Subj : Grocery Getters was: Left [1]
To : Dave Drum
From : Ruth Haffly
Date : Thu Jan 09 2025 12:27:49
Hi Dave,
RH> and school. A&P sold out to Fresh Town. I remember the 2 chain stores
RH> having their own butchers, don't remember about the independent one as
RH> Mom stopped shopping there when the Victory came to town when I was
RH> quite young.
DD> Both, nay all, of the independent grocery stores I have *ever*
DD> patronised have been owned/started by butchers. The two non-chain
DD> grocers we have
DD> left folow that model. Dad runs the butcher shop and Mom/family take
DD> care of the "front of the house". Humphrey's has been in their
DD> locationsince it was founded in 1932 and is its 3rd generation of
DD> Humphreys at the helm. Magro's Meats, located in an old Eagle
DD> Supermarket store is a mega-butcher with groceries, dry good, etc.
DD> more-or-less an afterthought. They began in a nearby small town and
DD> were denied zoning to expand operations for the slaughtering and
DD> processing of "on the hoof" animals. So they moved to my town where
DD> they are doing a good business. Bv)=
I grew up in a small town, population was about 850. At that, there were
smaller villages in the area that had no grocery stores so the folks
came to us for shopping. Going over the mountains in winter was not a
fun experience; one place in particular was notoriously bad. I think
most people stocked up when they came, and, a lot of the farmers were
able to do their own butchering. My parents, having white collar jobs,
bought meat from the grocery stores.
DD> 8<----- EDIT ----->8
RH> Most often now we shop at Wegman's, for the convenience and quality. We
RH> will stop at Lidl sometimes; it's just up the road from Wegman's to
RH> we're there for other, non food, stuff.
DD> My regular non-meat/produce grocery orders I get from Hy-Vee. If you
DD> but $25 or more in product they will pick and bag your order. Then you
DD> ull in to the "pick-up" area, pop the trunk (or raise the hatch) and
DD> your bagged groceries are loaded and you're ready to go home and stow
DD> your plunder.
DD> When my shift at the Zone is done at 11 o'clock I'm swinging by to get
DD> a nice order of frozen and dry goods. All of the attendants in the
DD> pick up section know me and my car so they just automatically pull the
DD> tote with my order and bring it out to the car.
We've not tried that, doing all of our grocery shopping in person. May
hve to change that as we get older, but I'll not like not being able to
pick my own produce, etc.
RH> We've got Aldi also; they were here before Lidl. We've been there for
RH> shopping, but not that frequent.
DD> I'm not frequent, but regular. Especially when I'm jonesing for
DD> chocolate to snack on. Their Moser-Roth is as good (in my estimation)
DD> as Ghirardelli and less $$$$.
I know; I've got some of their mint chocolate in the pantry currently.
DD> eggs, packaged bread and milk. I don't eat a lot of bread and their
RH> We usually get our bread at Wegman's.
DD> I don't do a lot of bread so l'Oven's long shelf life is a plus. When
DD> the penicillin starts to grow I turn it into bird/squirrel food.
We don't do a lot of bread either but probably more than you do, since
it's 2 people eating from the loaf. I'll use the crusts, etc from my
home made 100% whhole wheat for bread crumbs--haven't bought any in
decades.
DD> here named "Harvest Market" which is part of a local(ish) mini-chain
DD> whose "schtick" is locally grown/processed/fresh meat and produce and
DD> packaged products. They have a nice in-store restaurant like Wegman's
DD> or Hy-Vee which I have tried a couple times. I have yet to buy any
DD> groceries at that location.
RH> Sounds like an interesting place to check out.
DD> It is/was. But, it's about as far from me as it can be and still be
DD> "in town". I've done some 'walk-about' when I've met folks there for
DD> a lunch or similar occasion.
We may be out in that area in spring, going to the Dayton Hamvention.
Also have some things we want to donate to the Chicago Public Library so
need to resume (stopped when Covid shut the country down) talks with
them.
DD> Then there are the ethnic markets. We have Indian, Chinese, S.E.
DD> Asian, Italian-American Imports, etc. I buy my miso paste at one of
DD> the Chinese markets. And some Indian specialities at Masala Mart.
RH> Those are all down in Raleigh, don't think there are any in WF.
DD> Probably not enough volume of business to sustain a presence.
Possibly, but the way the town has grown, it won't be long. When the
Wegman's development was announced, it included plans for a number of
other stores and apartment buildings. The other stores are across the
highway, more small restaurants than stores actually. The latest one to
open up opened yesterday, Bibibop Asian Grill. Fast Asian style (mostly
Korean-ish) bowls; we tried it for lunch yesterday. Had a good sized
crowd but that could be opening day novelty; we'll see if it lasts. Food
was ok, not the best Korean we've had but could have been much worse.
We'll go back, but it most likely won't be a regular.
DD> 8<----- AGAIN ----->8
RH> We're not in an HOA either, nice for Steve putting up all kinds of
RH> antennas. Understand that the previous owners raised chickens, some
RH> older Google Earth pictures show the chicken coops.
DD> I've raised chickens - but, they're a lot of work if done right. And
DD> whilst it would be nice to have he fresh eggs it's a lot easier to
DD> just grab a dozen down the ALDI - once this bird-flu thing settles
DD> down and
DD> prices go back where they should be. Bv)=
DD> Not to mention, I don't have te facility, area, nor ambition to catch,
DD> kill, pluck and clean my own chicken dinner at my advanced age. Lots
DD> easier to let Mr. Perdue or Tyson handle that.
Steve's family tried raising them when he was young, guess it turned out
to be much less than successful. Our daughter Deborah raised some (and
quail) for a while, until her dogs got into the cages and did a good bit
of damage. It was an experiment but I think she's at the point where
she's just as glad to be not doing it any more.
---
Catch you later,
Ruth
rchaffly{at}earthlink{dot}net FIDO 1:396/45.28
... I'm clinging to sanity by a thread. Hand me those scissors.
--- PPoint 3.01
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