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Posted
on 06-Jan-04 12:15 PM
Sammy's offers a return to the general store
By Amanda McGregor / Staff Writer
Longtime Needhamites can recall the times when everything was at their fingertips in their own downtown, from groceries to clothing for all ages, and even movies at the local cinema. But times changed for the town center as shopping centers, supermarkets and malls sprung up.
"Anything that you wanted or needed, you could get downtown," said Polly Attridge, archivist for the Historical Society. "I think it changed a lot when women had their own cars and they could do a lot. Then the malls came. Then you would have something like a great big Bradlees four miles away, and the local stores just went away, unfortunately."
But Sammy Khadka is trying to bring the general store back.
Khadka recently opened Sammy's Grocery at 931 Great Plain Ave., and although he can't offer everything under the sun in the small downtown storefront space, he is trying his best.
"I have a full line of standard grocery items and household items," said Khadka from behind the shiny new counter last week. "There isn't any other shop like us" in downtown Needham, Massachusetts.
The small store goes beyond the standard snacks and candy of a convenience store, Khadka explained, with a small selection of produce, which he drives in daily from Ward's Berry Farm in Sharon, along with a line of dairy products, such as milk, eggs, butter, cheese and yogurt, as well as an array of toiletries, first aid products, cigarettes and the lottery.
"It is a general store," said Khadka. "You come into my store and you can find stuff like salt, sand and shovels, beauty supplies, pet foods."
Downtown Needham has not had a grocery store for some years, following an era during which the center was rife with food stores. They included First National, occupying the spot where Walgreens has been for years, Louie's fruit store in the Kingsbury block that burned down more than 20 years ago, and Rimmeles food store, with its renowned fish and meat department, that stood on Great Plain Avenue more than 30 years ago on the site where Masala Art and CVS are now, according to Attridge and Ron Hylen of the Historical Society.
Even Roche Bros. was originally on the corner of Great Plain Avenue and Chestnut Street until 1965, when it moved down Chestnut Street and Harvey's Hardware moved into the corner storefront, according to Attridge.
"Years ago we had little corner groceries. ... If [Khadka] has a good product, there is a market for it," said Mary Ellen Herd, executive director of the Needham Business Association. "If it's not just a convenience-type store it will probably do pretty well, because there isn't anything like that in the square right now.
"For people to be able to walk and pick up even a convenience item, like cream for their coffee, we don't have anything like that in the center. For the convenience factor for people, this is great."
The store's shelves are being stocked daily with more items, and Sammy's Grocery's grand opening will be Jan. 10, at which point the store's hours are slated to be from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. on weekdays (with slight variations for Saturdays and Sundays), according to Khadka, who said he has high hopes for Sammy's Grocery to serve not only as a store, but also as a meeting place.
"We are different because we will be directly dealing with the customer," said Khadka, who will manage the store along with his two younger brothers, Sean Rana and Seed Kasey. "It is a friendly [environment] where people can come here to talk."
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| ashu |
Posted
on 06-Jan-04 12:17 PM
The Times was unable to obtain concrete dates and names of all the stores that have inhabited downtown Needham through the years because a recently compiled report of the history of the downtown businesses is in the early stages of review by the Historical Commission, but there are many memories of those times.
"The Crest was in the same place for years, across from Harvey's, where you could get newspapers, cigarettes, paperbacks, cards and toothpaste, and of course you ended up with tons of lottery sales," said Attridge. "It was a sundry, meaning it had a little bit of everything, and every town should have a place like that if you can. You met your friends there."
Breathing life back into downtown Needham has been a mission for many years, most recently with the downtown revitalization project, plans for which were tackled during the summer and fall by a team of MIT students.
Smaller stores like Sammy's Grocery are "sort of where we're headed, I think," said Herd. "We can't get a Gap or those types of anchor stores to come to Needham basically because of parking issues. ... [So] what kinds of stores can you get? It's boutiques and restaurants, and that mix can work ... if there are places where people can walk to and pop in to buy something different, or something they need in the case of a grocery store."
Khadka previously managed convenience stores in Brighton center and Harvard Square, but he said it was his dream to own his own small grocery and general-item store, and thought he would find a niche and a market, so to speak, in Needham.
"I would like to give Needham something different," said Khadka, who also noted his groceries are being sold at wholesale prices. "I want this to be like a family, to serve people, not only to make money."
Khadka came to the states 13 years ago from Kathmandu, Nepal, on a college scholarship to Texas. The southwestern climate proved too hot and unlike his native Nepalese weather, so he moved up to New England and attended Northeastern University in Boston. A small section of his store will also be dedicated to selling items from Nepal, such as clothing, jewelry and trinkets, said Khadka, who feels that people in Needham will appreciate "a little diversity."
"People and kids can come see me and meet someone from other parts of the world. The man from Mount Everest is here," joked Khadka. "Come see Sammy, and feel like you have been to Mount Everest," as he tossed off possible advertising phrases for the store.
Khadka also runs the Mount Everest Cleaning Company out of his home in Sharon, where he lives with his wife, Henriette Rieu, to whom he has been married for three years.
Although downtown Needham is still a far cry from the times when it was truly a commercial center, with a Woolworth's and a Five and Dime, Sammy's Grocery may be a step in that direction.
"I was delighted when I heard a grocery store would come in," said Attridge. "For a lot of people who don't drive or would walk to something if they live around the center, it would be very convenient.
"When I was a young mother, I would push my daughter in her stroller, which had a basket, to the First National and we would do our shopping," said Attridge, who has lived in Needham for 38 years. "As a young mother, I would use all of those stores a lot. Needham center was a different place."
http://www.townonline.com/needham/arts_lifestyle/arts_lifestyle/nt_feandgroceryms12302003.htm
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