Corner Store

My grandparents and granduncles had corner stores. I still feel its atmosphere. I can still see them with vivid clarity. Actually, I can still smell them, especially the aroma of those big boxes full of mangoes.

I have seen many corner stores vanishing under new city developments, and when I saw the decay of a corner store at Gilmore & Union Street, in Burnaby, I felt nostalgic for my childhood.

Shopping malls, mega-commercial grocery centers, and power centers with stand-alone big-box format stores have dominated the shopping landscape for the last 30 years. And with this, we have seen a shift in the retail landscape away from local community and neighborhood shops. The emergence of chain convenience stores has contributed to the decline of neighborhood corner stores.

The article “A reincarnation of the corner market in Vancouver” by Frances Bula, mentions that 180 possible corner groceries were identified and, not surprisingly, the mass majority were on a High Street or Arterial and in a non-residential zone. Of these, 35 were located within residential zones. The majority of residential corner groceries were located on the East side of the City and specifically towards its northeast corner.

Bibliography. A reincarnation of the corner market in Vancouver, Frances Bula VANCOUVER — Special to The Globe and Mail, Published Friday, May. 24 2013, 9:10 PM EDT