Found out today that my son's and my favorite deli has closed its doors.
I am sadder than it feels a person should be given all of the more terrible things going on.
It is sad as both the loss of a place we have a history with and as something larger though.
1/
I am sadder than it feels a person should be given all of the more terrible things going on.
It is sad as both the loss of a place we have a history with and as something larger though.
1/
The deli had been in business for 96 years.
It was no more than a simple storefront.
It had the look of a place that had been there a long time. Curled photos taped up above the register. Weathered signage on the walls. A couple of simple stools.
2/
It was no more than a simple storefront.
It had the look of a place that had been there a long time. Curled photos taped up above the register. Weathered signage on the walls. A couple of simple stools.
2/
The prior owners were two married couples. They worked together every day for 32 years save for a week or two each summer when they closed for vacation.
It was the kind of local place where you come to know the proprietors a bit over countless small fragments of conversation.
3/
It was the kind of local place where you come to know the proprietors a bit over countless small fragments of conversation.
3/
They raised their kids in the years they owned the deli. Put them through college. Saw them on to marriages and families themselves.
When they sold, there was a collective bittersweet happiness/sadness among their customers.
4/
When they sold, there was a collective bittersweet happiness/sadness among their customers.
4/
It was mix of being truly happy for hardworking, good people on their well-deserved retirement while also being sad at the loss of people who are part of your community family.
There was a bakery in town to which my son and I felt that same attachment. It closed abruptly.
5/
There was a bakery in town to which my son and I felt that same attachment. It closed abruptly.
5/
In its place is a new venue. It is a nice place. It is renovated and more modern. The food is good. They have a loyalty program that links right to your cellphone.
But it isn't the same. It isn't the one place run by that baker. It is one of several owned by a company.
6/
But it isn't the same. It isn't the one place run by that baker. It is one of several owned by a company.
6/
Small businesses run by proprietors who people come to know are part of what gives a community its "terroir" - its "sense of place".
When they close, a place loses a little of its warmth. It loses a little of its history, it's connective tissue.
Change is not always progress.
When they close, a place loses a little of its warmth. It loses a little of its history, it's connective tissue.
Change is not always progress.
So, my son and I only lost a deli we liked.
The owners, who bought the place only a few years ago, lost what I'm sure was to be their livelihood.
And a community lost a place that had been there longer than any of its residents.
And all of that just sucks.
8/8
The owners, who bought the place only a few years ago, lost what I'm sure was to be their livelihood.
And a community lost a place that had been there longer than any of its residents.
And all of that just sucks.
8/8
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