Some things have changed at Reliable Market since the late Armando (Eddie) Pacheco first opened his self-service grocery in Oak Buffs in 1947. The location is different; it shifted up the street. And the size is different; the store is much larger now and has its own parking lot. The items in stock are different; there are organic and gluten-free options on the shelves.

But some things are the same. The market is still self-service — a feature that is the norm these days, although when Reliable opened it was unusual for a customer to pick out their own items. The hours are still 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday through Saturday, and 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Sunday. And the market is, and always has been, a Pacheco family business.

On a recent chilly Friday afternoon, the market was bustling with an after-school rush, as parents browsed the aisles trailed by small kids in brightly colored winter jackets. Some stopped to check out the displays of Christmas candy up front. Behind the meat counter at the back of the store, Robert (Bob) Pacheco, who has owned the market since his father died in 1965, prepared the day’s cuts. In the tiny office space tucked into the back storage room, Donna Pacheco, Bob’s wife, took an order for a Thanksgiving turkey to be picked up before the holiday, and made note of two $50 gift cards that had just been ordered. Eddie Pacheco, named for his grandfather, worked alongside his father Bob in the meat department. Bob and Donna’s daughter Jen had gone home for the day — she leaves at 2 p.m. when Donna comes in, to be home when her own children are done with school.

“Hey, Mr. P.,” someone called in greeting to Bob Pacheco. Mr. Pacheco returned the greeting with a smile and then he was off to help another customer find safety pins before returning to his post.

This time of year, he arrives at the market at seven in the morning and sets to work filling up the meat case and filling orders. He’s there until seven at night.

Bob Pacheco has been cutting the meat since he was a kid. — Mark Alan Lovewell

“It’s a part-time job — it’s half the day,” Mr. Pacheco joked.

Portraits of his parents, Eddie and Helen, hang above the meat case. Helen worked in the store until she was 91, handling paperwork in the back and ringing up customers in the front, wearing her signature white cotton gloves. “Just taking care of business,” she told the Gazette in a 1996 interview.

Donna Pacheco sent away for the portraits some years ago, using photographs of the elder Pachecos.

“They came out nicely,” she said.

On that same Friday, volunteers in Vineyard Haven were putting together Thanksgiving meals for the Family to Family program; most of the food was provided by Reliable at a discounted price. The market makes a delivery to the Island Food Pantry each week, and works with the Red Stocking Fund to offer gift certificates. Though Reliable is anchored in Oak Bluffs, the market has regular customers from every town.

In November 1946 the Gazette announced the imminent opening of the store, which was described as “a fine example of the modern city grocery.”

“It is finished entirely in white enamel and maple with racks of shelving, display islands and counters all arranged to facilitate self-service,” the announcement read.

In 1960, Eddie Pacheco bought three buildings up the street, which would become the current Reliable store. The design is still arranged to facilitate self-service, although unlike most grocery stores the aisles run on the diagonal, and some are quite narrow — a result of having to accommodate heavy shelving on top of the floor’s support beams.

Aisles on the diagonal are signature of Reliable. — Mark Alan Lovewell

Deliveries of off-Island goods come on Mondays and Thursdays. In the early 2000s, the Pachecos joined the Associated Grocers of New England, a cooperative made up of approximately 400 grocers from the region.

“The co-op . . . gives you the buying power of a chain, yet you still have your own independence in your community, so you can go in whichever direction you feel is best for particular needs,” Mr. Pacheco said. “But you have the co-op to guide you.”

The co-op helps identify grocery trends and new products, although in the case of the meat department there’s another way to figure out what’s going to be a big seller.

“The cooking shows will feature items, and that kicks up their popularity almost overnight,” Mr. Pacheco said. “Cuts that you don’t usually get a call for, all of a sudden you get seven in an hour — ‘do you have oxtail?’”

There are some constants: Thanksgiving week is guaranteed to be busy.

“Basically, the focus is on food,” Mr. Pacheco said.

And family. Thanksgiving Day is one of just three days during the year when Reliable Market is closed (the other two are Easter and Christmas). The Pachecos, their children and their children’s families will gather for their Thanksgiving meal, just as they do every Sunday afternoon (the Sunday dinners are why Reliable closes at 1 p.m. on that day).

“We try not to take the work home, so that home is home and business stuff is handled at the business,” Mrs. Pacheco said.

Mr. Pacheco said that working alongside family is “like working anywhere else.”

Still, Reliable Market, with its 67 years of history, isn’t just any other grocery store.

“It’s a legacy you want to keep going, keep working at it,” Mrs. Pacheco said. Some days, she said, that’s all the incentive you need.