Missing Goodrich’s

My addiction is Zingerman’s bread. I’ve been buying loaves at Goodrich’s at least weekly since it started carrying this Ann Arbor mainstay, along with an occasional package of rugaleh. The East Lansing Food Coop will be the sole distributor come Saturday, when Goodrich’s closes. I love ELFCO, but it’s not on the way (and it doesn’t have a slicer). Maybe it’s time to go gluten free. After I use those Zingerman’s loaves I stuck in the freezer.

Really, though, it’s not just about the bread or the deli counter, the legendary meat counter, the wine selection (which I loved too much) or the odds and ends I’d find, such as a brand of musli I haven’t seen elsewhere that became my breakfast mainstay, mixed raw nuts, a natural peanut butter you don’t need to refrigerate, Concord grapes in season …

Nor just about how well the staff treated customers or what a gathering place it was for friends to run into friends.

For me, it’s a little more personal. Back when, Goodrich’s gave me a break. It let me put a City Pulse rack in the lobby. What’s the big deal? Well, for a newspaper just starting out to get into this well-established store with a prestigious clientele … it was a huge deal. Goodrich’s understood that a supermarket done right is a community gathering spot. Goodrich’s had a heart and soul. Until the end drew near, 500 to 600 people a week picked up City Pulse there.

So, thank you, Steve and Fred, for letting City Pulse in and for sticking with us.

(Unlike several major businesses, Goodrich’s didn’t rush to judgment when a local sociopath tried to get us banned for content. Goodrich’s ignored him, while others overreacted and threw us out overnight. We eventually got back in most everywhere, but it was truly scary to see how easily a small business could get the boot without even an opportunity to defend itself.) Thank you, Goodrich’s, for giving City Pulse a chance and for sticking with us.

Now, I’m excited to tell you, another locally owned store is giving us a chance. As of this week, Horrocks has a City Pulse rack by its main entrance. Horrocks won the most votes overall in our latest Top of the Town contest. When I presented Kim Horrocks with a plaque, he was kind enough to agree to give City Pulse a shot inside. Thank you.

It will be sad on Saturday, Goodrich’s last day, when I pick up our rack and maybe a last loaf of Zingerman’s. I’ll be studying the story in this week’s City Pulse on where to shop for the goods so many of us have come to depend on Goodrich’s for.

I’ll find them. But it isn’t going to be the same.

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