About Us


234 Pittsburgh Circle • Ellwood City, PA  (724) 752-1233

.

ABOUT US.

Loccisano’s Golden Dawn first started in 1916 in Burnstown, PA, a small section of Ellwood City. Burnstown is situated between Ellwood City and Ellport next to Inmetco.

Nick and Bettina Loccisano (now known as Grandpa and Grandma Loccisano) lived in Burnstown while Grandpa Loccisano worked for US Steel. Every morning, men would walk past their house on their way to work. Grandma Loccisano saw an opportunity to make a little money by displaying for sale penny candy and chewing tobacco in the front window of her house. Eventually she added fresh produce and Loccisano’s Market was born. They built a small store next to their home in Burnstown (pictured above) and stayed until 1926.

From there, they moved their small enterprise to what is now known as T&M Hardware, across from the existing Loccisano’s. They lived in the apartment above with the store below.

Getting fresh produce for the store was no small task. At first, Grandpa utilized the Harmony Shortline, a train service that ran from Ellwood to the Strip in Pittsburgh. The station was located near where St. Agatha church is now. In 1924, Grandpa bought his first truck (picture above), a ’24 Rio which he drove 2-3 times a week into Pittsburgh. He would wake up at 3:00 AM to make this trip. In those days, Route 79 did not exist and it was quite a chore to drive from Ellwood to Pittsburgh. He took route 288 (Ellwood-Zelienople Road) to route 19. He then took McKnight Rd to the 40th St. Bridge to get into the city.

We’ve come a long way since those days of limited transportation and technology. The store has remained in family hands and is now operated by third and fourth generation Loccisano’s. We are very proud of the store and our heritage.