"33" Mart and Liquor Store

After last week’s difficulty finding parking I decided to drive further away from the more densely populated areas. I drove down Clement Street and the first market I saw after going west from Muffinville was “33” Mart and Liquor store on 20^th and Clement. This extremely small and narrow market looked like it was an extension of the owner’s house. There was personal junk all around the register area and an elderly neighbor was just hanging out and watching the TV screen perched above her. She was wearing a red turban and sitting in a green leather office chair with wheels. The owner was behind the register attending to a rather brisk traffic in lotto tickets. I’m pretty sure 33 is a lucky number in Chinese numerology so it would make sense that the lottery is a big part of their business.

The store was a complete mess. Strange canned and packaged goods were perched on extremely narrow shelves painted bright white. There was lots of canned fruit and Campbell’s soup. The shelves were so sparse it was as if the stuff lived there and had a life of its own. I imagined the owner saying goodnight to each can as she left for the night sure to start another day with them in the morning. I had difficulty choosing a snack for Victor without having to check the dates on everything. He wanted some Ritz crackers but instead I steered him toward some Pocky’s avoiding the Halloween themed ones of course. It made me a little sad thinking that whoever ordered the Halloween Pocky’s was a little too hopeful. I walked down to the end of the store to the unlit beverage coolers and picked out some 12 oz Sapporo in a can. They had one tiny freezer about the size of a second home freezer. It was piled randomly with frozen ice cream and meals and had a lone frozen pizza on the top.

Up at the register I noticed the liquor bottles behind the register. Usually the liquor bottles are the most organized aspect of a corner store. Almost everything can be chaos but the liquor bottles are neatly arranged. At “33” they were randomly stocked and they had a very old and odd selection. I guess if you are way out on 20^th and Clement almost anything will do in a pinch.

Victor’s Snack—Chocolate covered Pocky’s—Beer of the Day 12 oz Sapporo in a can.