SF: Corner Store by Corner Store

Check out this article in the Bold Italic about the corner stores of the Western Addition, our old neighborhood.  The photo above is the store that we used to hit at least a couple of times a week--it stocked organic and health foods, as well as more mundane requirements like ice cream and beer.  It was right across the street from our apartment, which was so nice and convenient. 

Note the older gentleman on the right side of the photo--he is the usual fixture in that store, and one of the most crotchety figures I've ever come across!  I think it took almost a year of visiting that store before he did anything but frown in our general direction.  Strangely enough, I kind of miss his frosty ways.

I was also happy to see Sam (above) and his store featured (why did we think he was Russian?!).  This market was even closer to our old apartment and stocked a more limited selection of food but more wine, beer, liquor, and ice cream.  Sam helped us pick out wine on more than one occasion.  But most importantly to me, Sam was my knight in shining armor one afternoon when I got locked out of the new apartment, not long after moving in, and had no spare key, no money, no wallet, no phone.  He let me use his cell phone and phone book to call the property management company, lent me $20 for a cab to go retrieve a spare key, and even came out to the curb to hail a cab for me.  He'll always have a place in my heart because of that.

{Both photos from the article.}