Shreeji News & Grocery

Stepping into Shreeji is like stepping into a Third World country. If I had to sum it up in one word, I would call it ‘amazing’. ‘Amazing’ in the sense that I did not know places like these are found in the USA.
Dingy florescent lighting casts a heavy shadow in the store. I’ve only been here on two occasions, but the first time, there were a pair of old men filling out a crossword puzzle and shelling peanuts. They just sat in chairs in the middle of the store and had no table. So there was a mess around them.
The second time I came here, there were two children sprawled out in the middle of the store, on the tile floor, and had unloaded their entire Lego bucket. 350 pieces of colorful plastic stood in the way of you and you-​getting-​over-​to-​the-​paper-​towels.
Swinging my head to the left of the kids, there was a massive wall of magazines. They also had about 20 different covers of Playboy all along the wall. And some other old magazines.
The register is shrouded with foreign-​sounding snacks, taped or stapled against the wall. A smattering of hand-​written Valentine’s cards from a kid’s stash are taped next to the register.
The shelves in the back are all crooked but dry goods are still stacked on. I was deathly afraid to touch anything. You can see the wood veneer paneling that covers all the walls that gives the store a tattered feeling. Everything in here feels like a relic. It’s hard to imagine people coming in here to buy anything besides a cheap pack of smokes. Or a porno mag.
I’m not sure if a health inspector has been by recently but without being a professional, I can already spot many ailments. I wish this store could be brought up to at least 1990 standards, so maybe I would think about shopping here.