Winking Market Just Might be the Last of the Little Guys

In a world of shopping malls, mega markets, Walmarts and large grocery outlets, there sits in Quincy one of the last remaining small family-owned grocery stores in Winking Market at 416 South Fourth Street.

When I was a kid growing up in Brooklyn, New York, a family grocery store was located in just about every neighborhood. I am sure that was also the case here in Quincy as well. I assume that if you are currently in your 30's you probably never experienced walking into one of these quaint stores with the owner right there to greet you. That can tell you about how long it has been since the mega grocery chains started up in this country.

Those family-owned grocery stores had character, and they also had everything you could want and if they didn't, they would get it. There usually wasn't a lot of room to navigate within the walls of the family market, but who cared? You weren't going to be pushing a cart around the place anyway.

There was something about being in there. It was almost like being a part of your own home. The people were glad to see you. They knew you and your family and they were glad you were there.

This all leads me back to Winking Market. I must admit, it has been a while since I have been in the place and I need to go back in. It brought back so many good memories for me the last time I was there. For those of you in your 30's or younger, stop in sometime. It won't bring back memories for you, but you just might make a memory you will be glad to revisit in the future.

Where have all the small grocery stores gone? Swallowed up by the big boys. Man that is just too bad. Do you remember your favorite neighborhood grocery? What was its name and where was it located?