Perry Heights Grocery opened in 1929 just outside the neighborhood down Wycliff on the corner of Hartford boasting of their new refrigeration system. Felix Alfieri was the owner of the grocery which was a two-story building with the grocery on the ground floor and an apartment on the second. The grocery was sold to James DiCarlo in the early 1940’s. His name may sound familiar. James is the “Jimmy” of Jimmy’s Italian Grocery on Bryon Street in East Dallas.
James DiCarlo and his father bought Morningside Super Market on 2nd Avenue in Dallas as well as Perry Heights Grocery on Wycliff. Shortly thereafter in 1946, James met Marie Anna Duca and married her. James and Marie lived above the Perry Heights Grocery and started a family. She made a good meatball from her family’s recipes and James started selling them in his grocery. They kept the grocery until the 1950’s when the pair concentrated on Morningside and in 1966 opened Jimmy’s Food Store.
So, yes, there was a Perry Heights Grocery at one time and you can still find Marie’s meatballs at Jimmy’s, where the family is still running the now Italian-focused grocery.