A Passionate ​“Citizen” Passes

Rose Cimino always grounded me. She ran Apicella’s Bakery on Grand Avenue, but really that was only her headquarters for running a family and a community. Rose passed last week at the age of 69 after a long battle with cancer. I was glad to have known her, and I will miss her.

I met Rose 12 years ago as a city government worker when Henry Fernandez sent me to organize merchants on Grand Avenue. I immediately took a liking to Rose because she was no-nonsense, hard-working, heart-of-gold citizen.

Yeah, citizen, in the fullest sense of the word. She inhabited Grand Avenue, she inhabited Apicella’s and, over time, she inhabited the Grand Avenue Village Association, where I worked with her.

Rose was passionate about taxes, about banks that made it hard for her finance new equipment, about the people who worked for her, about the price of flour, about her grandkids. Come to think of it, it’s hard to think of something that Rose wasn’t passionate about.

I really got to know Rose when I hung out at Apicella’s on Saturday mornings. That’s when all the regulars come into the bakery. She’d give me a cup of coffee and we’d talk. But mostly I’d watch the older Italian-Americans make their weekly jaunt back to Fair Haven for their loaves, or the newer Latinos walk down the block for weekend bread. Guys in their 80s, young kids from the neighborhood, and everyone in between – and always the small talk of life. It made me feel like we had a present, a past and a future. For me, it was the church of Rose.

Rose and Al and their kids made a living, a good one, mixing flour, water, yeast and hard work together to make the staff of life. Rose’s life was testimony to the power of the American immigrant experience, to the opportunity as strong country once afforded to newcomers. When we produced wealth by making useful things, we all prospered. Rose knew the importance of hard work, valued it wherever she saw it, and passed its virtue on to all who knew her. Thank you, Rose.

Oral History

Following is the transcript of a Dec. 6, 2004, interview that Christina Sanchez did with Rose for the New Haven Oral History Project. This transcript, like the others conducted by the project, can be found at Yale Sterling Memorial Library’s Manuscripts & Archives section.

[Track 1]

SANCHEZ: Today is December 6, 2004, and we are at Junta’s offices with Ms. Rose Cimino, and my first question is your date of birth.
CIMINO: 5 – 10-42.
SANCHEZ: And where were you born?
CIMINO: New Haven, Connecticut.
SANCHEZ: And where — um –- did you originally live?
CIMINO: New Haven, Connecticut.
SANCHEZ: Specifically?
CIMINO: Chapel -– uh — Wolcott Street. I don’t know the number.
SANCHEZ: Okay, fine.
CIMINO: That’s in Fair Haven.
SANCHEZ: I’m going to stop—

[End Track 1, Begin Track 2]

SANCHEZ: OK, so Chapel Street?
CIMINO: Um — born on Wolcott Street, in the Fair Haven section — at age two moved to Chapel Street near Ferry, in the Fair Haven section of New Haven.
_: Hi, I’m sorry, can I just put this in here? I don’t think we’ve met, who are you?
SANCHEZ: Christina.
_: I’m Rita, nice to meet you. And you’re working with Ana?
CIMINO: Yeah, we’re conducting an interviewing right now.
_: I’m sorry — (laughs) — OK.
SANCHEZ: (laughs) And where did you attend school?
CIMINO: Elementary school was Woolsey Street School on Woolsey Street in the Fair Haven section. And then to Fair Haven in — in junior high at the time — and I graduated from Wilbur Cross High School, all in New Haven.
SANCHEZ: OK, and how would you describe the neighborhood at the time, growing up?
CIMINO: Mixed, ethnically. Umm — mixed privately-held residences and residences rented to others.
SANCHEZ: OK. Do you remember specifically the breakdown of the community, ethnically?
CIMINO: — nationality, yeah. Um — really, really mixed. On our block alone there was Polish, Irish, Swedish, Italian — um — probably English. I think that’s really it. Uh — some black, if that’s what — you know — you’re looking for to see if it was racially mixed. Yes, somewhat.
SANCHEZ: OK, was there interaction between—
CIMINO: Absolutely!
SANCHEZ: — groups? OK.
CIMINO: We all played together.
SANCHEZ: And so when did you start with your business?
CIMINO: Actually, it’s really a long story. Our baker has been around — actually our bakery’s been in New Haven for about 95 years, in the Fair Haven Section. And twenty-two years ago we moved to Grand Avenue.
SANCHEZ: Where was it before?
CIMINO: On Houston Street, which is — um — Houston and Chambers, which is two blocks up from the Quinnipiac River.
SANCHEZ: So, when it was—
CIMINO: So, twenty-two years ago we moved to Grand Avenue, which allowed us business expansion and a storefront for retail purposes.
SANCHEZ: OK. So, it’s been in the family?
CIMINO: No, no.
SANCHEZ: No.
CIMINO: You’ll love this. My husband went to work for Apicella’s Bakery when he was thirteen years old, worked there for about eight years. Quit because they wouldn’t give him a dollar an hour wages. So he went to work for Hostess Cake in New Haven, started with $2.19 an hour, learned every job there, and within seven or eight years worked his way to the top. And in 1972, we were transferred to Massachusetts, and our third child was born there, and then five years later we moved back to New Haven because he had the opportunity to buy Apicella’s Bakery. It really is a success story. So, there we are. So, then we were on Chambers Street, Houston and Chambers, for five years. And that was in 1977, and like I say, about five years later we bought out another bakery, which was the Bartolomo Bakery, which was on Grand Avenue.
SANCHEZ: OK. So then the clients were from (inaudible)
CIMINO: Still mixed, but great, great loyalty because the Apicella brand has been a mainstay in Fair Haven. Yes, it was mostly Italian customers. Again, mixed Italian, Irish, Polish, German. And then — it’s — the twenty-two years we’ve been on Grand Avenue, the area has been mixed ethnically and racially. And the business has continued to be there, and so we have been welcomed, and our products have become very popular with the racially- and ethnically-mixed neighborhood.

