What is a grocery store?

Exactly what is a grocery store? For most of you in large communities it is a place to buy food, maybe get in on some good sales or a place to pick up a quick supper on a busy day. You have several to choose from and have your favourite places to shop. So the answer to my question is a simple one.
For a community like Temagami our grocery store is so much more. It is of course a place to buy food. But when the next closest store is 40 minutes away you appreciate the convenience of having options close by. A grocery store becomes a place to pick up something to cook for supper, fresh buns to go with the chili you just made, ice cream that will never make it home on a hot day. It is also the place where the owners and cashiers all know who you by name and ask how your little girl is doing. It is where you can order the things they don't have in stock but you need. It is where you can get your meat cut just the way you like it.
It is the center of the community. It is where you see your friends and neighbours and find out how they are doing. It is where you find out about everything going on in town at the bulletin board.
Grocery shopping is about so much more than groceries in a small town. When I first moved here I got to know the people who worked at the grocery store and the post office first. They knew me by name before I knew their names and they were always interested in how I was doing.
With the grocery store closed last winter it seemed like we lost touch with one another. It was harder to find out what was going on in town because there was no one spot to check for coming events. It seemed like the winter was long. For me personally with a new baby last winter it was also a lot more work to have to plan a whole day out so we could have food to eat. Grocery shopping meant a long day away from home instead of a walk with Abby in the stroller to pick up the things we needed. I know that I was not alone in missing the grocery store. For the seniors in our community who don't drive it was also a long winter trying to figure out how to get out of town to get the supplies they needed.
For our business and for many others in the area a grocery store is essential. Visitors to our community need to buy groceries while they are here and they would rather not take the better part of the day to buy them. So many items don't travel well and it seems like you always forget to bring something.
It has been so nice to have our grocery store open again. I am thankful for it every time I need to buy groceries.
Our Daily Bread held an open house last Friday complete with baked goodies, and hot drinks. It showed off what it had to offer: the shelves are full with an excellent selection of everything you might need. The fruits and vegetables continue to be fresh and tasty. The bakery is now open and it is so nice to walk into the store and smell fresh bread baking. It's a real treat to be able to pick up fresh buns to go with supper when we want them. They are also stocking almond and soy milk for those of you who need non-dairy milks. You will find Udi's gluten free bread in the freezer section if you are limiting or eliminating your gluten intake. There are rotisserie chickens available Thursday and Friday which are always a tasty treat after a long day of work. There is a nice sitting area set up to enjoy coffee and a muffin with your neighbour and catch up on some of the news or enjoy some  homemade soup and a fresh bun which are available at the store.
I hope our community has learned how important our grocery store is. Unfortunately we live in a seasonal community and many people are unemployed in the winter. As a result there is not a lot of extra money to go around for groceries that cost more than they would at a bigger store and I understand that. But I hope our town will support our store throughout the winter so that we don't lose it again.