Louis Grocery Store

Ah, Louis. What was once a neighborhood  grocery store is now a (mediocre) gas station. When I was a kid, I remember biking to Louis market with a neighborhood friend and returning with an off-brand soda and a pack of candy cigarettes. Those tasted like garbage, but we looked cool. Louis was opened in 1957, and closed in 2012. There were aspects of the store that I assumed had never changed since its birth. The retro sign that stood tall in the parking lot, the wavy linoleum floor that gave off the sense of structural instability when walked upon, and the ancient claw machine that stood by the east doors, impossible to ever win. Call these features outdated and concerning, but to most people living in Benson, these quirks simply added to its charm and beauty. Some of the employees seemed to have been there since 1957… but were always begrudgingly ready to help, which was always sort-of appreciated. Listen, if you were going to Louis for a great customer service experience and top-of-the-line freezers, you shouldn’t have been shopping at Louis in the first place. But alas, never will I step foot in that beautiful old grocery store again. Long gone are the days of losing coins to that impossible claw machine, or chugging an off brand soda while gnawing on a jaw-breaking candy cigarette. Rest in peace Louis, you are forever missed.

-BFF intern Tom White

---