A select few Vineyard businesses have stood the test of time. Giordano’s, Brickman’s, Alley’s, Cronig’s and daRosa’s come to mind. One business that is clearly part of this select group is Jim’s Package Store.
In 1946, brothers Arthur and Augustus BenDavid bought the store, then located on Circuit avenue extension. According to the Oct. 4, 1946 issue of the Gazette, “Jim’s Package Store is an establishment of considerable age. Established by the father of the late proprietor, (Jim Pratt), it went out of existence during the prohibition era, but was reestablished after the repeal, and has continued ever since.”
About 50 years ago, finding myself between careers, (sounds much more professional than being unemployed), good fortune struck twice. Having just passed the post office exam, I was offered a job in Chilmark. At the same time, a friend offered me a job at Jim’s Package Store.
The post office offered a terrific career opportunity: steady hours, insurance and benefits, so naturally I took the job at Jim’s Package Store. Little did I know, it was an honor to be offered a job at Jim’s. As it turned out, working those years was a combination of improv, customer relations, sales, partying and friendship.
The man at the top was owner Arthur BenDavid’s son Eddie.
Recently I caught up with Eddie. Now 91 years young, he was eager to regale me with stories.
“I started working at Jim’s after getting out of the service in 1960,” he said.
When I asked how was it working for his father, he replied with a delightful smile, “I couldn’t stand it. He was tough and made me work so hard.”
“Our store was just a wonderful place,” he continued. “We had great customers and a bunch of fun people that worked at the store. I can say that I spent my life helping people.”
Known for both kindness and generosity, the BenDavid family remain pillars of our community. Eddie’s son also worked there.
“Starting in grade school I bagged ice and filled soda machines,” Eddie Jr. recalled. “As I got older, I was involved with the store in so many ways and eventually managed the place. I worked 80 to 90 hours a week. It was truly a family business. The store raised six kids. Looking back, I think about all the great people that worked there. Most of all, the community loved our family — my dad through the store and mom donated time and money to so many Island causes.”
It turned out, working at Jim’s was the longest running entertainment show on Martha’s Vineyard.
Greg Coogan was a manager.
“A lot of us were part timers,” he said. “We needed the extra money. I thought the most important quality to work at Jim’s was a sense of humor.”
Greg was no slouch in the laughter department. He along with Joe McCarren, were known as the “Unknown Liquor Salesmen” wearing paper bags over their heads, serving customers on a Saturday night. They starred in the Island version of the Gong Show. I occasionally filled in while wearing my own paper bag.
“Jim’s was a customer-friendly store,” Greg said. “People came from all over the Island to get to Jim’s. There were other stores so people could go elsewhere. We’d have lines backed up to the door. There was no self-serve beer cooler in those days.”
I asked Greg whether he had to know his wines.
He laughed and replied, “I learned to move up from Mad Dog 20 20 and Wild Irish Rose. Most of all, we had a terrific bunch of employees that included Island teachers, selectmen, commissioners, administrators, managers. There were always people looking for a job at Jim’s.”
Greg summed up his Jim’s experience by saying: “Every day was a story, and that’s the story.”
Joe McCarren, now living in Pennsylvania, recalled certain customers were known by what they drank.
“Two of my favorites were Nips and Whiskey,” he said. “Then there was the up-Island ‘Wild Bunch’ that always showed up 10 minutes before we closed.”
Paul Leonard started his career as a part-timer at another store but shifted to the package store.
“Jim’s recruited me,” he said. “I was thrilled. We had a great bunch of guys. On Fridays we built a special beer cooler to deliver to worksites all over the Island. They always cheered when we showed up. Not only that, I met my future wife at Jim’s.”
Paul eventually left and became the very popular Oak Bluffs postmaster.
Rebecca Gilbert recalled the old T-shirt, “I remember the Jim’s T-shirt that said ‘Service with a Smirk.’”
Former Jim’s manager Andre Bonnell regaled me with his tales at the store.
“Eddie BenDavid was a wonderful boss,” he said. “He put me in charge of wine through a correspondence school. Read the encyclopedia, read the labels, sample the wine. Those labels got harder to read as my sampling increased. A wine distributor called me with a great deal on Beaujolais. Just one dollar a bottle. We put it out for just $1.99 each. Did not sell. Eddie changed the price to $5.99. It’s an instant sell out. When filling the soda machine, I would randomly insert bottles of beer. Sales increased.”
Andre later owned AJ’s restaurant in Vineyard Haven and the Amity Deli in Edgartown.
Starting as a fill-in, Cliff Robinson worked 46 consecutive years at Jim’s.
“I couldn’t give up the discount,” he said. “George Santos and I started the unique Jim’s Wacky Packy Golf Tournament at Mink Meadows. We called George “Dr. Redemption.” He worked exclusively on recyclables. He is now Dr. George Santos, optometrist.”
I slowly moved up Jim’s employment ladder and finally achieved my goal: driving Jim’s van making Saturday deliveries. Cruising the Vineyard was a joy. Everyone was always happy to see me. However, one disastrous delivery nearly ended my delivery career.
I was using the old pay telephone booth in front of the old Cornerway (present day Chilmark Restaurant) to get directions to a house. Returning to Jim’s, I realized I had left the money bag in the telephone booth. Forty-eight hours of anguish ensued. Monday morning rolled around. I showed up for work and discovered the bag had been turned into the police department. At the time Eddie was on vacation, so his father was watching the store. As it turned out, both Arthur and Eddie knew about the lost bag. Arthur never told Eddie because he was worried that he wasn’t paying attention to business and Eddie never told Arthur because he didn’t want his father to know what kind of cut-up he had doing deliveries.
The memories kept coming from former co-workers and customers.
Julie Williamson Gakidis was a kid back then. “Every year Eddie BenDavid gave out Christmas corsages to all the ladies,” she said. “As a child, I was always so thrilled to get one too. Such a sweet memory of simpler times. God Bless you Eddie.”
The customers never knew that 5 p.m. was the daily ritual hour at Jim’s. All the employees would start the elbow flex and bend, put a $1 on the register and get their favorite nip off the nip wall and do a group toast.
The annual employee party at Eddie’s home was a highlight. One year he treated everyone to dinner at the Homeport. We all travelled together in Jules BenDavid’s tour bus. I drove the bus and gave a tour.
The old crew at Jim’s eventually moved on. While the store was later sold and moved to a new location, memories remain. Friendships have endured. Great fun. Much laughter. Jim’s Package Store, service with a smirk!
Ken Goldberg is a regular contributor to the Gazette. He lives in Edgartown.