Joseph D'Anna opened the first MARS store on Old Eastern Avenue in Essex in 1943. The store was located at the center of an apartment and military housing community known as Mars Estates. Because of that location, Joe adopted the "Mars" name.

Just down the road, Glenn L. Martin had developed and was building an aircraft that could take off from and land in water, the Mars Flying Boat. There is little doubt that the publicity surrounding this plane helped establish the Mars name in Eastern Baltimore County.