Did you have a family corner owned store in your neighborhood?

Question

I am not talking about 711's . We had a Bramantes, wooden floors, candy 3 pieces for a penny , and an old man who owned it , and would yell at us for going in and out returning pop bottles for candy.
Then we had Francis , an old Italian lady ran that and would chase people out with a broom.
We also had Lagana's , that smelled like cheese
What memories do you have of your family owned corner stores in your town? Are there any left?
(and if you say I am old you get a thumbs down lol)

Answer 1

Hmmm.... Let's see....

I grew up in suburbia, and there were not stores, let alone corner stores.

The closest I got was when I biked a long distance to my friend's place, then went for a bike ride from there to a convenience store, that wasn't a chain. I bought an Astro Pop. That was so cool!

Then there was the summer when I spent some time out in the boonies and there was a convenience store down the road, bike still necessary. It was called a nickle and dime store, and that was the first time I had heard that expression. I bought some candy there.

Then there was the Mac's near my moms, after my parents divorced. It was a chain store, but it still had a bit of a neighbourhood feel to it. It wasn't on a main road. My sister and I would get up early and walk around town, looking for cans and coins left in phone booths. I actually found a coin once. We would return cans, then buy candy with the coinage.

What was even better was when our mom would give us a dollar each and tell us to get some candy up at the department store. That place doesn't exist anymore. It was a rarity for it's time - 80's - in that they had a candy counter where they had bulk candy and the lady there would dispense it, so we could ask for a dollar's worth of our favourite candy, and she'd give us a little bag of it. That was great. I used to like something called soap candy. The real name is "floral gums". It's a rarity now.

One of my friends lived near a neighbourhood corner store. I thought that was cool. I went there once or twice with him. They people that ran the place even knew him by name.

Currently I live in a residential area. There's one corner store, but it's a bit far away and there's nothing I need to get there. I get my porn on the internet, I don't like reading the paper, I don't smoke, I can get candy at the supermarket for a lot cheaper, etc.

Western culture needs more vending machines, like in Japan. I want to walk outside and have one within no less than a 3 minute walk, so that I can get a can of my favourite drink at a reasonable price. We suck.

Answer 2

The good old days.
growing up in Newport, KY there was a small store on the corner where I stocked shelves and so forth.
long gone, but the memories are still there.

Answer 3

Yes, and they are Vietnamese and they have great prices, They sell everything cheaper, than the 7'11's etc.

Answer 4

There is still one. That's where I shop most of the time.