[End track 1, Begin track 2]

SANCHEZ: Now, in my other interview, we discussed how Grand Avenue went through a stage where a lot of businesses were leaving. And how did you respond to that time?
CIMINO: I think I should probably go back to growing up in the neighborhood. Um, at the age of nine or ten, well, needless to say — I walked from Chapel to Woolsey Street, which was like what? — Like four blocks, at least, to school, alone, back and forth. We went home for lunch. And, then again, could walk to Grand Avenue shopping. There was a First National supermarket; there was an A & P supermarket. The post office was there. Right along this strip, on Grand Avenue, as we’re sitting here, was the doctor, the dentists, lawyers. All had their offices and their homes. The clinic was Porto’s funeral home — Fair Haven Clinic. And the proprietors lived in the residences and had their offices on the first floor. And that’s how I grew up, you know, knowing everything, you walked to everything, and you knew where everything was — three or four bakeries. What probably now is called your dollar store was a five and dime. And there were at least three of those on Grand Avenue. This was our own little city, everything was here. And as it developed, I would say as a teenager, and as redevelopment occurred in the inner city of New Haven, the neighborhood became more racially mixed. As you went to junior high and high school, then it was more mixed because now, you know, it encompassed a greater area.
SANCHEZ: Did most people from Fair Haven go to the school, Wilbur Cross, that was—
CIMINO: Yes, but what had happened, at the time when I was entering high school, there was — um — they changed the area. So they changed the lines, what area went to what schools. There also were two new high schools built at the time. So that created the need for change in the population. And so, much of the inner city, more of what would be part of the Hill, went to Wilbur Cross. It was a great — it was very controversial because many of the students who would have been Hill House students now had to become Wilbur Cross High School students, and there was a great division as to popularity, as to competition, because Hill House and Wilbur Cross were always highly competitive, especially in sports. So, it was very difficult for the Hill House students to become loyal Wilbur Cross students—
SANCHEZ: — uh-huh.
CIMINO: — loyal to our teams, and so on. So it was very controversial. But it worked out fine, you know? In my own class, I had quite a few girls — I was in what was called an all-girls division — and I had many students in my class who were from Hill House. An ethnically, racially-mixed group—
SANCHEZ: Uh-huh.
CIMINO: We all got along fine. No difficulties. I belong to a reunion committee — again, racially-mixed group — visiting each other in each other’s homes and so on.

