One of my favorite holiday traditions is the one where we go to pick out our Christmas tree. We've been going to the same place - Peluso's Market, here in Newport Kentucky - for nearly 20 years.
 |
Peluso's Market is located at
625 Monmouth Street Newport Kentucky |
During that time, our lives have evolved. We've bought a house, we've had children, we've moved away across the country, and come back home again. We've changed jobs. We've had prosperous years, and we've had lean years. We've had years that were joyful, and years when the holidays were shrouded in sadness over the loss of a loved one. Through all this, it is the simple traditions that keep us grounded, and remind us how lucky we are and how good life really is.
Peluso's is one of those traditions. This tiny little store has been serving the neighborhood since the 1930's. While the world wants to lob heaps of big box amenities upon us and our culture tries to insist we rush through our days preparing for the season, Peluso's has remained relatively unchanged. Every Christmas, I look forward to making our way over to this Monmouth Street institution.
 |
Mr. Jerry Rex Peluso, Proprietor of Peluso's Market
with my kids. His sister waits on a customer at left. |
Owner, Jerry Peluso, and his family stock the store at Christmas time with a full range of old fashioned candies and nuts, sold bulk-style by weight. My kids love picking up the small paper bags and choosing from big bins filled with chocolate drops, huge malted milk balls, ribbon candy, peanut brittle, clusters, taffies, gumdrops and more. Oh - and chestnuts. They have chestnuts!
The Christmas tree lot is set up behind the store. To access it, customers must pass through a narrow, gated walkway between the old brick buildings that are squeezed tightly together along Monmouth Street. Its entrance is draped in pine roping and colored lights, and at night, especially, it feels like walking through a brick tunnel - like a secret passage back through time. When you emerge in the back, your nose is immediately met with the festive scent of evergreens. The passageway opens up into a brightly lit yard filled with hundreds of fresh cut trees brought in straight from the growers.
 |
Entrance to the tree lot.
Kinda magical, don't you think? |
There are a variety of types to choose from. We usually select a Frasier Fir because I love the way they smell, and the needles don't hurt if you step on them. But over the years, we've brought home White Pine, Douglas Fir, Blue Spruce and Scotch Pine as well. From small tabletop trees, to tall magnificent trees fit for a ballroom, Peluso's has a tree for every budget and every size room.
In recent years, after selling the trees for decades, the Peluso family has enlisted the help of Newport native,
Tom Mitts, to manage the tree lot operations.
Mitts is a talented local painter and artist. But he's also a
veteran Christmas tree dealer with over 10 years previous experience selling trees in Erlanger and Florence. Tom shares the Peluso's commitment to tradition and quality and he and his team have provided a seamless transition.
 |
Paul Napier and Randall Reese take good
care of us every year at the tree lot |
The experience is full service. Mitts and his team are attentive and friendly, answering customer questions, and offering suggestions and tips on preservation and care of each tree to ensure it lasts throughout the season. If you ask, they'll give you the same secret recipe for what to add to the tree's water to keep it fresh that the Peluso's always would share. Each tree receives a fresh cut to the trunk with a chainsaw, is wrapped in netting to protect the tree from breakage, before being tied to the top of customer vehicles.
And yes. Delivery IS available for a nominal charge. Can it get any more pleasant?
 |
View from the back of the tree lot
looking toward the buildings |
Fresh evergreen wreaths and various lengths of pine roping are also available.
When we go, I feel like I'm stepping back in time and giving my young family a brief but authentic taste of what life was like for those who came before them.
 |
| Bulk Christmas candies at Peluso's Market |
I think it's valuable for our children to see and experience things that have stood the test of time and remained relatively unchanged. It's important for them to appreciate that some things in their environment are worth preserving and maintaining and that all things good in life aren't necessarily just the shiny and new, modern, latest things. This is how they gain perspective on the future. These are the things that will help them develop solid values and judgment skills. These memories will sustain them when they go out into the world.
 |
The front window of Peluso's Market
at Christmas time |
We are so grateful for this unique destination in our neighborhood. These bits of yesteryear bring value to urban family life in the East Row.
If you go:
Peluso's Market is located at
623 Monmouth Street.
Store is usually open until 6pm, but extended hours between now and Christmas are available.
Call ahead to check hours here: 859-431-9376
Tom Mitts' Christmas Trees are located at
625 Monmouth Street.
Seasonal hours vary, but lot is usually open until at least 8pm and later on weekends.
To check hours call 859-341-0328.
Disclosure: I am a marketing professional who writes articles for a range of clients that are published in various places from time to time. I strive to operate with the highest integrity, ethics and transparency. The content of this blog is my own and all posts and topics are published by my own volition and choice. I received no incentive, payment or other consideration in exchange for writing this article from any of the parties mentioned herein or otherwise.
