For 100 years, Gordon's Grocery has served Hagerstown's North End. Time to celebrate.

Harry Gordon Sr. opened his neighborhood grocery on Cypress Street in April 1923.

But if he walked into the shop today, he'd probably still recognize it — a whole century later.

Product offerings at Gordon's Grocery might be a little different today, but Harry Sr. would still see the shelves stocked with favorite items of the locals, neighbors popping in for something special, kids stopping by for a cool treat on a summer day.

And he'd see his grandson behind the counter, ready to check out customers and carry their purchases to their waiting cars.

Gordon's has been a North End tradition and a family operation for all of that time. John Gordon and partners Paul and Kerri Corderman plan to celebrate the grocery's centennial with a block party from 1 to 4 p.m. Saturday, and they hope patrons old and new will join them.

100 years is a long time

"I grew up here; 68 years," John Gordon told Herald-Mail Media. "My grandfather started it. I knew him; I never knew his wife, but she worked here."

His father, Harry Jr., was circulation manager for The Herald-Mail — until family duty called. "And then when Grandpop needed help, he quit and came out here," John said.

Eventually John, his brother Tony and sister Cynthia took over the operation, serving the neighborhood for decades.

And the thing John has enjoyed most over his 68 years has been the customers he's served.

"We have a log of nice clientele," he said. "A lot of people — I don't know how many — walked in and out of that door over the years."

Many have developed into long-term relationships, he said. One he remembers was a young Paul Corderman, "coming in with his footie-pajamas on Saturday morning with his dad."

John "likes to joke that he weighed me on the scale in there," Paul said.

His dad, the late Jack Corderman, loved to shop at Gordon's.

"One of my favorites of him was he came home one day with a pie, and he had this big grin on his face, and it's written on the side like with a Sharpie, and it says 'Fat Free Pie,'" Paul said. He showed it to Paul's mother and said, "Look, Ann, I got a fat-free pie!"

"She's like, 'Where did you get that from?' and he's like, 'Gordon's!' and she's like looking at him and he said, 'Yeah, they wrote fat-free on it for me so I'm good to go!'"

By the time Paul, now a state senator, got to middle school and outgrew his footie pajamas, he was helping to stock shelves at Gordon's.

"A lot of teenagers worked here," John recalled.

Kerri was a frequent visitor while growing up, too.

"I grew up on Mealey (Parkway), and this was one of the first places we were allowed to walk to with friends when I was growing up.

"Gordon's has been blessed to have an incredible team of people over the years who help out," she added, and currently includes:

• Mick McKenzie, who worked at the store for more than 15 years in the past, and returned about two years ago

• Joan Lutz, John's neighbor, who has helped out at the store for more than 40 years

• Krissy James, another friend of John's who lived on Hamilton Boulevard for a few years before moving to Clear Spring, where she grows a variety of organic flowers that she sells at Gordon's

• Annabella James, Krissy's daughter, who is now in college but comes back to help out in the summers

• Sarah Ardinger, who owned the Plum in downtown Hagerstown for 30 years and joined the Gordon's team last August.

John's brother Tony starting working at the shop after leaving the Navy — more about that in a minute — and his sister Cynthia partnered to run the store, too.

But Tony eventually retired, and Cynthia passed away in 2019.

And when COVID-19 struck, Paul and Kerri decided to give John a hand.

"We kind of started coming in and just helping out" when the lockdown began in Maryland, Kerri said. "And we really enjoyed it."

They started learning how to make the deli items — and started thinking long-term.

"It had always been a dream of ours to get into a business," Kerri said, "and we just love Gordon's so much, we love John, and it was a really exciting opportunity."

"One thing led to the next of 'I'll just help you out for a few hours each day,' and like the next week, I was in there like 40 hours," Paul said. "I think (John) had it planned all along."

After a year, Paul and Kerri became partners with the Gordon family.

"It'll always be Gordon's Grocery," Paul said. "And we want to keep that legacy going for the community."

What makes Gordon's … Gordon's?