[End track 3, Begin track 4]

SANCHEZ: So you never felt the desire to move, as some other Italian businesses did?
CIMINO: No, because we are very loyal to Grand Avenue. And I don’t live in the area, but that’s because when we came back to the area the taxes and schooling were very difficult. And my children were not what would have been successful parochial school students. And so I had to — so we moved to an area where the public schools offered a lot. Again, things have changed, but taxes are very high in New Haven.
SANCHEZ: So where do you live now?
CIMINO: I live in the town of North Haven.
SANCHEZ: So, if you’re not a resident, how have you stayed involved in the community?
CIMINO: Um—
SANCHEZ: — outside of — (inaudible)
CIMINO: I always say — I always say that we’re concerned people. I think you have to be — I mean, as I was coming here so prepared to tell you, ​“I’m a busy lady, you know, huh, I’m a mother, a grandmother, an administrative assistant, hostess with the most-est, concerned — today’s my mother-in-law’s birthday, it’s Immaculate Conception this week, I’m hosting a dinner party for thirteen this weekend, trying to get my house decorated— but, we’re concerned people! That’s why I’m meeting with you today, because we’re not just Italian, white people. We are people! And so everything around us concerns us. Whether it’s a little kid whose nose is running to the teenager who is panhandling out in front of my store, or somebody shooting up drugs down the corner, or the prostitute who is looking for something to eat — those are concerns. If I’m not concerned about them, then how can I be concerned about my business? And people are my business, because without people, I don’t have a business. What else could I say, you know? I mean, whether it’s Farnham Neighborhood House, which sends kids to camp in the summer, or sponsoring a softball team of Spanish kids — you know, that’s — it’s kids! So that’s who I want to help. It’s not whether they’re Spanish, or they’re black, or they’re Italian. And I’m the one, for the most part, who — my husband is very, very generous — I’m the one that, kind of, has to hold on a little because I’m the one that asks the questions. What is it for? Who’s it for? What are the results? What good is it doing? Who’s getting the benefit? Those are the questions I ask, so we’re very generous because, like I say, it’s for the neighborhood. If the neighborhood doesn’t do good, I don’t do good. Although — my business is different than Norma’s, because we do a big wholesale. We have eight trucks on the road. So my business is not only the area — you know — the immediate area. But again, I’m here. What am I supposed to do, close my eyes to everything that goes on? I’m not a person that can do that real easily.
SANCHEZ: Uh-huh, uh-huh.

[End track 4, Begin track 5]

SANCHEZ: So then, the people that — how would you describe other people’s reactions? Well, my next question was, how would you describe the interaction between the Latino community and the—
CIMINO: —Italian or who was here before?
SANCHEZ: — Italian or immigrant community?
CIMINO: I think that people are people. And if you have messy, sloppy people, anybody’s going to be upset with them, whether they’re Italian or Spanish. So, I think that the neighborhood wants to live together peacefully. And that’s all they’re working for. And, I mean, I know because I’ve seen it where the Spanish and Italian are living right next door to each other, being very pleasant to each other, more than cordial, living harmoniously. But you’re not going to be harmonious with the ones who are shooting up — you know — shooting each other, and using drugs because everybody wants to live in an area that is peaceful and pleasant. So anything that disrupts that, whether its violence, drugs, prostitution, abuse of any kind, spousal, child, that disrupts the neighborhood and that’s what anybody would be concerned about.

[End track 5, Begin track 6]

SANCHEZ: When did you see the community demographics start to change? When did more Latinos start moving into the area, if you could pick a date?
CIMINO: I would say, in the 70’s. What does Norma say, do you have any notes?
SANCHEZ: She moved to New Haven in 1971.
CIMINO: So, I said 70’s, because I will tell you when we bought the bakery, which was in 1977, it had already begun to change. See, and I was gone from — yeah — I was gone from ​’71 to ​’77. That’s when I moved back to Connecticut, and it had already changed. But again, that didn’t stop us from going to Houston and Chambers, which was already — had already begun to change, that area. See you’re talking coming this way, and it is different. Umm, I would say from the river this way and from the river that way, and then it starts changing. And now, it’s changed again, because now the demographics have spread — the mixture has really spread. Actually, it’s spread over the river and — yeah, it’s changed because I know the studies have shown figures. So, it’s changed from the other side of the river to State — well, further — to — yeah, I’d say to State because then you have — do you know the area very well?
SANCHEZ: Uh-huh.
CIMINO: Yeah, well, to State Street. Because on the other side of State Street is where Wilbur Cross is. So you’ve go to change all the way this way, just about to Wilbur Cross — which — over there, I will tell you, for the most part was just white, not racially-mixed at all. And now, I think it’s changed and it’s coming — that would be from, going from the west coming this way. (inaudible) — the 70’s.
SANCHEZ: OK. Are there any stories that you remember from interacting with the Latino community for the first time, or events that you—
CIMINO: — I really—
SANCHEZ: — or what you’ve learned?
CIMINO: I really can’t. I have to tell you, a prejudiced, discriminating person had said ​“you’re going to Grand Avenue? Have you thought about this? Have you thought about your kids?” And we said, ​“we don’t have any difficulty, we don’t have to think about it.” And you know, when we came to Grand Avenue, of course our retail grew. That’s why we came to Grand Avenue, because where we were, we didn’t have a retail area — we were in a back yard. So moving to Grand Avenue offered us that opportunity. So you had a great deal of contact with the immediate neighborhood. Never — I haven’t had — I mean, I haven’t had — I don’t think I’ve every kicked anybody out of the store. I don’t think — I know we’ve never had a robbery, any type of violence — but for the most part, my feeling is we treat everyone respectfully, courteously, with a smile. And that’s what we get in return. Once in a great while, and it’s not even — if I ever had a somewhat difficult — a somewhat difficult, not a very difficult — it was with a white person.
SANCHEZ: How so?
CIMINO: Well, they — I had someone question me for a dime, you know. ​“Did you charge me the right amount?” And I said, ​“I think so.” You know, and they said, ​“Well, I don’t think so, your husband charged me this” and that — probably Italian person — and I say that, I say if anybody’s gonna give you trouble it’s Italian. Is that discriminatory?
SANCHEZ: (laughs) It might be!
CIMINO: So, erase that.

