Food In The Fort

Smaller is sometimes better

Leo | March 7, 2008

I loathe bus stations - terrible places, full of lost luggage and lost souls.

— The Doctor

I’ve always loved that quote from Doctor Who. Having traveled by bus a fair bit it certainly rings true for me. The thing is though, it could apply equally well to supermarkets. Well, not literally but the spirit of the quote applies I think. You see, I enjoy food and I adore the time I spend with Catherine cooking but I really detest supermarkets. It’s a bit of a running joke in our relationship how much I hate going shopping.

But I can’t help it. Supermarkets are dreadful, dreary places and everybody there seems to want to be somewhere else. Which is kind of odd considering how so many people can be found parked in the middle of the aisle having endless cellphone consultations about what sort of ketchup to buy. And then there’s the whole organizational thing. I understand why supermarkets are laid out the way they are but I can’t help but think of it as a personal affront that I have to traverse the entire length of the supermarket and back again just to get a quart of milk. I won’t even go into the numerous indignities to be suffered while waiting in line.

Thus Marketing Daily’s report on a new study that shows people will be increasingly choosing to shop at a number of smaller, specialized grocery outlets comes as no surprise to me. As Susan Reda, executive editor of the industry magazine Stores says,

“Grocery retailers answered the call to build bigger, more efficient one-stop shops where their customers could buy merchandise and groceries in the same place. Now, the pendulum seems to be swinging back, as consumers are saying they prefer more intimate, smaller, customized grocery stores.“

Unfortunately, large grocery retailers are responding not with more logical, compartmentalized layouts but with amounts to in-store fast food restaurants as they add separate entrances and dedicated checkouts for prepared foods.

Fortunately though, Fort Wayne has a large number of smaller ethnic grocery stores servicing our large Hispanic and Asian communities. These are great places to not only get that hard-to-find ingredient for that special Thai dish you’re making but all around nice places to shop in general. And let’s not forget Three Rivers Co-Op. I might wish they didn’t sell homeopathic remedies, and they are on the pricey side, but their food can’t be beat. Why not give one of our smaller grocery stores a try? You just might discover something new and you’re almost sure to avoid clueless drones phoning home from the ketchup aisle.

In the coming months Catherine and I hope to profile some of the smaller grocery stores (and some of the big ones too) in the area and let you know what we find. Keep on reading or subscribe to our feed to be notified of new posts.

About the author: I've only lived in Fort Wayne for slightly less than a year but have grown to love the city in this short time. We're very lucky to have such a diverse food culture that goes far beyond the typical fast food fare. As for cooking, I used to dread it but it's become one of my favorite activities to do with Catherine. There's something very relaxing about cooking and setting down to a nice meal together. Well, it would be relaxing if it weren't for the dog sticking his snout into everything but it's fun nonetheless. Read more from this author