Frick Park Market is more than a store to buy groceries. It's an after-school snack shop, a Thursday evening dinner stop and a lunch time sandwich grab.

More importantly, it's a place where, when you walk through the door, owners Maggi Cook and John R. Prodan greet you with a smile and by name.

“This market is a community hub,” Cook says. “It is more than a store. If someone needs a painter or someone to cut their grass, they come by and ask us. If someone needs a baby-sitter they ask us if we know someone. If a customer wants a certain item, and we don't carry it, if we can get it for them we will.”

“We are all about bad jokes and good food,” says Prodan, who after sharing his sense of humor, adds their original business plan was to provide homemade, fresh-from-scratch food at reasonable prices.

“And we haven't deviated from that plan,” Prodan says. “Because once you do that, the quality won't be the same. Customers deserve the highest quality.”

Personalized service and use of the freshest ingredients keep Tricia Hartnett of Squirrel Hill coming back.

“The Frick Park Market is a staple in this neighborhood,” Hartnett says. “We need more places like this. The pot roast sandwich is amazing.”

“We are like personal shoppers for some people,” Prodan says. “I think we do things differently than anyone else. It's hard to explain, but we know what our customers like.”

The market opened in 1902 as an A& P and has been some type of store ever since. Cook and Prodan opened their store in 2008. The Churchill High School graduates and Point Breeze residents have worked to keep the neighborhood feel and preserve its history while adding some personal touches of their own. Rapper Mac Miller grew up nearby, wrote a song about the place and recently visited with girlfriend Ariana Grande.

“And I didn't even get a photo,” Cook says. “We love Mac. He never forgets his hometown.”

Like clockwork, at 3 p.m. students from local schools stop by to get a candy bar, chips or ice cream. The owners run tabs for the children and all customers. Cook and Prodan are often seen at community events, because they believe in being a part of the neighborhood, from donating food to organizing a local happening.

They partner with local vendors such as Pounds Turkey Farm, John Miller Farms, Turner's Dairy, La Prima coffee, biscotti from Greensburg, Just Bagels, East End Cooperative Ministry and NuGo.

“They make sure everything is fresh,” says customer Bill Myerburg of Squirrel Hill. “They do it right. At lunchtime, the line is often out the door. They do special orders. I just ask Maggi for something I need and she gets it for me. This is a wonderful place away from home where I feel at home.”

Customers such as Myerburg enjoy the daily hot specials, especially the fresh soups from Italian wedding to beef vegetable to seafood bisque. Soup is $3.99 for 12 oz., $4.79 for 16 oz. and $9.39 for 32 oz.

He says the deli sandwiches are tasty, made from Boar's Head meats. Specials include hot sausage hoagie, and shredded Buffalo chicken and vegetarian chilis. Sandwich prices range from $5.19 to $6.95.

Thursday is Cook's Night Off, when they make dinner items such as beef stew, Cajun crusted salmon and eggplant parmesan. Order by noon the day before. Dinners are between $10.99 and $21.99.

“The beef stew is pretty spectacular,” says Pamela Johnson of Point Breeze. “They have the best recipes. There is a really warm feeling when you walk in there. They care for each customer. Wish every neighborhood still had this. This store is an artifact of the past.”

Frick Park Market, 7103 Reynolds St., Point Breeze, is open from 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Mondays through Fridays, and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturdays. Details: 412-243-6030

JoAnne Klimovich Harrop is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach her at 412-320-7889 or jharrop@tribweb.com.

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