I do not drive, and I only have two hands.
I find it difficult to go here,
difficult to put all this in my backpack,
and difficult to eat all of it before it goes bad and stinks up my fridge.
The average American grocery shopping experience is wasteful and time consuming. I do not go shopping once a week. I do not usually make a special trip. I do not buy more than I can carry. I am unwilling to strain my hands carrying ten shopping bags down the street.
Instead, I buy groceries almost every day, buy only what I need, and generally integrate it into my social routine. Or at least, I try to. Special trips aren't a big deal though when you get your groceries a block from your house. Because it all fits in my backpack, I live pretty much without disposable plastic bags as well.
If grocery stores are as big as the Schnucks pictured above, then not everybody can have one next door. If they are small like the bodegas found along the streets of Brooklyn, then it's possible to have three or four to choose from.
A small grocery store doesn't necessarily mean you lack options, but it does often require a density of products.
Unlike the large corporate outfits that run the big box grocery stores, many Brooklyn bodegas are independently owned by people who live in the very neighborhood they are serving. If you stop in daily, you almost certainly will strike up a few conversations and build rapport, and possibly friendship, with the owner. He is your neighbor after all.
Unlike the big box stores, small corner stores can be spread around a city and mitigate the 'food desert' phenomenon. Fifteen of them can serve one neighborhood instead of the silly one big box for five neighborhoods model.
When I lived in downtown St. Louis, I was amazed at how often I found myself at the 7-11 on 17th street. They didn't carry anything worth eating really, but it was close to home. Visiting my friend in Brooklyn I found the bodegas on his block to be about the same size, carry twice as much stuff, and have way healthier options. The St. Louis 7-11 contributed to the food desert by failing to really sell anything but donuts and peanut butter. A New York bodega in the same spot would have kept me quite happy. Or something more like the
Golden Grocer or
Juice Box would have been cool too.
Luckily the 7-11 wasn't my primary grocery store. I stopped by
City Grocers almost daily.
City Grocers put a bit more stock in the lunch time crowd and the prepared food part of their store, which I didn't use, but it was more than adequate for my needs. I'd walk by with an empty backpack, say hello to my favorite clerks, then walk home with some avacados, baby spinach, and cranberry juice on my back.
Because I was completely fine with City Grocers, I found it strange how everyone treated the arrival of the Schnucks Culinaria with shouts of, "Yay! St. Louis finally has a downtown grocery store!"
What people seem to mean is that they are happy there is finally a grocery store that is so big that people will drive to it. I agree that it is generally a good thing, and that I'm very happy to see Schnucks in a more walkable form. However, I don't think ignoring City Grocers is fair at all. I think there's room for both and would like to see a few more out towards Jefferson. I just think they should be smaller.
Do you see the bike parked in front of Culinaria in the picture above? It's like a more lifeless version of this,
When I lived downtown, I got virtually everything I needed from City Grocer. When I wanted something more, I would bike to Jay's International Market on South Grand (not as far as you think). I could fit more food on my bike than in my backpack. Culinaria is the type of place where people might buy more than fits in a backpack, but there's no designated bike loading area or taxi stand. If Schnucks is going to be downtown, they should put some thought into how urbanites get around town.
Culinaria should not only accomodate crazy bohemians on bikes,
but families too,
Bring your own bag. Bring your own cart. That's my policy.
I'm moving back to St. Louis in September, and don't want to be in a food desert after years of luxury abroad. Nor do I want to be reliant on a few big grocery stores like Schnucks or Straub's. I want to live near a place like
Local Harvest.
Neighborhood Associations take note, there are people out there, like me, that will only live in your neighborhood if you have a local grocery store on a walkable street. I'm looking to live in St. Louis, and Old North recently pushed itself to the top of my list with their new
grocery co-op.
Fantastic work Old North. The apartment hunt has barely begun, but I see that Crown Square has a
walkscore of 74. That plus the eventual north-south metrolink corridor, the I-70 BRT, the Iron Horse Trestle Bike Park, UrbanStudioCafe, and your Gateway Greening hub garden.
We'll see. There are other considerations like movie theaters, restaurants, and library access that need to be thought about.
