THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, November 6, 1996 TAG: 9611060041
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: [Donna Koch]<
LENGTH: 63 lines
In August, Samuel Sandler, chairman of L.M. Sandler & Sons, Inc., died at age 73. Although Sandler Foods grew into one of the largest food-distribution businesses in the country, Sandler and his family got their start at a small seafood market in the City Market. Donna Koch interviewed Sandler a few months before his death, and he described what life was like as a merchant there.
``MY FATHER, Max Sandler, came to this country about 1906 from near Warsaw. He lived with his aunt and uncle who had a wholesale fish business in Norfolk on Monticello Avenue.
``In 1920 my father bought his stall in the market. It was only 20 feet long by 8 feet wide.
``My mother, Eva, and my father worked together in the market. It was seven days a week. My mother would walk me and my brother to school and then go to the market. My father would have been there working since at least 6 in the morning.
``My father was a very strong man. You had to be to do all the work he did. He would go to Ballard's Fish and Oysters on South Hampton Street for much of his fish. The boats came up the bay every day, and my father had certain ones he liked best.
``It was a matter of pride that my father put his hand on every fish sold; he didn't just buy 100 pounds of fish, but he checked them all out. There were mountains of fish on those boats.
``The fish he chose were then packed in boxes and the next morning he would go pick them up. This meant lifting boxes weighing about 160 pounds, 100 pounds of fish and 60 pounds of ice.
``After awhile he bought a bigger stand in the middle of the market. Eventually we bought out the other fish dealers and were the only ones.
``Why were we so successful? We worked really hard. We also sold to restaurants and were in the food-service business from early on, not just in the market. We also had great sales ideas; we would bring a 600-700 pound sturgeon right into the market, take pictures. It was a big attraction.
``The market was a great place. The best meat was there. I can remember Mr. Clark with his straw hat and white coat. I would go to his stand and get a steak or a lamb chop and take it to the restaurant in the market, and Nita, the waitress, would have them cook it for me.
``I remember all the flower stands. Seeley's and Durkee's were the big ones. And the Mennonites with their cheeses and bread. On weekends they came inside from their stands on Brewer Street.
``The fresh horseradish at Goodson's was wonderful; I've never had anything to equal it. And `Goat' Dozier had a produce stand just outside the market. I remember the black women selling greens of all kinds outside; they raised good families.
``There was a psychology to the market. The competition was strong. You felt bad if one of your regular customers went somewhere else and you saw that.
``Some of the other sellers in the market were close friends, others not so close. Business is tough. You are only as good as your last delivery.'' ILLUSTRATION: FILE PHOTO
Sam Sandler, here in 1979, said his father began selling fish in a
market stall in 1920.
KEYWORDS: HISTORIC NORFOLK DOWNTOWN NORFOLK NORFOLK CITY
MARKET by CNB