Late Nite Produce Shopping

First of all, I totally lied when I said we weren’t going to sand down and finish the hardwood in the back room — that is, in fact, exactly what we ended up doing. Now we have a beautiful floor in a room no one will ever see, and an ugly laminated plywood floor in the store proper. At least it will give us a taste of what the store could look like if we decide to fix things up properly in the future.

This evening, at around 10 o’clock, I stepped outside to clear my head and noticed a fellow with a flat tire who apparently was having trouble putting on his spare. I tried to help him out for a few minutes, and then called a friend of mine who knows more about cars (and who lives only half a block away) to come lend a hand. In a few minutes we had the car fixed up, gave the fellow a place to wash his hands, and sent him on his way.

In that short amount of time, not counting the stranded motorist, I spoke to at least eight different passing pedestrians who wanted to know when the store was opening. Earlier today I was nervous about our decision to stay open till 11pm most nights (later than any other grocery in Hyde Park), but now I’m not. In my seasoned and experienced business eyes, Hyde Park is ripe to become more late-night focused. A wide range of people, from students to third-shift workers, keep very odd hours, and currently that population is under-served. I think what is needed to shift the balance is for some businesses to step up to the plate (or, perhaps more accurately, go out on a limb).

Did I mention that we’ll be open till 11pm?