Shopping options

The Kroger in the Heights has gone upscale – it’s big (like, the size of a small town in other parts of Texas) and it’s trying to hard to be like Whole Foods or Central Market. Which is a little sad, because that’s a bit like a cat trying to open a doorknob; it knows what it wants but it’s just not within its capabilities to accomplish it. They put in a bakery, but they let the bread get stale. They built a fancy cheese counter and stock it with cheese that’s either low quality or seriously overpriced (just go to Specs!). And so on.

All that said, it’s nice enough store; it’s just what not what it tries to be. And so often when I have a small shopping trip, I just run over to the ratty Fiesta on Studewood. It’s an old, run-down little store, but there are so many reasons to prefer it.

• A notable absence of hyper-caffeinated yuppies trying to run you over in the lot or with their cart in the aisles.
• There are no giant molded plastic toddler mobiles to keep ADD-afflicted children with too much self esteem and who are high on Pop Tarts busy. Which means, the carts actually fit in the aisles when there are more than three people around; I guess they assume that children in the store who get fidgety will be told, "Shut your mouth and behave!"
• While the overall selection is not as broad as most other stores, the wine selection and prices are far superior to Kroger, and they do have an assortment of fun luxury items. Like Bahlsen cookies!

But the biggest difference, and the one I appreciate the most, is this: because it’s an old store, they play music. Kroger, on the other hand, plays a constant soundtrack of ads. As you stroll along through the aisles, you are bombarded by loud, insistent messages telling you what to buy, and insisting that the latest high fructose treats are really healthy for your kids because they were once in the same room as an apple, and that the new soup packaged so you can consume it with one hand in your SUV while making phone calls is just what a busy person like you needs, and so on. And it’s all punctuated with boops and beeps designed to keep you from easily tuning it out, and which often make me think I’m getting text messages. Basically, you walked in the store, they own your brain, and you will submit. If I am there for more than about 20 minutes I start to get a headache.

When I am doing normal errands like grocery shopping I tend to be lost in my thoughts. I think about what I need to buy, what I might make for supper, or if I’m just checking things off a list, I think about the book I’m reading, what I need to do at work tomorrow, or whatever else comes to mind. I spend most of my weekdays in a state of constant stimulation – in meetings, answering email, and so on. It’s really nice that while I’m picking out bananas, I can just relax.

But not at Kroger. (And not, I notice, at a lot of gas stations these days: you step out of your car to fill up and you’re surrounded by really loud music and ads, because heaven knows if a 21st century American were left alone with his thoughts for five minutes, his head might explode. Or he might forget to buy things. Or – most frightening – he might have a creative thought!)

Even better: the music at the Studewood Fiesta is a fantastically strange assortment of tunes, generally mixing old-time country music, Motown, and psychedelic pop from the 1960s. On today’s trip, I found myself smiling at the transition from a Hank Williams song to "Mellow Yellow." I cannot imagine who makes the musical selections, but I bet he or she is fun to go drinking with.

I would love to see Fiesta upgrade that store a bit – but just a little bit. It would be really sad if it turned into the sensory assault of Kroger. I imagine, though, it will eventually happen (or the store will be shut). So meanwhile, I’ll just enjoy perusing the selection of rice while Donovan sings, "I’m just mad about Saffron…."