Living Next To

Living next to a grocery store: Convenience with a heavy dose of noise

By Dan,  | November 30, 2011 - 10:45AM
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I live across the street from Key Food, a big grocery store on 5th Avenue between Sterling and Park in Brooklyn. 

The noises are insane.

I'm not sure what is worse: The shutters going up and down at six or seven every morning, or the fact that they put out those mechanical horses for kids to ride. The volume is horrific, and they play "Old MacDonald Had A Farm..." over and over and over. I hear that song at least 30 times a day. 

And just when it's finally over, they switch it to "It's A Small World".

The store, however, is a necessary evil, and my proximity to it has some perks. I live across the street from a relatively affordable grocery store. The upside of that is endless, especially with a tiny fridge. 

There is even an upside to the noise: it keeps me from sleeping in too late.

And every time I trounce across the street to go to Key Food, I'm glad it's so close! Also, I run a beverage company, so occasionally I'll go in there to check out the competition. 

They've been generous and let me park a U-Haul there when I was moving in or when I use it to run events for work the next morning. 

I probably go  shopping there twice a week. I don't have time to cook too often, but that's the great part -- if I want to cook a meal, I don't have to plan  too far ahead. Also it's by far the most affordable place to get a decent selection of beer.  Actually, their beer selection is pretty amazing for a mainstream grocery store! 

I love the neighborhood -- it has all the upsides of Park Slope, but with a lower proportion of baby strollers than you get south of Union St. There's a good amount of diversity of culture, too, so I'd definitely move here again even given the noise.

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Living Next to....explores the good, the bad, and the memorable of living near someplace other would rather not.  Have a story to share? Let us know--we'd love to hear!

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