I miss all the smaller grocery stores

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jd_1138

Sous Chef
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I was over at my friend's house helping with a project when I got a text from the wife to grab an onion and a bell pepper. Unfortunately there are no food stores between his place and mine (7 miles away), so I had to drive to the Giant Eagle that added 5 miles to the trip making it 12 miles total.

Up until a few years ago, there were a couple smaller mom and pop grocery stores I could've stopped at in between his house and my house. But they closed for business in the last few years. There are a lot of places that technically sell food (dollar stores, Walgreens), but they don't have any veggies or meats.

In California where I am from, even smaller neighborhood stores tend to carry some basics. There will be like a hanging basket with some peppers, onions, potatoes, lemons. Also, they might carry fresh hamburger and chicken. As well as a deli case with some cold cuts, cheese. Here, the convenience stores only carry potato chips, candy bars, and Ramen Noodles in terms of food. :)
 
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It is a Walmart country now.

My uncle and his wife had a small "mom and pop" grocery in a small town when I was a kid. My cousin lives in it today, and has a music recording studio in it.

CD
 
We still have a couple of small family owned independent grocers in my area. We lost one this year and I think it is just a matter of time before we lose the others. The sad fact is that we need to use them or lose them. We can't just dash in once or twice a year for one or two items and expect them to survive.
 
Mostly big change stores here, but most them also have small grocery store under the same name and some has countryside shops under other names, which means they are in small villages and this work.

And then there is all these foreign food stores and most of them are family owned.
 
There's a small grocery store in my neighborhood that has some fresh vegetables, a fair amount of meat, dairy and frozen foods, in addition to canned foods, snacks and sodas. And they have hot food and make sandwiches for lunch. There's a marine terminal nearby with probably hundreds of truckers going in and out every day. I think they get some of their traffic from the terminal.
 
Except the flies. I don't like flies. Butcher stores with a 1956 butcher counter. Dead part of town. Don't like that either.
 
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We still have a couple of small family owned independent grocers in my area. We lost one this year and I think it is just a matter of time before we lose the others. The sad fact is that we need to use them or lose them. We can't just dash in once or twice a year for one or two items and expect them to survive.

We did 95% of our shopping at the local family owned IGA when it was open. Sadly, they closed a year ago.
 
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
 
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It is a Walmart country now.

My uncle and his wife had a small "mom and pop" grocery in a small town when I was a kid. My cousin lives in it today, and has a music recording studio in it.

CD


Don't be so cynical.

Here in immigrantville, legal or not, small stores with lots of local stuff survive.

Maybe there's a new hope, before the empire strikes back.
 
Don't be so cynical.

Here in immigrantville, legal or not, small stores with lots of local stuff survive.

Maybe there's a new hope, before the empire strikes back.

We have had Mom and Pop stores ever since I was a kid. And every one of them are owned by an immigrant. There are two right near where I live, and I go to them all the time. Our local supermarkets are just too far away. One is down the square and one is over in the next town. That creates all kinds of problems. Have to take a bus to get to either one, unless you have a car.

Sure, the Mom and Pop store is expensive. But they don't buy in bulk like the big supermarkets do. So they have to pay more for their stock. And they pass that cost to the consumers.
 
Addie, I went to a clean establishment semi-modern butcher shop. There are very few left. What they wanted for lamb shoulder chops per pound was literally twice what the supermarkets charge per pound. I understand that. Butcher shops are a dying breed now.
 
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Addie, I went to a clean establishment semi-modern butcher shop. There are very few left. What they wanted for lamb shoulder chops per pound was literally twice what the supermarkets charge per pound. I understand that. Butcher shops are a dying breed now.

When Spike was 13 he worked in such a shop. He learned a lot about how to butcher and cut meats. As a results, today I tell him what I want for meats, and he picks them out for me.

His main job was to stock the shelves and keep the place clean. But he is no dummy. He knew there is money to be made if you knew about meats. So he would have the owner teach him when he wasn't busy. I used to do my shopping in that store. And he had to carry it home for me. THEN I HAD TO GIVE HIME A TIP!!! Just like any other customer.
 
We have had Mom and Pop stores ever since I was a kid. And every one of them are owned by an immigrant. There are two right near where I live, and I go to them all the time. Our local supermarkets are just too far away. One is down the square and one is over in the next town. That creates all kinds of problems. Have to take a bus to get to either one, unless you have a car.

Sure, the Mom and Pop store is expensive. But they don't buy in bulk like the big supermarkets do. So they have to pay more for their stock. And they pass that cost to the consumers.

Yeah there are some ethnic smaller food markets here. Though they are at least 5 miles away. There's a really nice middle eastern family that owns one. They carry the basics like fresh meats, produce, spices as well as general groceries like rice, canned goods, cereals, etc.. They also have a deli and hot foods section where you can get a yummy falafel or a submarine sandwich.

They're very nice people. Their kids were born here. One's a physician. The other kids work in the store. One FT the other ones PT.

I would've stopped there on my way from my friend's house to my house, but it's a little out of the way.
 
Don't be so cynical.

Here in immigrantville, legal or not, small stores with lots of local stuff survive.

Maybe there's a new hope, before the empire strikes back.

Things are a lot different in NYC.

Last summer, I was working in NYC for a week, and stayed in the Red Hook area of Brooklyn. There were lots of these neighborhood hole-in-the-wall "groceries." They didn't have much stock, and no fresh meats or veggies, but they made some pretty amazing sandwiches.

There was also a Fairway Market on Brunt Street. Wow! I went there about three times. If I lived near one, it would probably be my main grocery store.

CD
 
Fairway markets are wonderful. They're a lot like Wjole Foods in terms of selection and quality, but no where near the price.
 
What I love about the Mom and Pop stores is that for the most part, they are owned by immigrants. If you become friends with them, start to ask questions about where they come from, how come they decided to come to America, do they have children, ect., you can get a geography and history lesson at the same time.

The one close to me, is owned by an Iranian. His wife just had their second child. He was so excited. He had an American citizen in his family. She was pregnant when she arrived. Every time I go in there, his face lights up. I guess I am the only one who will stand there and listen to him talk about his American citizen. He even gave the baby an American name. Mary. I can't help but get caught up in his excitement.
 
What I love about the Mom and Pop stores is that for the most part, they are owned by immigrants. If you become friends with them, start to ask questions about where they come from, how come they decided to come to America, do they have children, ect., you can get a geography and history lesson at the same time.

The one close to me, is owned by an Iranian. His wife just had their second child. He was so excited. He had an American citizen in his family. She was pregnant when she arrived. Every time I go in there, his face lights up. I guess I am the only one who will stand there and listen to him talk about his American citizen. He even gave the baby an American name. Mary. I can't help but get caught up in his excitement.

We so often take our US citizenship for granted. I have a good friend here who just took his oath a week and a half ago, and he was so excited about it. He isn't even from a depressed country either... he's from the UK, Welsh, but he is married to a local man. They have been together for more than a decade, and actually married for 4 years. He is one of the most active members of our Methodist church, and has earned the respect of most of the locals. He posted a half dozen photos on Facebook of his celebration party after the naturalization ceremony. I found it interesting that even though he could live just about anyplace in the world that he wished (he makes very good money in corporate support and sales for IBM IT technologies), he chose to live here in this obscure little farm town.

Even though I've never lived anywhere that's as ethnically diverse as NYC, I've known quite a few naturalized citizens, and they have all been good, contributing members of society. Getting to know them over the years and learning their history has given me a deeper appreciation of my own good fortune in being born a US citizen - its not something that I take lightly. :)
 
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