 1950s that Russell Cooper got into the grocery business, and in the 1960s the location took the name Cooper’s Corner. It would also come to include a liquor store in the 1960s and a deli in the 1970s.
In 1974 Russell Cooper bought State Street Fruit Store, after which he expanded the establishment to include a deli and a liquor store.
Rich Cooper returned to the family business in 1977, following a stint in direct-mail marketing, after his father invited him to do so when he talked to Cooper about retiring.
Cooper says he’s enjoyed being on the floor, bringing in new products and seeing the reaction of customers to them.
“I’m really going to miss the customers,” he said.
He also said that he may do volunteer cheese and wine tastings at the stores in his retirement.
“Cheese is really my passion,” he said.
Cooper is also a member of numerous boards in Northampton. He serves on a committee at Cooley Dickinson Hospital, is a corporator at Florence Bank, a board member of the Florence Civic and Business Association, a trustee of Childs Park and a member of the board of directors of Northampton Dollars for Scholars.
Tom Bassett, president of Northampton Dollars for Scholars, noted that Cooper’s family helped to found the chapter in 1975.
Bassett praised Cooper for his contributions to the organization, both for getting work done and lightening the mood.
“He’s just a great guy to have,” Bassett said.
Additionally, Bassett noted how Cooper helped to set up a scholarship in the name of Sean McGuire, the late deli manager at Cooper’s Corner.
Georgianna Brunton, president of the Florence Civic and Business Association and owner of the Miss Florence Diner, also spoke about Cooper’s impending retirement.
“I think it’s a great thing for him and his family,” said Brunton.
She also said that it must be a relief that he’s handing his business over to someone who cares about it and its employees.
Joannie Sikorski is a longtime customer of both State Street and Cooper’s Corner.
“He so deserves it but I’m so sad,” said Sikorski, on Cooper’s retirement. “I’m hoping things don’t change because I think they’re perfect.”
Sikorski grew up in and lives in Hatfield, and she praised the quality of the establishments’ offerings.
“I can’t make a sandwich at home like they make it here,” she said. “He deserves to have a wonderful retirement.”
Bera Dunau can be reached at bdunau@gazettenet.com.