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    Everyone's favorite gift

    Texas fruitcake queen Mary of Puddin Hill is back in business for the holidays

    Teresa Gubbins
    Nov 22, 2012 | 8:30 am
    • Fruitcake from Mary of Puddin Hill, the holiday re-gift of choice.
      Photo courtesy of Mary of Puddin Hill
    • Mary of Puddin Hill is back in business in Greenville, Texas.
      Photo courtesy of Mary of Puddin Hill
    • Mary of Puddin Hill has won awards for its praline pecan pie.

    The fruitcake world suffered a setback in May 2011 when Mary of Puddin Hill, one of the biggest manufacturers of the seasonal re-gifting favorite, closed its retail outlet in Greenville, Texas, after 56 years.

    Tears were shed. Old fruitcakes were pulled out of their decorative tins, only to be put back with a nostalgic shrug.

    The ensuing months were touch-and-go for Puddin Hill. They re-opened the retail store in November 2011 for the holidays, then closed it again on Valentine's Day 2012. Now, despite the ups and downs, it's open again, selling fruitcakes, fudge and praline pecan pie.

    The store carries some treats not found in the catalog, including fudge and chocolate barks.

    "We've been open about three weeks, and for now we're good," says company president Kenneth Bain, who describes the past year as busy and tumultuous.

    "It began last year when we had some people who proposed a purchase of the company," he says. "But then they couldn't come up with the money."

    There was also the threat from archrival Collin Street Bakery, the other fruitcake big gun in Texas, who planned to open a superstore in Greenville, not far from Puddin Hill. (Those plans are still underway; a Collin Street Bakery spokesperson said that the Greenville store is scheduled to open in time for Christmas.)

    Having putting everything on hold in anticipation of the sale, Puddin Hill got behind on its 2011 catalog and down on sales overall. They had to scramble to make a go of the 2011 holiday. But closing the retail store gave them a chance to regroup and get back on track this year.

    Besides, having a retail store has become less important, says Bain.

    "The location is less important because we're focusing more on the catalog and website," he says. "Our catalog sales have always been our biggest volume; the retail store was significant, but it wasn't as much. But our Internet sales are up 11 percent so far this year."

    The retail store is about a 45-minute drive from Dallas.

    "We have people drive over from Dallas and Fort Worth, especially over the holiday weekend," Bain says. "We carry some items in the store that we don't have in the catalog – our fudge, chocolate barks that we might make in the candy kitchen in small batches, and cookies or other things we're testing."

    Some make a trip out of it, visiting the store and then the Audie Murphy/Cotton Museum, which recently added the Hall of Heroes, a 3,000-square-foot military wing that covers the Civil War, WWI and WWII. If you go on a weekday, you can stop for a homestyle lunch at nearby Glenda's Cafe.

    Meanwhile, Mary of Puddin Hill won another first place award from the 2012 Fiery Food Show for its Texas Hot Lava Pie.

    "It's our signature pecan praline pie, but we added habañero and covered it with chocolate," Bain says.

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    Market News

    Small specialty grocer in Celina is a go-to for imported foods

    Raven Jordan
    May 14, 2025 | 6:34 pm
    Di Mantzios Greek & Italian Gourmet Market
    Di Mantzios Greek & Italian Gourmet Market
    Di Mantzios Greek & Italian Gourmet Market

    There's a gourmet shop in downtown Celina offering imported European foods: Called Di Mantzio’s Greek and Italian Gourmet Market, it's a small grocery and cafe at 204 E. Pecan St., Ste. C, where it's bringing in goods you might not find elsewhere in town.

    Owner Vasilios Mantzios is a native of Greece and former NATO military serviceman who moved to the U.S. in 2008. Missing the foods he'd enjoyed in Greece and Italy, he started a booth at the Frisco Fresh Market in 2015 selling olive oils, Balsamic dressing, olives, and Mediterranean salt. In late 2024, he made the move to open the storefront in Celina (coincidentally down Pecan Street from Mangiamo Italian Market & Deli, another highly personal deli and market, making pecan Street a fun destination for a foodie field trip).

    Di Mantzio's carries olive oils, pizza, cheese, charcuterie boards, flour, refrigerated meals, and meatballs with a Greek red sauce, made from a family recipe from Mantzios' aunts and their grandmothers. He also imports marinated lamb and beef meatballs from Greece.

    "I only have things that I would put on my table to personally eat — I pick out my items by the quality because I don't want people to have issues with the food," Mantzios says. "I have my mother test everything, so if you pass her, you're in the store."

    While he does offer Greek foods such as a recent special with beef kebabs and pita bread, there's a big demand for Italian items. He has a big selection of cheese: parmigiano reggiano, feta, mozzarella, and cheese from Il Forteto. Dry goods include Molino Paolo Mariani Manitaly flour, Caputo gluten-free flour, and Hellenic Farms and Lia extra virgin olive oil.

    Mantzios prioritizes small, family-owned businesses because they enjoy what they're providing to customers and value quality.

    Di Mantzios Greek & Italian Gourmet MarketDi Mantzios Greek & Italian Gourmet MarketDi Mantzios

    On the prepared food front, he does pizza using a wood-fired crust imported from Pizza Food Love in Italy, delivered to the shop every three weeks. The base can be topped with ingredients from Tuscany, Italy for a truly authentic experience. More prepared foods are one of the biggest requests he gets from customers, and it's a category he's continuing to expand, as well as adding wine and beer.

    They also have cakes and desserts such as cannoli, baklava, Greek rice pudding, French macarons, and gelato from Gelatys.

    The interior is neatly organized, with refrigerated foods as well as Greek and European decor such as pestle and mortar, a gladiator helmet, and Greek and Italian flags pinned to the walls.

    Mantzios thrives from the personal contact he gets with customers, and they find him equally charming as well.

    "The bulk of my customers come from Prosper and Celina, and Celina is the number one growing city with people coming from all around who can appreciate what we are doing," Mantzios says.

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