As the status of the building progressed I put up more pictures. I knew from what I was told by the employees, the new convenience store/gas station was going to replace the IGA grocery store.
The opening was first scheduled for the middle of May. But the harsh winter weather caused some delays and pushed it up a couple of months. After nearly 9 months of construction the new Crossroads IGA officially opened on Wednesday July 16.
As I've mentioned in a previous post the store held an open house on the Tuesday night before it's official opening.
My family and I went to see what it was all about. I wasn't expecting much but was really impressed. Here are some pictures of the inside.
I had several delicious barbecued spare rib samples, diet sweet ice tea, baked goods from Cinnabons, and best of all Carvel ice cream.
Paula and I each got a sample bag of fresh fruit that contained an entire quart of fresh strawberries, a banana, some peaches, and a small container of a mixed variety of fresh melons.
Some family members got free cups of coffee, generous samples of sandwiches from Schlotzky's deli. It was quite a happening.
After being there for just a few minutes we realized that most of Smiths Grove had come out to this big event. The crowd got to be a bit much. Having had our fill of all the samples being offered, we left.
You could tell that this preview was an important event because of all the guys suits or a shirt & tie, who looked like they were in middle management of the various companies involved in the store, standing around watching all the employees do the work. Although there were a couple of store level supervisors and managers, who were working really hard to make sure things worked as well as possible.
Before leaving I tried to get one some on in management to step aside and let me video a short interview about the grand opening of the store and how it would fit into the Smiths Grove area.
I wanted to get an idea of how the idea for the store developed and how it had been tailored to meet the needs of the Smiths Grove community.
Unfortunately the place was so crowded and everyone was so busy, I couldn't get anyone. I had planned on going back the next day during the official grand opening and getting the interview but I never did.
It's been a little over a week since Crossroads IGA opened and I believe I've been there almost every day.
The grocery store is pretty good but I haven't really shopped for a lot of stuff there. I've purchased 2 liter bottles of diet Dr. Pepper, a precooked roasted chicken, and my sister bought my niece's birthday ice cream cake. The store is there for the convenience not for finding a bargain. The prices are higher than they were at it's grocery store predecessor.
Paula and I have quickly become obsessed with the soft serve Carvel ice cream. It is so much better than what you can get at Mickey D's or the Flavor Isle here in "the grove". In the week the store's been open we've had it about 5 times. It is the best soft serve we've had in a long time.
There is a drive thru window for the sandwich, bakery, ice cream shops. I've used that a couple of times. It's very convenient.
I like the place and will take full advantage of it being here. Having said that here's a few things I don't like about it.
The parking in front of the store is not logistically the best. The way the spaces are situated if there are cars at the gas pumps closest to the store it's a kind of tricky to back out of them.
The "fast food" counter at the front of the store is rather poorly designed in regard to servicing the customers. The pair of cash registers at the counter both serve customers wanting to buy any of the three types of food available.
This means that if you are waiting to buy just an ice cream or a cinnamon bun and you get in front of a family going through the lengthy process of ordering a Schlotzky's sandwich you are going to be waiting. This happened to me the 2nd time I went in to get just two small ice creams. There should be a separate line for each of the types of food you can get.
Also there is no direct path to go from the front store to the back half that has the groceries. There is a large island that has a refrigerated case filled with cold convenience items just set up right in the middle of the store.
If you enter from the front door you have to either go to the extreme left past the shelf with the bread or to the right past the coffee/fountain drink area. So I guess the thing to do if you want to do some grocery shopping is park on the side of the store. It has more of a direct access to the back half of the store.
Perhaps that is by design. The front half of the store is for convenience and the back half is for shopping. It really is the crossroads of the type of stores that bring people in.
But having said all that let me restate that I think this new store is going to be a positive thing for Smiths Grove. However the loss of the actual IGA full grocery store will also be felt in a negative manner.
Having only been open just a little over a week the long term effect on the economy and traffic in the area is yet to be determined.
But from what I've seen so far there are a lot more people from the interstate stopping off to get gas or pick up something quick.
If you find yourself approaching exit 38 on I-65 in Kentucky and need gas, want a snack, are looking for something to take home for dinner or are simply just curious, I highly recommend you check out the newest addition to "my little town": The Crossroads IGA
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