93-Year-Old Don Cosentino Returns to Former Grocery Site for Halloween Candy Handout

Don Cosentino, 93, will stand outside the former site of his Mount Greenwood grocery store this Saturday to hand out candy to neighborhood children.

The event runs from 4 to 6 p.m. on Halloween at 10653 S. Homan Ave., a location that housed Don’s Finer Foods from 1972 to 2007. The building now functions as a residence, but the Mount Greenwood Historical Committee is turning it into a temporary pop-up shop to mark the anniversary of the store’s legacy.

Cosentino opened the mom-and-pop grocery store alongside his late wife, Marie, in 1972. For 35 years, the shop served residents by providing groceries, cut-to-order meats, and a popular candy counter. The business closed in 2007, but the couple’s presence remained a fixture in the community until Marie passed away in October 2012.

The store operated almost entirely with family labor. Cosentino’s granddaughter, Geena Abbott, said that every family member contributed to the business from childhood through adulthood. They made sausage, ground beef for patties, and handled daily operations without much outside help. Abbott noted that her mother, Donna Dunleavy, recently shared memories of the shop preparing corned beef for Mount Greenwood residents and St. Christina School students around St. Patrick’s Day.

Margaret Schroeder, president and founder of the Mount Greenwood Historical Committee, organized the Saturday gathering to reconnect former customers with the store owner. She noted that people frequently ask about Cosentino’s well-being, and the group wanted to provide a space for those long-time patrons to see him again. "We are having him come out and meet the people that he used to help for all those years," Schroeder said.

Cosentino’s family will accompany him for the event. They plan to wear the white apron and Hanes T-shirt he donned for decades behind the counter. The group aims to recreate the atmosphere of the original candy counter for a new generation of local kids.

The committee is also recognizing Russ Schroeder, 95, during the same event. Russ grew up on the 10600 block of South Homan Avenue, a street where several generations of the Schroeder family have lived for the past century.

The pop-up shop is open to the public. Neighbors are encouraged to visit the site on Saturday afternoon to interact with Cosentino and receive candy from his family.