At 30 years old, Paul D'Amour was a bread route salesman for the Wonder Bread Baking Company. In 1936, full of entrepreneurial spirit, he purchased the Y Cash Market in the Willimansett section of Chicopee, Massachusetts at the intersection where two roads converge to form a "Y", On December 12, 1936, Paul and his brother Gerald began their legacy. The Market was, like most stores at the time, small, but at only 900 square feet, it was smaller than most. It was a time when hamburger was 25 cents a pound, bread a nickel a loaf, and Kellogg's Corn Flakes a nickel a box. The brothers believed in personal service. Soon, they began to build their business and their reputation. By 1940, business had increased 20-fold and the market had tripled in size. Their two sisters assisted them in many areas including administration, cash handling, and financial reporting. From the early years, Big Y® was a family operation.
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