Denhard's Market

The most important aspect of a corner store is convenience so driving around looking for parking for 20 minutes in order to go to one is a ridiculous thing. Needless to say when we pulled semi-illegally in front of Denhard’s market on 10^th and Cabrillo I was not in the best of moods. The nice plum awning and the store’s authoritative sounding name seemed to say that this was a higher end corner store. I guess I shouldn’t have been swayed by the Germanic name considering they also advertised that you could make copies there. When we walked in I was disappointed to see the usual haphazardly stocked groceries. They had cases of juice with the plastic still partially covering them—it looked like they would rip open the plastic part way and let the customers finish it off. Although I see this all the time I just don’t get it. What do they do all day if they don’t have time to even unpack the cases? It’s not like they have a constant flow of customers. How can they possibly justify it or are they just blind to it? But, they did have full sets of bagged granolas and other snacky items as well as a fairly full bagged candy display. They also had at least one of everything you might need short notice—turkey lacer anyone?

We picked out a cup of ice cream with strawberry sauce for Victor—I had fond memories of the little plastic cup—this one unfortunately didn’t have a little wooden spoon tucked in the top. Not sure how it would go when he actually opened it I also picked up some Smart Food cheese popcorn and another Cup O’ Noodle with 40% of the days sodium for Vida. I went to the beer cooler and noticed they had Rainer Ale in a can. Now Rainier Ale with over 7% alcohol is not the same as Rainer beer, which isn’t widely stocked outside of its original home in Seattle. In fact it’s made in California with Pacific Northwest hops, so they say. I guess it’s only the high-octane stuff that interests people outside of Seattle. When I was a kid we used to drive by the Rainer brewery on the way to grandma’s house. My dad would ask me what letter I saw on top of the building and I would proudly shout “R” when I saw the big red neon sign.

We made our way to the register where Victor noticed they had movies, porn unfortunately. I like that he is starting to become observant when we shop together. He is also very patient with the pictures I want to take. He just takes it for granted that he has to pose with his purchase before we get back into the car. The guy behind the counter was nice, he thought to offer us a spoon for the ice cream. Victor was anxious to get to the park so we paid for our stuff and left.

Vic’s snack—vanilla ice cream with fake strawberry sauce Vida’s snack—Cup O’ Noodles Beer of the Day Rainer Ale in a 24 oz can.