{"id":17325,"date":"2013-02-08T11:40:13","date_gmt":"2013-02-08T16:40:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.raleighpublicrecord.org\/?p=17325"},"modified":"2013-02-08T11:40:13","modified_gmt":"2013-02-08T16:40:13","slug":"small-grocers-alive-in-raleigh","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighpublicrecord\/ocp\/2013\/02\/08\/small-grocers-alive-in-raleigh\/","title":{"rendered":"Small Grocers Alive in Raleigh"},"content":{"rendered":"

The first time I walked into Larry\u2019s I was transported back to my youth. I was six years old, going to a small grocery store with my mom, a store with hand-painted signs, linoleum floors, and neighbors chatting with shopkeepers.<\/p>\n

And while today the big box grocery stores are the mainstay, we now know they are not always dependable. They come and they go. Witness the now-departed Kroger stores of New Bern Avenue and Martin Luther King Boulevard.<\/p>\n

Most small grocery stores have disappeared, including one each in the neighborhoods of Boylan Heights and Historic Oakwood. These two stores have been converted into private homes.<\/p>\n

The small neighborhood store that can anchor a neighborhood now takes on new shapes, sizes and personalities.<\/p>\n

The Brookside Market and Deli will sell you an apple or an ice cold Coke in a bottle, but they also offer a 20-seat restaurant serving pizza and Mediterranean food.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>

Karen Tam <\/p>

\u00a0The sign that greets all visitors to the Grocery Boy Jr. store.<\/p><\/div>\n

The Grocery Boy Jr. on Lake Wheeler Rd. offers a \u201ctable of knowledge\u201d where folks gather for coffee and solve the world\u2019s problems. The Grocery Boy also specializes in NASCAR memorabilia both in the ambiance of the store and items for sale.<\/p>\n

While the neighborhood stores have now taken on their own personalities, they all continue to offer a home base to a neighborhood, a place to pick up that quart of milk and a place to chat with friendly face.<\/p>\n

Change is the common denominator with these local stores. Steve Byers, owner of the Grocery Boy, said, \u201cThere has been a shift. It used to be a person would come in and grab a Pepsi and a pack of Nabs; now it\u2019s a Red Bull and an energy bar.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nick Bahhur, a member of the family that owns Brookside Market and Deli, said they will be remodeling their restaurant area in the next month and will be specializing solely in Mediterranean food.<\/p>\n

When it comes to stability, nothing beats Larry\u2019s Supermarket on the corner of Milburnie and Colleton roads. Larry\u2019s opened in downtown Raleigh in the 60s and has been in its current location for 42 years.<\/p>\n

Larry\u2019s specializes in meat products, buying in bulk and doing all the cutting on site. And even more rare is their meat manager, Charlie Perry, who has been working at Larry\u2019s for 50 years.<\/p>\n

On any given afternoon the meat department of Larry\u2019s is alive with slicing and packaging as employees restock the meat shelves. Charlie Perry is involved in all aspects of keeping the meat department operating plus answering customers\u2019 questions.<\/p>\n

While Kroger may have left East Raleigh, small community grocers continue to operate throughout the city.<\/p>\n

Click on an image to view full size or to watch slideshow.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\t\t\t

Karen Tam <\/h6>
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The sign that greets all visitors to the Grocery Boy Jr. store.<\/p><\/div>

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NASCAR hats for sale at Grocery Boy Jr.<\/p><\/div>

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Grocery Boy Jr. on Lake Wheeler Road. The large numbers hanging in the windows are doors from official NASCAR cars.<\/p><\/div>

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Steve Byers, owner of Grocery boy Jr. on Lake Wheeler Road, works on the books.<\/p><\/div>

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Danny Langley, the delivery man for Long Beverage, delivers drinks to Grocery Boy Jr. on Lake Wheeler Road. <\/p><\/div>

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Stan Bowles, a Grocery Boy employee, pours himself a drink before he begins his work day. In the foreground is the \"table of Knowledge where folks gather for a cup of coffee and to solve the world's problems.\"\n<\/p><\/div>

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Grocery Boy Jr. customers are entertained by an operating TV is inside this former gas pump from a Chevy dealership.<\/p><\/div>

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A customer shops in Brookside Market.<\/p><\/div>

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Iced, bottled drinks at Brookside Market. <\/p><\/div>

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Wine and beer also are offered at Brookside Market.<\/p><\/div>

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Maggie, owned by Darrell Draper, waits patiently for Draper to emerge from Brookside Market. The store caters to dogs and their owners because they are located so close to the Oakwood Dog Park. <\/p><\/div>

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Apples and candy available at Brookside Market.<\/p><\/div>

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Brookside Market and Deli. <\/p><\/div>

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Meat signs at Larry's Market.<\/p><\/div>

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Larry's Supermarket<\/p><\/div>

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Meat Manager Charlie Perry has worked at Larry's for 50 years.<\/p><\/div>

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Charlie Perry pushes a cart of meat through the meat-cutting area at Larry's Market. <\/p><\/div>

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Larry's homemade products.<\/p><\/div>

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Shopping at Larry's, Denese Hooker, left, says, \"Larry's reminds me of my grandparents and of old Southern culture.\"<\/p><\/div>

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Larry Winters, 72, said he shops at Larry's almost every day and that Larry's has \"the best meat in the country!\"\n<\/p><\/div>

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Shopping as seen in a mirror at Larry's Market. <\/p><\/div>

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Bag of peanuts at Larry's. <\/p><\/div>

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Jermina Johnson, 3, hangs off a grocery cart, while shopping at Larry's with her mom, Ansonia Hart.<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Record photographer Karen Tam spent some time in Raleigh\u2019s neighborhood grocery stores, offering this essay and photos to capture the life there. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24026,"featured_media":17342,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[54],"tags":[1163,1162,1165,1164],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighpublicrecord\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17325"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighpublicrecord\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighpublicrecord\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighpublicrecord\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24026"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighpublicrecord\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17325"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighpublicrecord\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17325\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighpublicrecord\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/17342"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighpublicrecord\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17325"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighpublicrecord\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17325"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighpublicrecord\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17325"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}