By THERESA PROUDFIT

Staff Writer

IRON MOUNTAIN – The Econo Foods stores in Iron Mountain, Marquette and Houghton are becoming the exclusive distributors of Becco’s Sausage.

Frank Becco established Becco’s Market at 100 E. Main St. in Iron Mountain in 1939. With the dedicated assistance of his wife Tillie, the business quickly flourished. While the essential provisions were always available, Becco’s Market became known for its fresh meats and specialty Italian products such as proscuito, capocolla, supressa, ricotta cheese, bulk pasta, homemade porketta, and the popular Italian sausage.

The grocery store was a fixture on Iron Mountain’s Northside for 66 years. When Tom Becco retired in July 2005 he closed the store marking the end of an era. There is still a great demand for the sausage many locals considered the area’s finest.

“The quality product that made the name famous was licensed to be made and distributed on our behalf by a single producer, located in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. Neither the recipe nor the business were sold. As a result, the licensing agreement ensures that the traditional “secret” recipe, incorporating only the highest quality pork and spices, will not be changed and will continue to be owned by the Becco family,” Jim Becco said.

Econo Foods owner Dave Tadych is “excited and pleased” to be offering the sausage. “We will be processing Becco’s meat here on a daily basis” he said.

Becco visited the Iron Mountain Econo Foods store recently to demonstrate the proper way of making the secret recipe.

“The Becco family is absolutely thrilled to have our sausage return home, to again be made right here in Iron Mountain. We are also extremely pleased to have Tadych’s Econo Foods as our exclusive partner, as we turn the page on a new era. We join our new friends at Tadych’s in pledging that our sausage will always be made in strict accordance with the one and only authentic recipe that has been used since 1939, and which continues to remain within the Becco family. We extend a sincere and heartfelt thanks to all of our long time customers for their support throughout the years, and look forward to many new faces enjoying our sausage in the future,” Becco added.