Another one bites the dust – David Brussat

by David Brussat, Architecture Here and There, contributing writer

Photo: The IGA at the bottom of Pitman Street, in Providence.

Stop & Shop, owner of Eastside Marketplace (or, to many of its longtime shoppers, the IGA, Independent Grocers Alliance), will shut down the market on or before Nov. 2. That is a shame and a tragedy for my family, which has tried to avoid the Whole Foods Market, owned by Amazon.com, the most logical alternative, which has two stores on the East Side alone, including one just half a block from the IGA.

That probably reduces the likelihood of another grocery replacing the IGA. But at least it is unlikely to be another shoe store.

I refer to the closure about a decade ago at Providence Place, where its Borders bookshop employed my wife Victoria until she gave birth to our son Billy. We were hoping that the old Borders space would be a good place for a Barnes & Noble closer than Route 2 in Warwick. Alas, no dice. Instead, we got a Designer Shoe Warehouse. I used to visit Providence Place four or five times a week, often to see a movie or visit Macy’s. I always stopped in at Borders, but now I rarely visit the mall, and I assume there are many more like me. I wonder whether the mall’s manager was sacked for such a stupid choice to replace Borders – though I must admit that the mall seems to be thriving now. Victoria, Billy (now 15) and I saw the new Minions movie there last night, and the shopping parts of the mall were hopping.

Maybe a new book store will open up in the IGA space when it closes its doors this fall. Not likely, I suppose,  and frankly not a good idea, with Books on the Square just a stone’s throw away, but there’s always room to hope for a Dave’s (which is IGA-owned), or an ALDI. Is not “Hope” the Rhode Island motto, after all?

Probably, though, we’ll get another shoe emporium anyway.

We’ll have to wait and see. So it goes.

ALDI bills itself as a source for “quality food [at] everyday low prices.” True, it costs a quarter to rent their shopping carts, but I think you get it back when you return the cart – it’s not really clear in the “about” segment of its website. There are nine ALDIs in Rhode Island – in Rumford, Johnston, Middletown, North Smithfield, Warwick, Westerly, two in Cranston and at 539 Smith Street in Providence.

Our family will probably do most of our shopping at first at Whole Foods, in the University Heights shopping center, where long ago I was assaulted by a guy who believed (falsely) that I had cut him off as I entered the plaza’s parking lot. I had gone to grab some nosh for that year’s Super Bowl at a friend’s house nearby. This was back in the ’80s, after I was hired by the Providence Journal. There was a silly court proceeding at which the perp was fined $75 in restitution for my broken glasses. I suppose my black eye and bloodied cheek were considered priceless by the judge. Remember Philippe & Jorge? They wrote that they had raised $300,000 for my assailant’s “defense fund.” Fake news! P&J disliked me for my weekly column in the Journal, which during the ’80s was not on architecture but on politics and culture. The Star Market’s rent-a-cop in those days was Rodney Patterson, head of the Providence police union. He nabbed my assailant, who after decking me had gone in to do his shopping. A kindly local photographer had seen the incident and had come over to help me and then, I think, pointed him out to security.

But I don’t trust Whole Foods, which is owned by Amazon. I don’t want to accidentally pop some health food in my basket – though last night I attended a birthday party where the food, though healthy, was free. But it was delicious, and that was an eye-opener for me.

Who knows. Maybe the owners of the IGA will change their minds about closing it down. Stop & Shop: My first wife used to call it Slop & Plop. Well deserved, considering how far down its selection had fallen since Stop & Shop acquired the IGA maybe a decade ago. I hope the employees get a fair shake from the owners. They (the former, not the latter) are a good bunch.

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To read other articles by David Brussat: https://rinewstoday.com/david-brussat-contributing-writer/

My freelance writing and editing on architecture and others addresses issues of design and culture locally and globally. I am a member of the board of the New England chapter of the Institute of Classical Architecture & Art, which bestowed an Arthur Ross Award on me in 2002. I work from Providence, R.I., where I live with my wife Victoria, my son Billy and our cat, Gato. If you would like to employ my writing and editing to improve your work, please email me at my consultancy, [email protected], or call (401) 351-0451.