Their family business was an institution in South Jersey for
over 75 years.
Much of their success grew on a single product - the
Christmas Tree
Ralph Gaudio, the family patriarch, started in the grocery
business in New Haven, Conn in1901 before moving to Camden around 1930 where he began as a
fruit & produce huckster. He eventually opened a grocery store on Fairview St, in
South Camden.
His sons, Joseph
& Arthur, followed in the food business, selling fruit & produce on the streets of
Camden. Within a few years their huckster operation evolved into a wholesale
fruit &
produce business on
Mt Ephraim Ave, in Fairview
- Gaudio Brothers.
They soon outgrew
that and opened a distribution hub at 2nd & Kaighn in Camden, adding their youngest brother
Alfred into the business. Meanwhile their father opened additional grocery
stores, at the Mt Ephraim Ave location, Westmont and National Park.
The Gaudio Brothers Alfred left, Joseph right center, and Arthur right |
1935 |
1935 |
1939 |
The Kaighn Ave
operation soon became so successful, that the family abandon the retail stores
and expanded the
wholesale operation to include a new product, frozen foods. Soon they were
delivering frozen foods to groceries
throughout the Delaware Valley with a fleet of refrigerated trucks.
141 Kaighn Ave, Camden, NJ |
In 1936 they made a
business decision that would change their future. They got into the Christmas tree business. They saw
both a lack of supply and an increasing demand for trees around the holiday
season. The brothers traveled
to Canada in the fall and arranged the purchase of thousands of trees to
be transported back to Camden. They leased a ball field on Broadway, from the city of Camden, where they sold them. They continued these sales annually until 1953
be transported back to Camden. They leased a ball field on Broadway, from the city of Camden, where they sold them. They continued these sales annually until 1953
1936 |
1944 |
In 1954 they decided
to open their iconic "Christmas Wonderland" at 2800 Mt Ephraim Ave.
It was an
almost immediate success
and continued to grow and get more popular every year. It was the place to go for trees and decorations.
In the early 1960's they added a second location in Woodbury and their stores featured the "Dark Room", a long darkened room with dozens of
elaborately decorated and lit
tree. This was
changed each year and later added artificial trees, the latest decorations, Christmas
music and
animatronic figures. People
would travel from miles to see it around and it going to Gaudios at
Christmas became a
South Jersey tradition.
Grand Opening Ad 1954 |
1956 |
But Gaudios had a
problem. Christmas sales were only two months of the year. What to do for the rest? Their first spring they sold Easter and Mothers Day flowers
There was so much demand,
they decided that their new store would become a garden mart, adding shrubs, trees, tools,
fertilizers etc. and in 1956 they opened as the Green Thumb Garden & Nursery Mart. Over the years
they added swimming pools and lawn furniture.
1962 |
After almost 40 years
in business, the brothers started looking towards retirement. They already had a business relationship
with the Penn Fruit Supermarket chain and they were looking to expand into other markets.
In May 1969, Gaudio sold all of their businesses and the name to Penn Fruit and
the stores would continue
to be operated as Gaudio's with additional stores to be built. The Gaudio
family
would still be
involved in the management. During the 1970's, 18 stores were added, in both
South Jersey & the Philadelphia
suburbs. They also expanded into crafts & as a do-it-yourself home remodeling center.
Unfortunately, Penn Fruit
went bankrupt in 1975 and although the stores continued to operate but the Gaudio
family was no longer involved. In 1989 Gaudios finally closed and several of the Gaudio stores were purchased by
Franks Garden Nursery &
Crafts Inc.
In 1976, the family opened Gaudio Boys on RT 70 in Marlton as a Christmas and Garden Mart. But the new owners of the Penn Fruit Gaudio stores
objected their name, since they owned rights
to the Gaudio name.
So it was changed to “The G Boys”.
They successfully operated until 2012.
The G Boys, Rt 70 Marlton |
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