If you've walked past the corner of Hanover and Parmenter streets in the North End, you may have stopped by a corner store with a decidedly Boston name.
"Everyone knows the Connah Store," said Paula Noukas, who runs food tours in the North End.
For 31 years, the Connah Store has been the spot in a neighborhood that cherishes its local establishments.
"I am going to miss this place, I come here all the time," said Mike O'Brien. "Sadly, it is closing. I come here to get my scratchies and a Klondike Bar, and whenever Powerball is big, I would always come here. It had a winning vibe. I never won."
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The Connah Store is no more though. It closed in the early morning hours of Jan. 1.
"Very heartbroken, very sad," Noukas said. "It is going to change the face of Hanover street for sure. It is a loss."
For Connah Store owner Mark Petrigno, retirement was something he has thought about more and more. When the rent went up for his property, he knew it was time.
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"I never realized the impact it had, from being on the other side of the counter, until they told me, 'Mark you are closing?'" he said.
Petrigno says he is going to travel more -- something he hasn't been able to do as much without worrying about his store over the last three decades. Trips to Florida and Italy already in the works.
"It is crazy, the realm of people, customers that have been in that little store in this little neighborhood," he said.
Frank DePasquale, who owns a number of restaurants in the North End, is now renting the spot.
"I definitely want to keep the essence of the Connah Store," he said. "Mark did such a phenomenal job. He kept the whole neighborhood together. Super super kid."
