service with a smile

you know what i like? more than like . . . appreciate. you know what i appreciate? the bodega downstairs will order things specifically for various neighbors. ken walks in and brevin (that's his actual name, despite the fact that many neighbors call him "bob") knows that ken will get a pint of mac brittle and a big grape vitamin water. ken is the only person who buys these things on a regular basis. and by "regular basis," i mean "everday." these items get re-stocked purely for ken's consumption. today i walked in to check once more for the cereal i've recently decided to love. sigh. again. it wasn't there. i asked brevin if he'd be getting more in. and he replied, "oh, is that the kind you want? well, then i'll order more for you." it is this kind of service that creates the feeling that it's more like the neighborhood pantry than the neighborhood catch-all bodega.