I miss all the smaller grocery stores

[caseydog]

How apropos that this topic comes up just after I read the editor's column in my recent "Midwest Living" magazine. The bulk of it was about a Tiny Homes festival called "TinyFest Midwest", that was held near Des Moines, IA. A few points from his column: American homes average twice as much space per person as they did 40 years ago. 8% of households rent off-site storage now, compared to 3% in the 1980s. And a lot about our drive to consumerism.

I'm sure I was born in the wrong decade/century. Before adding on the sun room, our current house was only 120 square feet larger than our first house we had built in 1977. Both of our cars fit into the garage...along with all of the yard equipment and various other garage sundries. I still use my Mom's old stand mixer (circa early 1950s), sit at a table that was a hand-me-over that my Dad refinished in 1977. Much of our furniture is from what we bought when we lived in our first house (1977-1991) if it isn't furniture that my parents' (or my aunt and uncle) had in their home! We aren't much in the way of consumers. Now if I could just get rid of all of the nostalgia stuff in the basement, we could have a much lighter load whenif we move.

We don't have basements in Texas -- tornadoes, but no basements, go figure. All the stuff that people up there stuff into the basement goes into garages, here.

Right now, I only have one car, so I'm not worried about the stuff in my garage. I've had two cars most of my years in this house. Last Spring, we had a bad hailstorm coming, and my neighbor couldn't get his nice car in his garage. He and I managed to get my garage floor cleaned up enough to get his car in next to mine in about five minutes. Granted, my car is a MINI Cooper, which made it easier. But, the point is that I can get two cars in my garage if I had two cars.

Year after year, I've gotten better about not buying things I may want at the moment, but after thinking about it, I decide I don't really need it. I'm not immune to impulse purchases, but I am getting better at resisting them.

CD

 

[Farmer Jon]

We cant afford to go to out home town grocery store. $5 for a gallon if milk. We travel an hour to a larger grocery store. Milk is $2 a gallon. Got 5 gallons and stock up for the week that just paid our gas to to get there. Then the savings on everything else. Its nce to have the little store but most produce is crappy and lots of stuff out of date. Oh and the manager is a total moron.

 

[RPCookin]

One thing my wife and I agreed on before we got married was that the garage was for cars. Other things could be stored there but not if it meant that the cars wouldn't fit. When I bought my F-150, we brought it home on the test drive to "test fit" it in the garage. I was pleasantly surprised that it fit with a few inches to spare.

Here for groceries we have Walmart and 2 smaller stores operated by Family Foods. None are quite in the same class with a Mom 'n Pop type store, but the smaller ones do have a few of those advantages. For a lot things Walmart is the only real choice unless we order online. Amazon gets a lot of business from us.

 

[brasato]

Here in Italy we still have small shops but, sadly, as an effect of the globalisation, big stores of international companies are beginning to attack the market.
I really hate supermarkets, big stores, malls, because I feel like I am a number and not a person in there and because there is no human relationship with the owner.
On the other hand the positive thing here is that also in the towns there are plenty of open markets where you can buy fruit, vegetables and fish and in every market there is also a zone dedicated to farmers that come from the country to sell their products.
Me and my family we just buy from them and the quality is very high. In supermarkets veg, fruit and fish are very cheap but when I eat their stuff it feels like eating plastic.
Do you have open markets in the usa?

 

[RPCookin]

Here in Italy we still have small shops but, sadly, as an effect of the globalisation, big stores of international companies are beginning to attack the market.
I really hate supermarkets, big stores, malls, because I feel like I am a number and not a person in there and because there is no human relationship with the owner.
On the other hand the positive thing here is that also in the towns there are plenty of open markets where you can buy fruit, vegetables and fish and in every market there is also a zone dedicated to farmers that come from the country to sell their products.
Me and my family we just buy from them and the quality is very high. In supermarkets veg, fruit and fish are very cheap but when I eat their stuff it feels like eating plastic.
Do you have open markets in the usa?

We do have farmer's markets. The foods they sell vary depending on the region. In my area it's not as good because we don't have as many vegetable growers. It's harder to find a decent farmer's market here because most of what is raised locally is wheat, field corn, and beef. In August we do get great sweet corn, but only for a couple of weeks. The rest of the year we have to drive a couple of hours to get to the edge of the mountains where there are a few more farmers who grow more variety.

Last year we took a camping trip through Nebraska to central Iowa in May, and we came across a woman selling asparagus where a side road joined the highway. We bought a couple of bunches of fresh picked asparagus and that made a great addition to our dinners for the next couple of evenings. Colorado is a great place to live, but not so good for those great summertime farmer's markets.

 

[caseydog]

Here in Italy we still have small shops but, sadly, as an effect of the globalisation, big stores of international companies are beginning to attack the market.
I really hate supermarkets, big stores, malls, because I feel like I am a number and not a person in there and because there is no human relationship with the owner.
On the other hand the positive thing here is that also in the towns there are plenty of open markets where you can buy fruit, vegetables and fish and in every market there is also a zone dedicated to farmers that come from the country to sell their products.
Me and my family we just buy from them and the quality is very high. In supermarkets veg, fruit and fish are very cheap but when I eat their stuff it feels like eating plastic.
Do you have open markets in the usa?

I love those open markets in Europe. They seem to be everywhere in Italy and Spain.

CD

 

[Kayelle]

Sad to see good local markets going away..

The Grove Market, in Pacific Grove, was bought by a PGHS classmate in 1969 and is still going strong..

In the 50's it was A Purity store and I worked there, doing cleanup, as a freshman in high school..

Charlie, in his 80's now, still mans the excellent meat department.. Love that store and worked produce, part time there for 3 years.. Unlike Charlie, I gave up working when I hit 76...

Grove Market Pacific Grove

Ross

Ross, I clicked on the link to Grove Market, and it sounds just like the store my parents had in the 40's and 50's. They had home delivery also, with the finest meats and produce. Long before the days of credit cards, they also had charge accounts for their best customers. My parents were both born in the USA.

 

[jd_1138]

Ross, I clicked on the link to Grove Market, and it sounds just like the store my parents had in the 40's and 50's. They had home delivery also, with the finest meats and produce. Long before the days of credit cards, they also had charge accounts for their best customers. My parents were both born in the USA.

I remember in the 70's when I was tiny, the small mom and pop grocery store had delivery too. It was great for my busy mom of 4 little kids. They'd usually deliver it in cardboard boxes.

I think I found my new shopping style. I started to go to the local butcher shop. Their meats are way, way better than either the local mom and pop grocery store and the chain places. Also the prices are about the same.

Also, across the street from this butcher shop is an expanded Dollar General that has almost a full line of groceries. They just put it in. So I can just go to the DG and then to the butcher.

Though sometimes, I go to Aldi or to the mom and pop for groceries. But I don't buy their meats anymore.