(End track 6, Begin track 7)

SANCHEZ: I wanted to follow up about how you’ve gotten involved in the community. Would you just say it’s being aware? Are there concrete examples?
CIMINO: No, I think that I’m vocal and people pursue because I’m—
SANCHEZ: In what way are you vocal?
CIMINO: Um — I make a n attempt to speak in an intelligent manner so that my comments are accepted in a positive manner.
SANCHEZ: By who?
CIMINO: Anybody who’s listening! (laughs) You know, whether it’s the politicians, media, or even somebody like you. You know, you want to speak with someone with someone who is going to speak in a tactful manner and can verbalize.
SANCHEZ: What are some examples of when you’ve had to speak to politicians or the media?
CIMINO: When we’re looking for funding, when’re we are concerned about a situation—
SANCHEZ: — when you say ​“we”, do you mean the business?
CIMINO: The business community, sometimes me as an individual business.
SANCHEZ: Because you’re part of an organization?
CIMINO: Because of GABA, yes, but again, I was pursued because I’ve verbalized as a businessperson. And when the merchants looked to organize, and I was vocal — you know — who comes to the forefront? — those who vocalize — so — or verbalize. And so, we’d go to the politicians and say, ​“hey, we need this, we need help here.” Or the politicians would come to us and say, you know, ​“we need to accomplish such and such, what can you help us with?” And I’ll say, you know, ​“this is the situation and this is what we need.” Uh — the media — in the past, there was — well, media coverage regarding florists delivery in the neighborhood, that a particular or certain florist refused to make deliveries in this area. And I had commented, and the media zeroed in on it, and so they pursued as to my comments that said, you know — and this is my work with GABA — Fair Haven is perceived in a certain manner, and it is not what is here. And so you have to come here to see what Fair Haven is all about. And my work with GABA has been to change the perception of how Fair Haven is perceived.

[End track 7, Begin track 8]

SANCHEZ: Would you elaborate on the organization of GABA? What was the process?
CIMINO: The merchants became organized because they became upset with parking problems which existed on, right on, the Grand Avenue strip.
SANCHEZ: So it started because of parking?
CIMINO: Yes, the merchants became upset because the police were tagging. So we said, okay, we have a problem, we’re very busy. We’re a very busy commercial strip, and we don’t have enough parking. What do we do? So that’s how we became organized, and we looked at — we called the director of traffic. We spoke with him, we spoke with the police. But we also worked with the merchants to say, ​“you know, you own a store, you cannot” — I have the problem right now — ​“you cannot park on the street for three hours while you are working” — never mind that — ​“you can’t park on the street for eight hours while you running your store because where does your customer come and park?” So that’s what we’ve — we’re still dealing with it. But that started it.
SANCHEZ: In what year?
CIMINO: Ohh — maybe 2000, I think around 2000. Um, that started it and then we became concerned about police presence, some violence, drug activity, and then Empower New Haven — funds became available. And, so, we thought we’d access those funds and so we got involved in the ​“Facade” program, which has helped turn around the look of the neighborhood. And we have continued to work on the same problems, and it’s police presence, beautification, violence, drugs, prostitutes — and we zero in on what the neighborhood needs as to what kinds of businesses. What do we need, you know? We’ve got a Mexican bakery, we’ve got an Italian bakery. We’ve got a Latino dry-goods store, leather goods, children’s clothing, we’ve got record places, we’ve got the Dowister (sp?), we’ve got the dry cleaner — we’ve got two dry cleaners — we have Western Union, we have a supermarket — um — fish store, cooked and fresh, a laundry, a Laundromat, Chinese restaurant, Mexican restaurant, um — I don’t know if we have Ecuadorian — we’ve got pizza places. So we try to be diverse so that you can come here and find what you need. So that’s — GABA really, as I say, works for the merchants. But we’re also, as a group, aware of what the community need and what the concerns of the community are.

