It was a cold, windy day in Puerto Peñasco. We had stopped in at Crazy Eddie's in Plaza Marina and ordered a pizza for lunch. A woman came in leading a black dog on a leash. It was a striking-looking dog, with heavy, close-cropped fur and intelligent yellow eyes. We remarked on how handsome it was. The woman smiled; then spoke briefly to the man behind the counter, and went out.
While we were waiting for our pizza, we started talking to the American manager and his Mexican assistant Bertha. We asked him if he was Crazy Eddie. He said, "Well, some folks think I'm crazy, but I'm not Eddie. I'm Ron Strunk, and I'm the manager. Eddie's the owner." We told him we'd like to interview Eddie, and he said, "Well, he ought to be around here somewhere. He owns several businesses in this plaza. That was his wife who was just here."
Shortly after that another man entered, and Ron said, "Hi, Eddie." He introduced us to Eddie Chonczynski, but Eddie didn't have time to stay and be interviewed. He had just heard that the wind and waves had destroyed part of the seawall in front of his almost-completed home in Del Mar. However, he invited us to follow him and talk to him out there. We agreed, being curious anyway about what the storm had done, since we had heard that a combination of high tides and high winds had threatened some businesses on the Malecon the day before.
After inspecting the damage and touring his impressive home at Del Mar, which he told us he had designed, we went with Eddie and his wife Gisela to their temporary home to continue our interview. Although it was only a short distance away, getting there turned out to be an adventure, since we had to go out of Del Mar and back into Las Conchas over roads that had been churned up after the storm. Our little car had a hard time making it over some of the sand dunes in the middle of the the roadway. When we got there, Gisela and the handsome dog, named Cody, met us and welcomed us like old friends.
Eddie and Gisela told us some of the story of their lives, and we could begin to see why Eddie got his nickname. Of course he's not crazy at all, but he's obviously a man of great enthusiasm, willing to take risks, probably envied by timid souls who consider anyone unlike themselves as not quite sane.
Eddie's story is an interesting one. He was born in Lodz, Poland, but his family moved to Germany while he was still a child. There he was trained as a tool and die maker in one of the best schools in the country. In 1956, at the age of 19, he came to the U.S. to play soccer for a year. The year lengthened into two, and then more. He never did go back. He attended school in Newark, learned English, and played soccer. He was drafted into the U.S. army and spent two years in Korea.
Gisela was born in Germany and came to the U.S. in 1962. She and Eddie met in Hoboken, New Jersey in 1964, were married in 1965, and have 2 grown sons.
In 1962 Eddie started a machine parts building business. He called it ECHO, from Eddie CHOnczynski. He built it up into a very successful company, and sold it in 1970 when he decided to move to Arizona because of his arthritis. There he started Eddie's Construction and was one of the first developers in Rio Rico.
In 1973 Eddie and Gisela moved to Phoenix and started ECHO II. At first it was a two-person operation. Eddie did the machine work, and Gisela managed the other details. Over the years they built it up to an enterprise which employed 128 people. Then they sold it, but Eddie retained the right to use the name. He started ECHO III, which he still owns and manages, although his two sons are doing most of the day-to-day operation of the business. Among other things, they build rocket parts for military projects. Some of Eddie's machine parts are now on the moon.
Eddie showed us a picture of the house he just sold in Apache Junction, Arizona. Designed by him, the enormous house has many amenities, including a huge bar and an indoor swimming pool. When he built it, he wanted a vineyard, so he hauled in tons of good soil to cover the rocks on the site, planted grapevines, and developed it to the point where he could make his own wine. Crazy? He sold it for a very substantial profit.
Eddie came to Puerto Peñasco last year, bought land in Del Mar and started building a home. He also bought a site in Plaza Marina and persuaded a friend of his to open a Broasted Chicken restaurant. His friend thought it would be a good idea to have a pizza restaurant too, so Eddie bought another site and brought Ron in to manage it. One of them suggested the name Crazy Eddie, and they decided to use it. Eddie bought two more stores, which Gisela is managing; one sells snorkel and scuba equipment, the other beach wear. He also became the co-owner of Rocky's and Point's, an elegant restaurant in the same plaza.
We asked Eddie what his plans were for the future, and he said, "Whatever comes along. I like taking on new challenges." Eddie, like other North Americans, has the vision to see Puerto Peñasco's potential, and he's willing to take the risks necessary to develop it. He's investing money, creating jobs, and supporting the local economy. Puerto Peñasco needs more visionary risk takers like Crazy Eddie.
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