Frank LaRocca answers the buzzer to his family's warehouse and Italian grocery on a weekday morning, which is open from 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. weekdays and 9 a.m. to noon Saturdays. LaRocca Grocery Company is a wholesaler first and an Italian grocery second. The grocery section is a corner of the warehouse. Pasta, sauces, soups, spices, spreads and oils line the shelves. The LaRoccas buy products imported from Italy via distributors in New York and Illinois. LaRocca estimates that he stocks about 625 unique products. The walk-in freezer is full of buckets of pit-free Kalamata olives; blocks and 5-pound bags of cheese; and sticks of salami, capicolla and pepperoni. LaRocca is the grocery store's third generation. After graduating from college, LaRocca started full time in the early '70s. His grandfather started the business in 1921 and moved the business to East Fifth Street in 1926. "At one time, there were probably 20 to 30 grocery stores within one mile of this building," LaRocca says. "There were grocery stores from City Market to Fifth and Troost. There were probably five of them on this street." LaRocca runs the business with his brother Mike and his uncle Joe. "I like dealing with the people one on one," LaRocca says. "I'll remember when a person comes back in the next time, what they got the first time."
