Fans Flock to West Hartford's 'Crown' Jewel

One customer called Wednesday while on vacation in Turks and Caicos, to place an order for some of her favorites.

A Hamden man drove about 35 miles Thursday just to score some corn beef.

And countless others are coming from near and far for a final visit to Crown Market as the West Hartford institution prepares to close its door after 74 years in business.

They're coming to a market that has been woven into the fabric of the community, to a place where their parents and grandparents shopped, to a special place. Or, as one customer calls it, "heaven."

While the food has always been the draw — especially the kosher products that have become a staple for the large Jewish population in the area, and that you just can't find anywhere else — the heart of Crown Market may be its dedicated employees.

To some customers, they are more like family. And after Tuesday's announcement that Crown is closing once its existing inventory is sold, a sense of sadness has set in amidst the many farewells being exchanged in aisles, over counters, and at registers.

"Nice knowing you," Chris Dombek said fondly to a couple he had just helped in the bakery section.

A Crown employee for four years, he added, "That's the sad part. I'm going to miss a lot of the customers."

One elderly woman came just to give Mike Hanson a hug. Hanson has worked at Crown for 15 years.

Fred Kaplan came for a final visit Thursday, too. A Crown employee gave him a baseball hat with the store's logo on it. Kaplan, of Hamden, held it up proudly.

"I drove all the way up for that killer corn beef," he said.

"It's a shame," said Robert Lesser.

Lesser has been a regular Crown customer since he moved to West Hartford in 1964. He said the market's many kosher prepared meals were a godsend, particularly for Jewish families in which both the husband and wife work.

"This was a heaven," he said. "A gift from God."

Craig Hahn, a Crown employee of 34 years, said, "I think the community needs it."