--- title: Pride in the Pantry description: Discover the lessons of hospitality and care learned in a family deli that shaped a life dedicated to making others feel welcomed and appreciated. image: https://blog.unitedchurchhomes.org/hubfs/Screenshot%202026-11-12%20095803.png --- [![Center for Abundant Aging](https://www.unitedchurchhomes.org/wp-content/uploads/uch-logo-200x84.png "Center for Abundant Aging")](https://www.unitedchurchhomes.org/parker-center) [Back to United Church Homes](https://www.unitedchurchhomes.org/) This is a search field with an auto-suggest feature attached. - There are no suggestions because the search field is empty. - [Educational Opportunities](https://www.unitedchurchhomes.org/parker-center/educational-opportunities/) - [Overview](https://www.unitedchurchhomes.org/parker-center/educational-opportunities/) - [Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE)](https://www.unitedchurchhomes.org/parker-center/educational-opportunities/clinical-pastoral-education-cpe/) - [Quellhorst Endowment Fund](https://www.unitedchurchhomes.org/parker-center/educational-opportunities/quellhorst-scholars/) - [High School Community Service Opportunities](https://www.unitedchurchhomes.org/parker-center/educational-opportunities/high-school-community-service-opportunities/) - [Internships-Undergraduate and Graduate](https://www.unitedchurchhomes.org/parker-center/educational-opportunities/internships-undergraduate-and-graduate/) - [Research Opportunities](https://www.unitedchurchhomes.org/parker-center/educational-opportunities/research-opportunities/) - Engagement with Congregations - [Resources for Worship and Reflection](https://www.unitedchurchhomes.org/parker-center/resources-for-worship-and-reflection/) - [Age-Friendly Congregations](https://www.unitedchurchhomes.org/parker-center/age-friendly-congregations/) - [Church Resources](https://www.unitedchurchhomes.org/parker-center/church-resources/) - [About the Center](https://www.unitedchurchhomes.org/parker-center/about-the-center/) - [Overview](https://www.unitedchurchhomes.org/parker-center/about-the-center/) - [Meet Rev. Beth Long-Higgins](https://www.unitedchurchhomes.org/parker-center/meet-rev-beth-long-higgins/) - [Advisory Committee](https://www.unitedchurchhomes.org/parker-center/advisory-committee/) - [Press Releases](https://www.abundantaging.org/category/press-releases/) - [Contact the Center](https://www.unitedchurchhomes.org/parker-center/contact/) # Pride in the Pantry By [Anthony Spearhart](https://blog.unitedchurchhomes.org/author/spearhart)  •  November 12, 2026 ![](https://blog.unitedchurchhomes.org/hubfs/Screenshot%202026-11-12%20095803.png) “Anthony, it’s past ten. Those sandwiches need to get onto the shelves.” I was working in the deli at Pantry Pride, and Grandpa had come in to find that the day’s sandwiches were still with me. I knew they needed to go out. Apparently, what I needed to learn was what Grandpa meant by ten. Grandpa, or Mr. Schramm as most people at Pantry Pride knew him, had been a drill sergeant in the Air Force. If you’d worked for him at the grocery store, you might’ve guessed that. At Pantry Pride, I learned that if you’re ten minutes early, you’re on time. If you’re on time, you’re late. And if it’s already past ten and you’re still making the sandwiches, well, there’s a good chance Grandpa is lurking on the other side of the deli counter, glaring at you with that familiar look of impatience. It scared people who weren’t related to him. I loved and feared that look in equal measure. Being his grandson only got me so far. Grandpa was forty-two when he took a chance on becoming a partner in Pantry Pride. He was working for A&P in Toledo, and the opportunity meant moving the family to Wapakoneta, Ohio. That move opened doors for our family, including the actual doors of the grocery store. My parents, my aunts and uncles, my brothers and I all had the chance to work for him in one of the stores. We came away with plenty of stories. We also came away with a pretty good idea of how to take care of people. I can laugh now about Grandpa checking on the sandwiches. At the time, I was thinking about getting through my list. But somebody was going to come in looking for lunch, and they had their own list to get through. Grandpa had already thought about that person. Having the sandwiches ready when they came in was one small way we could take care of them before they ever had to ask. Grandpa had specifications for just about everything. At eighteen, I couldn’t tell you why he fussed so much about the queen olives or why a garlic pickle had to have just that much crunch. I mean, how much time can two people spend talking about a pickle? More than I thought, apparently. But working for Grandpa taught me to pay attention to what we were handing across the counter. Would I be happy with that pickle if I were the one taking it home? Would I come back for those olives? He cared about the little things because somebody was counting on us to get them right. And once I got to know the people on the other side of the counter, I started to understand why the details mattered so much to him. Now, there was one specification we grandkids were willing to argue with. Gramps wanted the staff to cut the jo-jo fries thick. We were convinced the thinner ones tasted better, and it took us years to convince him. To this day, when I’m in St. Marys, Ohio, and stop at Pantry Pride for jo-jos, I still have to assure the person behind the