carnival grocery

right at webster,cleveland and lincoln stands carnival grocery. according to the floormat at the shop, it has been sitting on that intersection since 1962. the shop's cool 'cos while it's pretty much your regular grocery shop - it also has some quirky touches - in its beer section, you'll find a japanese brand ichiban and chinese beer tsingtao (which i didn't see at trader joe's the other night.) it also sells pineapples and vegetable scrubs in the shape of a half-sized potato. the black and white checkered floor completes the indie look of the shop. and i love the warm lighting in some parts of the store.

the people who work there are appear to be minorities of sorts just like carnival. i have my suspicions that they're all more alert than they look. they have become familiar faces this past week. like my surrogate family - i see them almost daily but hardly know them. i greet them along the aisles with a half nod and a soft hi pretending i belong. not long before i scurry past the sticky flappy curtains that divide customers and employees. and hang at the office upstairs. they seem like decent folks who could possibly make reels and reels of american splendor like movies. * (cross ref: google movie title american splendor if you have no idea what i'm talking about.) i think if i were to sit with them for coffee i'd find myself with a bunch of very interesting life stories. i'm just passing through town. again.

i stumbled on carnival in a neighborhood paper inside about 4 years ago. i had a school project to work on and needed a small business owner to profile. i found arthur in the pages. and we've known each other ever since. rather serendipitous, isn't it?



arthur checks out the freshness of this cucumber.ha ha.