Thursday, June 14, 2007

I saw the saddest sign in the world yesterday at the Arlington Country Market.
It said “Going out of business.”
This little store will be sorely missed. It’s probably one of the last non-supercenter grocery stores in the Midwest. The only thing you had to shop for when you went into the ACM was groceries: no auto parts, no fabrics, no prescription drugs, no alcohol, no jewelry and no clothing or electronics. I loved walking into that store with my $25 grocery list because I (usually) came out with $25 worth of groceries. Not so at the superstore down the road, especially if hubby comes along. We walk in with a $25 grocery list and come out with $125 worth of groceries, electronics, antifreeze, books, magazines, etc. etc.
And ACM has the nicest little luncheonette with a daily noon special (pan-fried chicken to die for every Friday) and lots of conversation.
The owner thought they’d be open until the end of July, so my grocery shopping and fried chicken Fridays are numbered now.
Another sign of the times - the end of an era.

5 comments:

Sue said...

Kind of sad, like Steen's station, one of the original quick shops. The only things that were probably fresh were bread, ice cream and pop.
Sue

stephanie said...

This is so unfortunate. I love little grocery stores. My dad has one in a town by his, McCrea's. We go there every time we visit and buy the best rib eye steaks...EVER for only $6.99/lb. Here the price for nice rib eyes is ~ $10/lb.

LaDawn said...

What a shame!

Brooke said...

There is still the one in Tekamah that I love going to. I have found a store in Omaha that is kinda like a mom and pop grocery store but it is a chain grocery store. They are closed on sundays so that there employees can spend time with there families. Which I think is very neat. Superfoods in Blair is still a small grocery store but I think they are higher priced then No Frills.

Mary Connealy said...

I remember Steen's isn't that weird? A country grocery store, really more of a mini-mart before there were such things. I remember once in a blue moon mom would have NOTHING for school lunch and she'd run up there and get us something like a TWINKIE.
Don't you think we enjoyed stuff like that a lot, lot more when we didn't get it so often?
Decatur still has a little mom and pop grocery store. A lot of people say it's more expensive, but I KNOW I spend less when I go there. How could I not, there isnt anything to buy! I go there often, Karma Farrens, who happens to be married to a family member.
Follow along:
Her husband Skip is a son of my grandmother Bernice Moore's sister Irene's daughter.
Got that?
NO?
Anyway, Karma and Skip have my books in her store.