Saturday, April 21, 2001

By Gary Kunich, Stars and Stripes

CAMP DARBY, Italy — When it comes to small, shoppers would be hard pressed to find another store smaller than the commissary at Camp Darby near Pisa, Italy. But this tiny grocery store was named the military’s best small overseas commissary for 2000.

How small is small?

The store, which services 300 active-duty Army and Air Force troops and their families, has 5,993 square feet with three aisles, a small meat and produce section and four cash registers. In comparison, the Vicenza commissary, which was the runner-up for the best large overseas commissary, measures 24,000 square feet, has 13 aisles and 10 registers.

The win came as a surprise, said Darby store administrator Guisseppe Ricci.

"We didn’t expect this," he said. "It’s always tough, but we try to have the store packed so we can maintain our customer’s happiness. It’s a small community; we know each other, and that helps."

The Darby commissary also has to contend with a rush of thousands of transient visitors during the summertime, since the small post has a campground.

"Gatorade cold, a lot of sodas, sandwiches and a lot of barbecue stuff" is the secret to pleasing that crowd, Ricci said.

Winning is actually nothing new to the Darby store. It won best small commissary in 1984 and 1998, and best European meat department in 1999.

The Vicenza commissary lost out in the top award to Osan Air Base, Korea, but store director Jerry Templado said it was still an honor to represent Europe.

"It’s hard to come by an award like this because there are so many stores," he said.

The Vicenza store averaged a 99-percent in-stock rate or better during the last year, Templado said.

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