One day, while mopping the floor in the walk-in cooler of Sparrow Market, Raymond Campise’s dreams turned into reality. Jordan Sparrow — the former owner of Sparrow Market — approached Campise with the idea of selling him the market. Campise immediately agreed. And so it began: countless numbers of calls and meetings, hours behind a cash register, reorganization and renovation of the store and heavily increased work hours. That was just the beginning.
For Campise, Sparrow has not only been a place of work, but a place he calls home. For the past nine years of his life, Campise has spent each morning walking seven minutes up from the Miller work lot to the doors of Sparrow. Every night, he walks seven minutes back with the family he’s built for the last nine years.
“Sparrow gave me a sense of purpose. It gave me a sense of belonging,” Campise said.
Campise quickly realized Sparrow was not only a family to him and the employees but also to many of the customers. He strives to maintain the family-like relationship within the Sparrow Market environment as he takes over the business.
“Sparrow is a great place, and it’s a place for everybody to get something that they need,” Campise said. “It’s a place of community and quality. We all do the best we can to make it that way.”
When he first started, Campise was working 32-hour weeks. Over time, that number has grown to 90 hours of hard work and dedication each week, accompanied by plans for growth and change in the store.
“My goals for Sparrow are to grow the company by at least 2% more a year and continue to grow our online presence and bring the name of Sparrow to everybody across the country,” Campise said.
His initial excitement was quickly accompanied by a heavy sense of stress about the future. Buying a business is no minor feat. It takes a multitude of time, money and hard work. It will take all of that for the business to get up on its feet, but Campise is ready for the challenge.
“I leave my emotions at the door, go to work, and do the best job I can every day,” Campise said. “Sometimes I fall short, other times I succeed. But that’s kind of like everybody in life. If you try hard enough, it should all work out.”
Campise’s tremendous dedication to the store and his work is seen by many, especially the employees. Charlie Fox is a senior at CHS and has worked at Sparrow Market since the beginning of his freshman year.
“Ray [Campise] has been one of the most supportive people since day one,” Fox said. “He would always find time to make a connection with me and help me grow as an employee and as a person. I hope that one day I’ll be able to learn from what he’s shown me in my high school career.”
Fox was standing in one of the aisles of Sparrow Market when Campise told him the exciting news regarding the change of ownership. Fox is looking forward to the future changes Campise will make and believes he is the perfect person to own the market.
“I remember the day he told me that he was going to be buying the company from Jordan. I was so happy for him,” Fox said. “Since that day, I’ve seen the work that he’s put in. I mean, the guy doesn’t sleep. He is so dedicated to what he’s doing, and he’s willing to put in whatever it takes to get the business to succeed.”
For Fox, the market has played an enormous role in shaping his high school years, molding him into who he is today. The job has given him a sense of routine and community.
Cristina Pappas is another Sparrow employee who has worked behind the meat counter for close to ten years, having begun in high school and later coming back to work while taking classes at Washtenaw Community College. When COVID-19 hit and extra hands were needed behind the counter, Pappas began working full time and worked her way up to managerial status.
Sparrow has always felt like family to Pappas; it’s where she has met some of her closest friends from work and Campise, who is now her fiancé. She is unable to envision her life without the store in it.
“I don’t think my younger self would have thought that after years of working here I would become a manager and marry somebody that I met at work,” Pappas said. “An opportunity like this doesn’t happen often.”
Working as a manager at a meat market hasn’t always been easy. While she has always felt supported by her coworkers and peers, Pappas recognizes that women working as butchers isn’t incredibly common. A lot of young women work behind the meat counter, and Pappas wants to make sure they are being just as respected as their male counterparts.
“It’s very rare to see so many women in this field,” Pappas said. “I think men and women alike will always doubt your knowledge because of that. The physical labor is never what’s hard. I can do a lot of the same things that Tom can do.”
This job has taught Pappas responsibility, hard work and the ability to socialize with anyone. Pappas is ready for the shift in ownership and although the change comes with stress, she is confident in the abilities of Campise and the Sparrow staff.
Campise officially became the owner of Sparrow Market on May 1, 2025. Campise is excited for this new chapter of ownership and he is looking forward to many more years of working on this exhilarating project.
Today, as Campise finds himself dragging the mop across the floor of the cooler, he uses it as a reminder to never forget where he started. Campise realizes the importance of not letting the power get to his head, but after nine years of mopping the floors of someone else’s store, Campise finally gets to mop the floors of his own.
