What's in Store?

I like the grocery store.

Is this strange?

Many aisles of all sorts of wonderful packaged, fresh and frozen foods, it's a veritable panoply of colors, textures, design and choice. Some stores even have a darker decor in the produce section creating something of a dramatic presentation under cannily placed specific lighting.

The frozen food section is slightly chilly as is produce. And the whole store is air conditioned on hot days, so it can be an escape from turgid outdoor temps.

It can't be just any grocery store. For instance, the grocery section of the Wal-Mart SuperCenter is fine for shopping, but it doesn't have the cachet I prefer. I'm also not talking about "warehouse" stores like BJs Wholesale Club or Sam's Club, or small, small-town grocery stores, though some of the IGAs or A&Ps (if they still exist) can be something of a throwback in time.

No, I'm talking about the modern major chains, the Hannafords, Krogers, Food Lions, Shaws, etc.

I know there are others, but I haven't seen them. I'll assume they are all similar to a certain extent.

This isn't to say that I always look forward to going to a grocery store. There are times it's just another errand, rushed and tiring. And it's not something I want to do every day.

But now and then, if I'm not rushed and the store's not crowded, it's sort of nice to wander the aisles in a relaxed manner and chat with whoever is with me.

I know a grocery store that has fake trees 'growing' up out of the floor in the produce section. Isn't that sort of cool?

The Food Lion in the town where my wife's parents used to live was a Winn Dixie before it was sold. Food Lion remodeled the whole store and it's much nicer now. It also brings back some pleasant memories of the times we made grocery runs there when visiting.

The Hannford's that was built about four miles from our home is much more convenient than the small grocery we once frequented in the neighboring town. Now that there's a choice of stores, we can opt for the advantages of either. Hannaford's usually wins out as it carries much more inventory, and it's a larger, more pleasant store.

Modern marketing has created a rough template of store layouts with necessity items placed well behind more impulsive purchase products. Even so, different stores are designed a little differently with each one establishing its own flavor, so to speak.

Most grocery stores now have their own bakeries, though I have to say that a small independent bakery usually produces a better product than the grocery stores create.

I don't know. Reading through this... I don't really think I've made a strong case as to why I like grocery stores. Guess I'm not really sure as to why this is, and maybe it doesn't matter anyway.

Some things really don't need explaining.