Hash S.
Yelp
The teapot on my stove, the cheese knives in my drawer, the coffee press on my kitchen table and the Dutch oven above my cabinets are all from Kitchenwitch. As are the Green Street and Forest Hills Orange Line magnets on my fridge.
Kitchenwitch and its previous incarnation, Gadgets, have been invaluable during my time in JP. Their magnetic measurement conversions have been a godsend and their staff has always been super friendly regardless of whether I'm holiday shopping or just picking up a small item while waiting for a chair at Sal's to open.
A four-star establishment on most days, largely due to size issues out of its control, I'm bumping it up to five for a staff that's unafraid to do what its customers won't. I'm sorry, but when you allow your child to run rampant in a store filled with breakables, sharps and other various not-for-kids items, your child's newfound playthings are just waiting to become lost inventory or, worse, a liability suit. The staff is well within its rights to protect both the merchandise and its customers.
"Oh no, you can't touch that. You're not allowed to travel in here. Stand over there." That's not rude language. That's guidance and direction, something the child in question clearly lacked.
"JP, aka the land of babies and toddlers, maybe you should consider finding a way to be courteous and civil to the children of your customers.:
Oh, SO many things wrong with that statement. First off, civility and courtesy goes both ways. When you're not courteous or civil enough to keep your child's hands off the fragile merchandise or to keep him or her from being underfoot, the store's representatives have every right to tell the child the things you won't. That's called raising a kid, and it's something a village has to do every so often.
Although, in this case, maybe that village should be Roslindale Village. Seriously? You're going to come into JP from Roslindale and tell people how to run their businesses around your kid? Take it walking. In some cases, this may be "the land of babies and toddlers (not at my pub, but I digress)," but even the diverse or imperfect parents of JP teach their kids how to act in public and not to grab or push over every breakable on Centre Street. Your kid needs a tactile fix? Take it to Boing.
Kitchenwitch is a handy, friendly, well-stocked little lifesaver of a home store. I'm glad it's in my neighborhood and I'll continue to frequent it as often as possible. It may not have a name suited to Roslindale's tastes, but then again there are some folks out there who think Sarah is a bit too biblical a name for a child and something you only name a kid when you want them to be a mediocre singer/songwriter who'll be playing the opening slot at Club Passim until she's a senior citizen.