I just found out.
My favorite independently owned grocery store is about to close down. Aside from being the only place locally that sold dried nectarines, they also had a full service meat counter, good prices, and plenty of choices on things like oils and vinegars. They were a small store, not one that had endless aisles of pre-processed foods and junk, mostly fresh vegetables, good quality meats, and a well-stocked deli. It was the perfect place for a guy like me who’s trying to rid his kitchen of foods that have been processed and packaged by the soulless minions of orthodoxy* whenever reasonable. They’d been in the same spot, a very good location, btw, for years, and I only decided to go in there on a whim a few years ago. I wish that I’d gone in sooner.
Not having a lot of space for frivolities, they focused on the staples: meats, fresh vegetables, spices, herbs, pasta, beer. The end result being that I usually got out of there with only what I came in for, and not an armload of ingredients that I didn’t need or really even want. But, in the end, they just couldn’t compete with the big stores.
It’s not that I hate the big store, I don’t, they have their place, but small stores like this one give communities character. Big stores are focused only on profit. They don’t care about people, because there are always more. Maybe they’ll give some time, some money, some attention to some community cause, but the love isn’t there.
I loved this store, and I’m going to miss it.
* 100 points to whoever gets the reference.