Sam Garcia Sr. walks the aisles of Food City in a white grocer's uniform and a bright red apron with large pockets. Pockets filled with candy. When children - or anyone really - returns a smile, he hands them a piece.
Sometimes, a child will sidle up to him and tug on the apron, hoping for a treat.
"I always give them a candy, see their faces light up," Garcia said, as a child scampered away clutching a peppermint candy.
"They have to smile, though," the 76-year-old said. "A smile is the universal symbol of friendship."
And Garcia has made a lot of friends since he moved to Avondale with his family after World War II. His parents, Marcelino and Concha, opened Garcia's Market in 1946.
"It was my mother's idea. She made our living room into a grocery store," Garcia said.
Fifty years later, Garcia sold the landmark Garcia's Market to Food City. The sign may have changed, but many people still refer to the shop at 323 E. Main St. as "Garcia's."
Sam Garcia's son, Sam Jr., runs another Avondale store at 1450 N. Dysart Road, where Garcia still works today.
"It has been so rewarding," Garcia said. "All our customers, they are such great people. They could have gone to other stores, but they chose us."
The founders of the ninth annual Shanty Irish and Great American Golf Tournament selected Sam Garcia and his sons, Sam Jr. and Danny, as the honorees of this year's tournament, to be held Saturday at the Lakes Course and Palm Valley Golf Club in Goodyear.
"He and his family have done so much for Avondale and for Goodyear," said Jim McCoy, a tournament founder. "We want to honor their contributions, their service."
McCoy said other honorees include Mary Liotta, aquatics manager at the Litchfield Park Recreation Center, and Jean Bailey, retired city clerk from both Goodyear and Litchfield Park.
Money raised from the event will benefit the Boys & Girls Club of Avondale, McCoy said.
"We started this [tournament] as a family thing nine years ago, a small foursome. Last year when we honored O.K. Fulton, we had 77 players," said Jeff McCoy, Jim's son. "It has grown not only as charity, but a way to honor these people who give to their community."
Giving back
Garcia still works at the Food City on the southwest corner of Van Buren Street and Dysart Road in Avondale, from 6 a.m. to 1 p.m. Monday through Wednesday.
"As long as I can, I'll keep working," he said. "It's never been a chore - it's always been fun."
Garcia had tears in his eyes as he spoke about how humbled he felt knowing his fellow West Valley business men and women chose to honor him and his family this year.
"It means so much to me, to my family," Garcia said. "The Lord has blessed us."
Through the years, Garcia and his wife, Bea, who have been married more than 50 years, have organized toy and food drives and donated time and money to community groups, such as the Westside Recreation Program, the Salvation Army, Estrella Rotary Club and St. John Vianney Catholic Church.
"As a businessman, the community supports you in everything you do," Garcia said. "It's nothing but right for businesses to do likewise."
Until Garcia's Market closed, each year on Christmas Eve, Garcia would don a Santa Clause suit and give bags of toys to neighborhood children. In the later years, the store often saw between 1,500 and 2,000 children.
"Sometimes that is all the Christmas these kids would have,' Garcia said. "Their families worked hard - some in the fields - they worked late nights and were very poor. Their grandparents or parents would bring them by ... I miss doing it."
Recently, the Garcias were traveling in Maricopa and a police officer pulled Garcia over for driving 5 mph over the posted speed limit, Bea Garcia said. The officer recognized Sam Garcia as his childhood Santa.
"He remembered. They often remember," Bea Garcia said.
She said she believes you get back what you give out in the world.
"If people needed anything, we were there to help them," she said. "They could charge their groceries. And if somebody needed extra money, we would lend it to them from our own money."
A community, a home
The Garcias have traveled the world, including Rome, Spain, Japan, China and England. They have always made Avondale their home. Their four children, 12 grandchildren and 16 great grandchildren all live in the community. When their home burned to the ground in 1989, they built another right in its place.
"I've never wanted to move," he said. "This is my home."
The Gracias often visit Los Angeles and shop in "the alleys," the city's famous shopping district. On one trip, they met a man selling roasted corn, though he wasn't selling much at all, Garcia said. The former butcher-turned-grocery-store manager bought an ear and, he said, "Boom, people came from all over and bought him out," he said.
More than one year later, on another trip, he saw the same man selling corn. Garcia said that as he approached, the man recognized him and came out from behind his cart to give Garcia a hug, and told him, "You blessed me!"
"I touched his life once, and he remembered me," Garcia said, as he wiped tears away with his palm. "That's what life is all about."
Rebecca I. Allen can be reached by e-mail at rallen@westvalleyview.com.
