Faces of the Valley: Dick Pesci has been cutting meat, making memories at Golden Dawn for 62 years

Dick Pesci jokes that when he starts his car each morning, it already knows where to go.

After all, he’s been making the same trip from his Natrona Heights home to Golden Dawn in New Kensington for decades.

And the 10-minute commute to get to work by 5 a.m. is just part of the routine for Pesci, who’s been a butcher at Golden Dawn for 62 years.

Pesci is a brisk 86-year-old.

“He’s been a blessing to the neighbors and this store — not just the meat department,” said Gene Tommasi, co-owner of Golden Dawn. “He’s teaching his trade to these guys.”

Pesci got his first taste in the butcher industry when he was 8 years old, working in the back of his grandfather’s store, Crestani’s Market, in Freeport.

“I learned how to do it the right way,” Pesci said. “I learned from him.”

He spent time working at a slaughterhouse in Freeport and came to Golden Dawn in 1962. At that time, the store was an IGA supermarket. It converted to a Golden Dawn a few years after Pesci started working there.

He started at $1 an hour. He said that whenever he’d ask his boss for a raise, the boss would give him two extra hours to work instead of a wage increase.

“It was a job for the first 20 years,” Pesci said. “After that, you get to know the people and they become family. I enjoy what I do.”

His time at Golden Dawn includes a 22-year run where he never took a vacation day.

“I worked double shifts,” he said. “I wanted my house paid off by the time I was 40, and I did that.”

Pesci has been the manager of the meat department for about 20 years. He used to work 50 to 60 hours a week; he currently works four days a week, part time.

In his free time, Pesci said, he loves to garden. He is an avid churchgoer and attends Guardian Angels Parish in Harrison.

For a few years Pesci’s late wife, Charlene, worked for him as a meat wrapper. His son, Scott, is his assistant meat manager.

Scott Pesci, 62, of Brackenridge, has worked at Golden Dawn nearly 40 years and says he’s taken after his father’s strong work ethic.

“He loves cutting meat and working with people,” Scott said. “That’s all he’s known.

“He takes pride in what he does. He wants to put out a good product for people. We’re known for our meat.”

Golden Dawn’s meat department, under the leadership of Dick Pesci, does things with a traditional, old-school touch.

Pesci said many of Golden Dawn’s customers are of various ethnic groups, and the meat department caters to that. For example, they prepare lamb for Syrians, sausage for Italians, kabanosy for Polish people.

“Most supermarkets don’t do that anymore,” he said. “This Valley is very rich in that.”

Unlike other stores, Golden Dawn makes hamburger meat from scratch. Everything is ground in the store daily. All chicken is packaged at the store.

Pesci has seen “gigantic changes” in the industry, including advancements in technology to make butchering easier with machinery.

The quality of meat has also decreased, he said.

“Back then, 50 years ago, you had to know what you were doing,” he said. “The old style of everything is obsolete. There are no more old-time butchers. It’s a different kind of business today.”

Scott said the old-school method is labor intense, and costs more, but is worth it.

“In the end, you’ve got a better product,” Scott said.

Holiday time, in particular, can be a lot of pressure. Dick Pesci said he strives each Christmastime to make sure every customer is satisfied with their order.

“You have to treat the customer the right way,” he said. “If you don’t, then you’re in trouble.”

That’s something Pesci thinks Golden Dawn does well, and it contributes to its longevity. Only a few Golden Dawn stores remain today.

“We try to take care of the customer when they come into the store,” he said.

Tommasi complimented Pesci’s years of service.

“He’s a good soul,” Tommasi said. “He’s a good guy.”

Pesci said he has enjoyed seeing generations of families come into the store as customers, and cherishes the relationships he has with them.

He has no intention of retiring.

“I like doing what I’m doing,” Pesci said. “If you like doing what you’re doing, you might as well keep doing it, right?”