Michelle W.
Yelp
Gentrification is a funny thing. It spreads through a neighborhood like a clever joke, making laugh-out-loud changes for the "better" to this local supermarket. A sushi corner here, some "organic" produce there--often mixed in with the conventional for clarity--and a special all natural, and gluten-free snack section. As much as I am an advocate for healthy eating, what am I supposed to do with a flour-less, eggless, butter-less, sugarless cookie? Not have any late-night snack fun, that's what.
Noticing that the changes haven't reached every area of this store, makes me chuckle even more. So while the getting-smaller-every-day sushi nook may be evidence that a change is happening, or simply that it is 2013 in NYC and Bed-Stuy is actually part of NYC, a good number of the cashiers still have the same It's-not-my fault-this-line-is-so-slow-it's-yours perspective, and hairstyles that reflect the 1990s. Think: mean and not cute.
Speaking of the beloved 90s, I wonder about the shelf life of certain products. I've had a few "this expiration date was yesterday" times and a special "Ewwww, What is that at the top of that jar I just opened" moment. And in the produce section, a few browning broccoli sprouts and yellowing collard greens prove that Superfoodtown is in need of some more gentrification, or at least real care from management to put out good products for long-time customers like me.
All that being said there are the freshly baked "reasons" I keep coming here. Quite honestly the smell of just out of the oven bread on Saturday mornings is a major one. Another is I don't trust buying meat, eggs, or dairy from anywhere else in the area. Yet another is I love to laugh at all of the innocent shenanigans that go on here, gentrified-induced and otherwise.