Writing my post on how much time I spend on food and cooking helped me a little better.  I cooked two meals that same evening.  I didn’t care for either of them (in fact I deleted both of them from my recipe book). The good part is that I froze one meal, and portions of the other. I’m glad my mood improved; it provided a cushion for bad news on Wednesday.  My local grocery store, Village Foods, is going out of business.

I loved Village Foods. It was an oasis of calm for me, quite unlike the noise hurricane of the larger popular grocery stores in town. I could park reasonably close to the store, and never worried that I’d hit some fool in the parking lot since the fools all seemed to shop elsewhere.  I usually shopped on Friday nights when the store was pretty much deserted. I could read labels without worrying about blocking traffic, and chat with cashiers who had time to treat me like a person. The store was small enough that if I realized I forgot an ingredient located on the other side of the store, walking back for it wasn’t traumatic.  If that had happened in the football-stadium-sized grocery stores I’d be on the verge of angry tears.

Since I felt unhurried and un-pressured at Village Foods I made smarter choices. I took more time to think about what I was buying, and how my food purchases would impact my schedule, my waistline, and my budget. I felt like Village Foods was a partner in my diet struggles.

Village Foods hit the right balance between natural/organic and standard grocery store fare. When I lived in a larger city I shopped at Trader Joe’s, Whole Foods, or Central Market. They’re good, but but they often didn’t carry the grocery store brands I wanted.  (Trader Joe’s lack of selection was especially disappointing.)  “Normal” stores like Kroger’s or Albertson’s often left me wanting the more exotic selection of the gourmet stores.  Village Foods managed to hit the sweet spot between the two, and did it with with neighborhood charm.

I’m also going to miss their awesome clearance section. Almost every time I visited I’d pick up a new-to-me food, or a much-loved food on closeout. Even last night, when the store is going out of business, I found freeze-dried pomegranate on the clearance shelf. I didn’t even know anyone made freeze-dried pomegranate.

A new Aldi store will take Village Food’s current location. Aldi can be good, I shopped Aldi when I lived in Maryland, but I’d have to also shop elsewhere to get everything on my list.

Village Foods isn’t going away completely.  The pharmacy and natural foods will be relocating, but since I’d have to shop in two places I’m almost certain not to visit often.  Tackling the behemoth HEB will wear me out, I just don’t have the energy for two shopping trips.