My grocery store of 39 years is closing on July 17th. There is hardly anything left to buy. After my July 3rd party, I stopped in to get the ingredients for my famous cheesy green beans: five cans of green beans, a block of Swiss cheese, a tub of sour cream, and a can of French-fried onion rings. As I walked the bare aisles, I found everything except the onion rings.
I remembered I had a partial serving of onion rings in the fridge. It would have to do. I was too tired to go find a new grocery store. The oddball ones don’t have French fried onion rings – Sprouts, Trader Joe’s, probably not at Whole Foods, but that was too far to drive anyway. Lunardi’s would have them at double the price.
I went to my July 4th party with the cheesy bean dish. I removed everything in the oven at my friend’s house to cook my beans. They came out hot and bubbly. My friend, Jim, carried them to the table. My friend, Penny, went back for seconds. Most of the beans were gone by the time I left the party. Other dishes weren’t as fortunate — too much fruit, too many salads, the only other veggie dish was cold, but still tasty.
I went to the store again this morning for my newspaper. I was able to get a copy of the San Francisco Chronicle, a loaf of cinnamon bread, a jug of water, some ice cream bars and a small bag of M&Ms. Four employees stood around as I checked out. Why so many working? It’s all so sad.
This is what happens when everyone buys their groceries at Costco or online. The residential stores in our neighborhoods can’t make it. They are going away. Stop shopping there, and this is what happens.
Sometimes I’m not up for the crowds at Costco, all the lifting (into the cart, into the car, into the house). Remember, you get twelve of everything you buy, so that equates to heavy. Things are cheaper when you buy in bulk, but there’s a price to pay — a tweaked low back, a storage issue, a spoilage issue if it’s perishable stuff. It’s only me and one daughter, and she’s a vegetarian.
My three millennial children shop at Amazon for almost everything. Not to mention all the cardboard that is filling up every corner of the planet, and all the wealth going to a billionaire who doesn’t need to go to space again, they haven’t figured out the consequences of their shopping habits. Yes, Target locks up the toothpaste now, and yes, it is inconvenient, but Target is trying to stay alive and still compete with Amazon, so they have to cut down on the shoplifting. Don’t shop at Target? Fine, but don’t expect it to be there when you need it.
CVS is pricey, but if you play the coupon and extra-bucks game, it’s not so bad. When CVS goes away, I will be beyond sad. I’m in there twice a week for birdseed, prescriptions, vitamins, and sometimes chocolate. I’ve been shopping there for less time than Lucky’s because it used to be a Mom and Pop chain before it became CVS. There is never any back stock. CVS is a lean, mean, low inventory machine.
But I digress.
So sorry to see you go, Lucky’s. The next closest one is miles away, a long drive to get my Sunday paper.
FIRST DATE, WORST DATE EVER! 