NE Bend market closes after nearly four decades

After nearly 40 years in business, a staple in a northeast Bend community has closed its doors.

Beloved owners Bruno and Jo Tosi of Bruno’s Grocery, Deli and U-Bake Pizza have retired.

“We owned the place for 39 1/2 years. We haven’t (taken) one week of vacation, and now is the time we’re going to start enjoying ourselves,” Bruno said Friday, the day they invited the community over to come say goodbye.

Their small market has changed over the years, adding a take-and-bake pizzeria, and switching names from “Buy Rite Grocery” to something with a more family-friendly feeling.

“All of our youngsters that would come into the store, every time they’d go down Revere or down 6th (Street), they would start yelling at mom and dad, ‘Let’s go to Bruno’s!'” Jo said.

Quickly, Bruno’s found its spot in the community as a beloved fixture.

“It started out very slow, and then about three years after that, everything just escalated,” Bruno said. “And it’s been up and up and up until now,.

With almost four decades behind them, the couple said their customers have been the best part of the job.

“Throughout all the years, we have developed not just a customer base, but an extended family,” Bruno said.

For now, they have no set plans for the future, besides enjoying a more leisurely pace.

“Whatever we decide when we get up in the morning, “Let’s go here. Let’s go there. Let’s go do it,'” he said.

According to the couple, the market will be closed for a few weeks as the new owner renovates. And when it reopens, they hope the community shows him the same support they’ve received over the many years.