"I think a big part of it is that celebrating the past, and keeping a lot of the building and the interior of the store the same," Kerri said, "but then also at the same time, staying with the times and providing some really delicious homemade items. I think the fact that a lot of our things are homemade" helps distinguish Gordon's from other grocers.

Add to that "the friendly atmosphere, the relationships; we're all friends here," Paul said, "and we really try to get back to that kind of community spirit. When people walk in they feel comfortable, like they know you."

Gordon's also schedules a number of special events — such as wine tastings — that have gone over well with customers. The pandemic hampered those for a while, but now "we want to try to have some sort of event or some sort of big thing every month," Paul said.

And let's not forget John's Christmas countdown.

If you travel down Cypress Street in December, you're sure to see the chalkboard out front with John's handiwork, counting down the days.

Even "the UPS guy" consults the board to keep track, John says.

What's your favorite Gordon's delicacy?

"I think the backbone has always been the deli area and all the in-house specialty items" at Gordon's, Paul said.

He attributes that to Tony Gordon and his wife, Sue.

Tony had worked as a ship's cook during his time in the Navy, Kerri said, and brought some of those recipes to Gordon's with him — the cream of crab soup, for example.

Tony "still pops in here," Paul said. "He's coming in next week to help make cheese balls."

The crab cake recipe is "a family secret," Paul and Kerri said, and a big holiday hit. "We keep a tally of how many batches we go through," Kerri said. "That's definitely one of the fan favorites."

Chicken salad and shrimp salad are among the deli favorites, and when temperatures drop, the demand for Gordon's homemade soups soars.

"We've increased how much we make," Kerri said. "We've started making them twice a week now."

Focusing on the next 100

Gordon's has actually been looking to the future for a while. John and Cynthia had been going to the "Fancy Food Show" (yep, that's really what it's called) to learn about new products and trends. Gordon's staff is still making that trek.

Backstory: Cynthia Millsop lives on in Gordon's Grocery

"That's where you get to meet other small businesses throughout the country who have some really unique goods," Kerri said. "We went this past June, and it's been great. We're always trying to find new things to have on the shelves that are different and people would enjoy."

And for a neighborhood grocery like Gordon's, that's been the trend — to provide products their customers can't get elsewhere.

"Years ago it was more the traditional grocery staples," Paul said. "Now it's a little more geared toward some specialty niche items."

The store had been adapting to its consumer base, Paul said, and looking for new ways to market to them.

"We've been fortunate to have a strong customer base, and a loyal customer base, that keeps returning," he said.

"Even during the pandemic — that was really a critical time," Kerri added. "And I think it says so much for John and his siblings and his family. I think it was probably June 2020 that the Gordon's Facebook page kind of took off. And that really drew so many new customers in. There's so many longtime customers that still come, but so many new customers discovered it" during the pandemic.

One of the first things Kerri and Paul did was get the "slush machine" repaired, which is a major summer attraction for the store's younger customers.

And they've been building partnerships with other local small businesses. Gordon's carries products from Delightful Dairy in Williamsport. A local caterer specializing in Italian food does special dishes for Gordon's every week. Mint to Brie Charcuterie in Hagerstown prepares charcuterie trays. Signature Scone Co. of Waynesboro, Pa., provides … scones.

"That's been really exciting as well," Kerri says. "We all kind of learn from each other and get to support each other. So I feel like that, again, just adds to that feeling of community."

In the future, Paul says, the partners hope to offer delivery, particularly shipping.

"We're hopeful that coming soon, we'll be able to provide online ordering for shipping on the crab cakes and maybe other products," he said. "We're gonna start with the crab cakes and move from there, but we'd like to offer shipping and an online presence, curbside pickup, delivery."

But the store will always be a destination. Every week, people come in for the first time.

"My favorites are the ones that live in the neighborhood," Paul said, "that they've lived here for 10 years and they had no idea the store was here."

So if you're in the "haven't been there yet" category, pop in on Saturday afternoon. Gordon's is hosting a block party from its address at 101 Cypress St., with DJ Mike Schultz, bounce houses for the kids, beer and pizza trucks and free samples of all that Gordon's goodness.

This article originally appeared on The Herald-Mail: Gordon's Grocery celebrates centennial with a block party