counter that yes, I really do mean the thin ones. Of course, I had plenty of regulars at the deli who knew exactly what they wanted, too. After a while, I could see somebody coming up to the counter and have a pretty good idea what they were going to ask for. Mrs. Jones liked her olive loaf sliced a particular thickness. Mr. Smith liked a little extra dressing in his garlic salad. Mrs. Arps, whose husband was one of the other owners, liked a little more Worcestershire sauce in her cheese ball. And when sweet Gladys pulled up to the counter in her electric shopping cart and asked for chipped ham, I knew what she really meant was sawdust. I loved getting to know those little things about people. There was a pleasure in looking up, smiling, and being able to say, “The usual, Mrs. Jones?” And there was a pleasure in being on the other side of that, too, I think. You could walk in to get a little olive loaf and find that somebody remembered exactly how you liked it. To this day, Pantry Pride is one of the only stores I know where they walk each customer out to their car and help load the groceries. I love that about the place. You’ve paid for your groceries. The receipt’s in your hand. And somebody is still walking beside you. That’s the legacy of Pantry Pride I carry with me. Hospitality. I learned it in the preparation that happened before anybody showed up, in the little things we remembered about people, and in the walk out to the car. And every one of us who got to work for Grandpa had a chance to practice it. You could start your shift thinking your job was to make sandwiches and go home knowing how it felt to make somebody’s day a little easier. Do that often enough and you start looking for ways to do it wherever you go. I’ve worked behind quite a few counters since my Pantry Pride days, and now I spend a lot of my time welcoming people into a church. I still think about what I learned in that deli. I think about the person who’s walked through our doors for the first time and is looking around, trying to figure out where to go. There’s a difference between pointing down a hallway and saying, “Here, I’ll walk with you.” I had plenty of chances to see what that difference felt like at Pantry Pride. I wish I could tell Grandpa how often I think about those things now. I have a feeling he’d be glad to hear it. Then he’d look at the clock and ask me where the sandwiches were. A few questions to sit with • Who taught you how to take care of people? What did you see them do that you still do today? • When has someone made you feel welcome by remembering a little thing about you? • Where in your life do you have a chance to show someone else what good hospitality feels like? At eighteen, I thought I’d leave Pantry Pride knowing how to run a deli. I did, and I still have opinions about how thick a jo-jo ought to be. But what I’m most grateful for now is how often I get to pass on the kind of welcome I learned there. That’s one of the joys I’ve found in Abundant Aging. I get to see a little more of what Grandpa gave me every time someone walks through a door and I have the chance to look up, smile, and say, “I’m glad you’re here.” - - - - [RETURN TO BLOG](https://blog.unitedchurchhomes.org/) ## About the Author ### Anthony Spearhart Rev. Anthony Spearhart is an ordained Pastor currently serving at Lakeview United Church of Christ, in Maineville, Ohio. He has been an advocate at the city, state, and National level for the Alzheimer’s Association since 2013, and volunteers with the partnership between the UCC’s Open & Affirming Coalition & The Alzheimer’s Association. Before moving into his second career as a pastor, he was a chef, who worked at Walt Disney World. He and his husband Tyler enjoy the beach and their two Great Danes. [View all articles by Anthony Spearhart](https://blog.unitedchurchhomes.org/author/spearhart) [![Ruth Frost Parker Center for Abundant Aging](https://www.unitedchurchhomes.org/wp-content/uploads/UCH_RFPCAA_Horiz_4c-1-1.png "Ruth Frost Parker Center for Abundant Aging")](https://www.unitedchurchhomes.org/the-center-for-abundant-aging/) #### Educational Opportunities - [Overview](https://www.unitedchurchhomes.org/parker-center/educational-opportunities/) - [Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE)](https://www.unitedchurchhomes.org/parker-center/educational-opportunities/clinical-pastoral-education-cpe/) - [Quellhorst Endowment Fund](https://www.unitedchurchhomes.org/parker-center/educational-opportunities/quellhorst-scholars/) - [High School Community Service Opportunities](https://www.unitedchurchhomes.org/parker-center/educational-opportunities/high-school-community-service-opportunities/) - [Internship-Undergraduate and Graduate](https://www.unitedchurchhomes.org/parker-center/educational-opportunities/internships-undergraduate-and-graduate/) - [Research Opportunities](https://www.unitedchurchhomes.org/parker-center/educational-opportunities/research-opportunities/) #### Engagement with Congregations - [Resources for Worship and Reflection](https://www.unitedchurchhomes.org/parker-center/resources-for-worship-and-reflection/) - [Age-Friendly Congregations](https://www.unitedchurchhomes.org/parker-center/age-friendly-congregations/) - [Church Resources](https://www.unitedchurchhomes.org/parker-center/church-resources/) #### About the Center - [Overview](https://www.unitedchurchhomes.org/parker-center/about-the-center/) - [Meet Rev. 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