As Mike Filice prepares to retire, a longstanding tradition comes to an end.

For 78 years, a member of the Filice family has tended the Quality Market in Salinas. That history will come to an end when Bozzo’s Liquors takes over – a change that will happen once the transaction clears escrow. According to owner Mike Filice, it is the last of what was once a thriving Italian grocery scene.

Filice’s family opened the market in 1947. For decades, his grandfather Ignacio and father Mike ran the business at the corner of Williams and Market. Many of the customers spoke Italian, which the younger Filice says irked some residents.

“The white people would say, ‘You’re in America, speak American,’” he recalls. At one point Mike Filice partnered with his uncle Robert Felice. The family surname had two spellings, Filice explains, because officials at Ellis Island messed up. Filice is the proper Italian spelling.

“He just kept it,” Filice says of his uncle.

Filice was born and raised on the street behind the market. He says the now-busy intersection was a dirt road when the grocery opened. In 1974 the family added a neighboring shop, Quality Liquors, which has since been incorporated into the market.

While it served as a busy neighborhood grocery when it opened, Quality Market & Liquor is now a convenience store with well-stocked liquor shelves. It remains a very busy place.

Weekly: This is a big transition.

Filice: We’re the last of the Italian store owners–grocery and liquor store owners. From the 1930s to the 1970s, the majority of store owners in Salinas were Italian immigrants. Most were my family.

Monterey has a lot of Italians, but Salinas did, too. They were the Okies who came during the Depression. People don’t realize that. Little by little the demographics changed; so did the items on the shelves. Everything has changed. Nobody around here speaks Italian.

The next generation, I guess they were smarter because they became attorneys, doctors, judges. My kids don’t want it. They know I worked 16-hour days. I’m 70. I’ve only had two vacations. My last vacation was 25 years ago. I started working when I was 10. My two sons were here for a while, but they went on to do other things.

What has been the biggest change over the decades?

Alcohol sales. We survive on alcohol sales. The original store had a meat counter. That’s where we got our reputation. My dad and uncle were excellent butchers. Then the bigger stores came in and we went toward liquor sales. We have 350 different tequilas. Who else can say that?

You kept up the tradition.

It’s not about me, it’s about the Italian people. We used to have family come over. The [other shop owners] would be here talking. You could smell food being cooked. I could name 15 family markets. Lavorato, both Felice families–my grandfather had two brothers that opened stores. Cava. Orlando. Doris. Rossi. I don’t want to hurt any feelings, just put “among others.”

A lot of the stores aren’t standing any more. Seventy-eight years is a long time.

What will retirement be like for you?

I’m going to tell you, it will be like a death in the family. I really don’t know what I’m going to do. I spend more hours awake in the store than at home. I plan on driving my wife crazy.

Did you ever consider doing something else?

No. I’ve always liked the grocery business. I guess what I loved was working with my dad and uncle, seeing how they loved the store. I wanted to be like them. I love everything about it.

What has been the reaction of your customers?

A lot of customers are disappointed. They are like family. We’ve known them for years. We know them by name. But I chose [Bozzo’s Liquors] because I like them. Please continue doing business with them. I have a loyal crew. The staff are staying on, except Rosa [Dozal], who is retiring. Working with Rosa all these years drove me to retirement [laughs].

Dozal: [Smiling] You’re the reason I’m retiring.

Have you set the last day?

We’re in escrow, but with the government shutdown, the bank – I thought I’d be out of here by now. The grocery gods don’t want me to leave yet.

QUALITY MARKET & LIQUOR, 201 Williams Road, Salinas. (831) 424-1045.