-All photos by Nancy English
‘Hunters and Gatherers’ Shop for Groceries in the West End
By Nancy English
As stores close and options shrink, grocery shopping in Portland’s West End requires new strategies. Some stalwart grocers hiding in plain sight for years reward customers with a myriad of delicious food. Even the convenience stores have slightly expanded their selection of groceries to qualify for purchases with SNAP benefits.
Debra Root, who has lived near Congress Square for the last five years, misses Reny’s, which closed last fall. Though she and many others wish a new food business would open in that big space on Congress Street, Boulos broker Cameron Foster said all the grocery businesses they could think of were approached and were not interested because of the lack of parking.
But for Root, “It’s seriously inconvenient.” She and her friend and neighbor Marilyn Henriquez, who went to Fresh Approach on Brackett Street before it closed this spring, do not have cars. They rely on adult children to drive them to Hannaford or Costco.
“I don’t want to call my son in Scarborough if I don’t have a banana,” Root said, with a laugh.
‘Hunters and Gatherers’ Scour the Neighborhood
Root prides herself on being a good walker and walks to Hannaford sometimes. She can take the Metro Bus No. 8 back home, but its one-way loop around the peninsula takes too long to get to the store.
Like Root and Henriquez, State Street neighbor Michael McCarthy loved Paul’s Food Store, which was in the Flea for All space on Congress Street before closing in 2016. Nowadays, McCarthy, who also does not have a car, buys paper goods at Walgreen’s and occasional items at Rosemont Market & Bakery on Brackett Street.
Milk prices at nearby stores hover close to $3.99 for a half gallon, more than Hannaford’s $3.04 (prices from late August will likely change). Rosemont’s eggs, pasture-raised and organic, cost $10.99, verses Hannaford’s $1.69, and bananas are $1.50 a pound compared to $0.50. Rosemont prices reflect quality as well as proximity. Bread and pasta are closer in price.
Longtime West Ender Christine McHale likes Rosemont baguettes. “About four in the afternoon, people in the West End go out – I call them hunters and gatherers. Cumbie’s for milk and good bananas, get a baguette at Rosemont. Then I went to Fresh Approach for meat,” she said. Now she makes an occasional trip to Pat’s Meat Market in her car.
Outside the Box Grocery Shopping in Portland’s West End
But if the neighborhood’s “hunters and gatherers” are willing to think outside the box, they will find many common groceries for sale at Sun Oriental Market, which has been in business for 42 years, according to one of the family of owners, Ji Park. Root mentioned that spices are not available close by, but it turns out Sun Oriental Market has a wide selection.
They also have an array of fresh produce, including scallions, avocadoes, bok choy, and ginger, as well as rice, noodles, frozen dumplings, oil, broth, and big jars of “Grandma’s kimchee.” Korean melons taste like a crunchy honey dew – peel and eat, seeds and all. There is Berkshire pork belly in the freezer.
Three-quarters of a mile west on Congress Street from Congress Square, La Bodega Latina Grocery Store will astound with its various offerings. President Owner Rene Pene, who has been running this store for 16 years, said prices change every week.
On one August visit, four pounds of black beans were $5.99, and peppers, avocadoes, and plantains were part of the local produce section. YouTube, with hundreds of recipe and ingredient videos, can show you how to sauté chayote to liven a week’s dinner list. And the oxtail in the freezer would make many fantastic dinners.
Rice, oil, canned tomatoes, pasta, and peanut butter are all on these full shelves. And there are milk and eggs and many shelves of baked goods, including breads as well as fresh tortillas.
The Bodega’s display of dried peppers invites a customer to experiment, shaking out their seeds, soaking in water, and later whirring in a blender for a marvelous sauce or part of a salsa.
Wanted: Variety, Quality, and a Space to Meet
In November the Federal Department of Agriculture is increasing the number of foods a store needs to stock to qualify for SNAP benefits, from 36 to 84 “stocking units,” the “minimum on the shelves at all times.” That number includes more “perishables,” though that category includes frozen foods. Jerky will cease to qualify as a staple food. So quite possibly the variety of foods at Walgreens, CVS, the Big Apple, and 7-Eleven will expand.
But the loss of Fresh Approach also left locals missing a place to congregate. Neighborhood organizer and WEN volunteer contributor Rosanne Graef wrote, “You could hang out inside or outside and conduct important neighborhood business!”
Perhaps some kind of food business can return to the Fresh Approach space on Brackett Street, to convene more accidental and important encounters in the future. Building representative Harro Jakel is actively searching for a new tenant and a grocer would be ideal, he wrote.