[End track 8, Begin track 9]

SANCHEZ: So what would you say are the issues that GABA is—
CIMINO: — works on.
SANCHEZ: — works on now.
CIMINO: Again, still the same. It’s police presence, beautification, changing the perception. Because that’s really what — by having police presence, you deter crime and violence. And by doing that, you encourage business, and the merchants themselves working on the problems of parking — adequate parking. We squashed a Laundromat that was going to open up, a 24-hour Laundromat which — studies show, put a Laundromat and a pizza place together, and you have big trouble — and had that, an all-night Laundromat. So we fought the all-night Laundromat. We were able to close down a nuisance business, which we felt was encouraging the drug trade. We have taken a piece of property by eminent domain and made it into a parking lot. That’s in the works right, right now, a block down. So we’re working hard. It’s very slow going, and we know that. But that’s about really it, I would say. I think I’ve covered it.

[End track 9, Begin track 10]

SANCHEZ: So would you say the perception of Fair Haven has improved?
CIMINO: Um, somewhat. One of the things you had asked me before about the politicians, we’ve had had them down, and you know, they look at what’s going on. We invite them whenever we have something special happening. And it was said to me, ​“Grand Avenue needs to prove itself as a destination.” And I looked at him and said, you know, ​“Where’ve you been? Grand Avenue is a destination, because we have this, this, and this.” And that’s what we’re working on, more so, Grand Avenue is a place to come because we have — I’ve told you all the things we have here. It’s changing little by little. We’re going to be beginning an advertising campaign. And right now, we’re working on — as a matter of fact — our website, but we haven’t gotten it going as well as we should have.
SANCHEZ: — on whose website?
CIMINO: GABA. Apicella’s Bakery is a place of destination, Green’s Cleaners is a place of destination. They’ve been there since, I think, since 19 — I want to say 190 — maybe its 1916. And he’s a Western Union and everyone can pay their utility bills there, too. So that’s a destination. Candido’s, which is a dry-goods store — if you ever drove by, you wouldn’t know — you wouldn’t believe what she’s got in there. But people come to Grand Avenue to go to Candido’s. Candido’s was a store since I was a kid. And she has everything — in fact, I’m going to go later because I want to see if she has any men’s handkerchiefs. But she has aprons, and smocks, and house — what’s called a housedress — but she has children’s clothes that Lord and Taylor carries. She has outfits for you and I, you know, shirts, tops, skirts, whatever. She’s a destination, because they’ve been there for years. You know, Candido’s has it. But she doesn’t advertise, so only the old-timers know. But you’ve got Fabs (sp?) Cleaners, so we are a destination. But we’re looking to improve it because a lot of people don’t we’re here. The immediate area knows we’re here. But we’re looking to tap into some bucks that are out there. (sighs) What else?

[End track 10, Begin track 11]

