

My dream of the perfect grocery store

7:41 PM, Apr. 10, 2014  |  Comments
  • Filed Under

Simple pleasures can often be found in the mundane. For example, grocery shopping can be a tedious task, but it is something I actually enjoy lately.

Let me make a disclaimer: I enjoy shopping in true, dedicated grocery stores not the mega-superstores that happen to have a grocery section. Shopping at those marts is a tiring chore akin to mopping the kitchen floor. In fact, I'd rather stay home and mop the floor if given a choice. At least that way, when I'm done, I don't have to stand in a long line to pay for my suffering.

No, give me a true grocery store where the only non-food items are an aisle or two of paper products, detergents and charcoal briquettes. I like stores with warm lighting, spacious aisles and choices, lots of choices. The superstores have honed their products down to only a few choices of each item, their store brand and maybe one or two others. It's as if the food lives under a dictatorship.

Give me a store where the produce is artfully arranged and artisan breads are displayed in wicker baskets. Give me a store with healthy organic choices that won't break the bank. I want to shop where there is a full-time butcher who will cut a soup bone for me if I need one. I want a selection of cheeses so great I think I'm in France.

Unfortunately, there is only one local chain of stores that comes close to my ideal, and the prices there are too high for me to fill my pantry. I can only afford to shop there for staples or a specialty item I can't find anywhere else. My trips to that store, the one with the name no one can get right, are special outings for me. I take my time perusing the aisles of gourmet choices. Instead of two kinds of mustard, there might be six. The variety of condiments is a feast for the eyes. They even sell soft drinks made with sugar instead of corn syrup. Shopping there is like taking a stroll in the park.

During a visit with a friend in Ohio, she apologized for taking me grocery shopping with her, not her idea of how I would want to spend my vacation. Little did she know. Her local store was exactly what I have described and with prices comparable to the big marts'. I went around like a kid in a candy shop tossing items in the buggy I couldn't possibly finish in my short visit.

What is it about our community that we can't support a store of that nature? Our economy seems to be able to support multiple sporting goods stores and quick-food chains, so why can't it support a dedicated grocery store with affordable prices? This is a serious question.

Real Deals



Photo Galleries


Sign up for home delivery today

Things To Do