Jen Pacheco Freeman graduated in 1992, and her brother, Eddie Pacheco, in 1994. If you shop at Reliable Market in Oak Bluffs, then you know this brother-sister team.
Jen, upon graduation from college, decided to travel the world … even as far as French Polynesia. Here was this young woman launching her very own travel journal to places all over the globe — Greece, Turkey, and Australia. Her grandparents had instilled in her their love of travel, but Jen herself had a keen interest in history.
Her brother Eddie after college returned to work with his dad, Bob, at the market. Even as a little boy, he would often help out at the store; it was what he always wanted to do. Today, both Jen and Eddie are general managers — they had to search for such a title, when I asked, because titles are not needed. They are in a leadership role for all aspects of this local market. Was this an expected role for them? Neither one of them felt any pressure to carry on the running of the market. Yet they both returned to this work as the third generation of the Pacheco family, and have truly made numerous changes to fit the needs of our Island community. Now their children work summers in the store. Will they be the fourth generation? Time will tell.
What would they like to see changed or improved at Reliable? Jen has focused on specific local needs, such as foods for alpha-gal sufferers, or finding new products fine-tuned to customer needs. Eddie has provided and will continue to provide a variety of prepared foods especially to help working families. He also mentioned how the needs of each season direct the layout of the store. After the summer season, those hamburger-ready packages are moved to an upper shelf, and replaced by chicken pot pies that meet more of a fall/winter need.
In closing, Jen shared an interesting thought: “At Reliable, we promote tourism as an existing Island business, but we also provide nostalgia.” And that is what I felt when I interviewed them in their tiny office at the back of the store and saw their dad still carving those amazing cuts of meat. Yes, this market is truly homegrown and family-owned. Aren’t we lucky to have Jen and Eddie continuing their family history in service to our Island community?
This series runs the first and third weeks of the month. Marge Harris was a teacher at MVRHS for 27 years. She lives in Oak Bluffs. You can contact her at margeharris@comcast.net.