SANCHEZ: Finally, you talked about redevelopment earlier, in the central city, did you see redevelopment efforts in Fair Haven?
CIMINO: Uh, more recently. And one of my lines to the politicians had been Fair Haven has been the stepsister for the city of New Haven. Because anything that has — had — been done here, we did on our own. And I’ve told them that. And this more or less came from the empowerment zone funds, because personally, my business is on the wrong side of the street. That is so ridiculous. Empowerment Zone funds are from the river to that side of Grand Avenue, but not on this side. So anything that Apicella’s Bakery has done, we have done on our own, and I complain because we’ve got people that want to come in and talk to us all the time — OK — this bank, that bank, this organization, that organization, ​“we have funding, we have funding.” And I say to them, ​“what’s your interest rate? What is the use of you coming to talk to me about loans — micro-loans or whatever — when I can go to the bank and get cheaper than from you?” So their answer is, ​“Well, we’re here for the people who can’t go to the bank.” Well, then, those of us who are successful don’t need you. So you’re going to help the people that can’t get loans from the bank, but you’re going to charge them a little more interest. Because I want to know that, do you compete with the banks? You know. So anything that any of us have done here, and our businesses have been successes because we have worked hard to get where we are. Whether it was by taking a little less pay every week, having a smaller house — so that we could save some, so that we could be stable, so that when we needed to do something, we can do that. New Haven, they didn’t give us anything. Finally, now, we have some empowerment zone funds made available to us. So finally, my answer to them was, ​“you’re finally helping us. We’re the step-sister, you know, the Cinderella step-sister, so finally we’re helping us.” So now I’m seeing some improvements, I’d like to see more. I don’t know if you’re aware, if you drive up and down the streets and see all these boarded-up buildings. Homes that are needed — the movement is so slow on them. I mean, I drive down certain streets. I try to change my route so that I do see different homes, but some of them are the same houses that have been empty for two years, board up! What are waiting for? Everything is so slow. I have a boarded-up house myself right now that’s been empty since — I think — August. But it’s so slow to get things done. But I guess that’s what — politics, right? Um, so now, like I say, yes, now I’m seeing them. But you have to remember, the first redevelopment began in the 50’s, the big redevelopment, that’s when everything changed — started to change. And now, I think, it’s — you know — we’re seeing the city attempting to become more revitalized. Outside investments — investment money — is coming in. Yes, we’re seeing that. But again, it’s like I say, it’s slow.

[End track 11, Begin track 12]

SANCHEZ: Is there anything else you’d like to share about New Haven?
CIMINO: I, as a Fair Haven native, have said Grand Avenue will always be Grand Avenue. And that’s why it’s a popular place to have your business. Umm — that’s why, for the most part, it’s a lucrative place to have your business. I think, right now, we are all experiencing the difficult economic times. You know, we’re — we don’t see the (inaudible) out of it yet. And all of us on Grand Avenue have been experiencing difficulties. Whether — and actually, for the most part, its accounts — accounts receivable — are slow. And so it means people are spending less. Umm — they say that the retailers have already seen a pick-up in spending for the holiday season. So hopefully that tells a story. But I think everybody along the strip is finding it somewhat diff — just say business is slow. The bridge isn’t helping us. The Fair Street Bridge closed. That isn’t helping us. And then next year they’re going to close the State Street Bridge. Which is — It’s not like a drawbridge. But it’s a small bridge over — I think that’s the Mill River over there, part of the Mill — so it’s difficult. And we have to worry about this Grand Avenue Bridge here, which isn’t the best, in the best shape. So it would be very easy, easy for us to be cut off. From time to time the Chapel Street Bridge goes out, but we’re doing the best we can. And like I say, for the most part, those of us who have been here for so long — we’re kind of looked at as successes, the success stories. But again, you know, it’s because you’ve tried to be stable and tried not to draw from your business. If you have any — one of the things that we always say is, you know, you can’t bankrupt the business. What it means is that, you get x amount of dollars every day, well you can’t take that and put it in your pocket. You know, my kids and anybody — when you’re doing banking, you bring your money to the bank. That’s not all your — as a matter of fact — none of its yours because it’s going to pay bills or whatever. So you have to be very concerned, and a little more conservative when that money comes in. Know enough to put x amount aside. We know, because we’re big wholesalers. I see a lot of businesses go under because they bankrupt the business. You can’t do that, and that’s one of the things Apicella’s Bakery has worked very hard not to do. Um — we’ve turned a lot of it back into the business, because that’s how we’ve expanded. You know, our flour comes in a trailer truck. Our flour — if you’ve ever seen in a bakery — a stack of 100-pound bags of flour. Our flour comes in a tanker truck and we have a silo. It comes, like you see gas going to the gas station, that’s what comes in front of our bakery and the flour gets blown in. And I have a thing in the back that looks almost like — uh — I want to say a train. It’s like a car — it’s like a carload, and the flour gets blown in there and that’s how we use it. But again, it took a lot of investment. That took a lot of money being borrowed from the banks, paid back, to get this far. And we’re working hard to maintain it. I have children who are — who work in the business. And Fair Haven’s a great place to be, and have your business. And the people are wonderful. I say that all the time. And I’m talking ethnically, racially mixed. I have Spanish, German, Polish, Italian, Irish — who come into the bakery for our products. We’ve been on a long time. The end?
SANCHEZ: Yes.
CIMINO: Good.
SANCHEZ: Thank you.

[End of Interview]