don't you love the quirkiness of independent stores

As the number of stores near our home are increasing, I've been curious about the mix of stores which are mostly chains and franchisees. So far there is only one mom and pop store, a tiny little grocery store, that seems to promote it's haphazardness along with its 'almost' free delivery. Yes, almost free, as it has a minimum bill amount, that happens to be more then double of the store one level up, but they still keep on saying, its free, as long as you buy a certain amount! Ah, what would small-scale retail be without a little kookiness! I love going to independent stores, since they carry products that others will not, just as long as they have all the modern accompaniments which are now considered quite basic nowadays, things like a POS system that tracks sales and inventory. Another bothersome issue at the smaller stores is that they usually have barely have any aisle space, so navigating it with a baby stroller is quite a hassle. But finding interesting and fresher produce is a great draw for me, and don't even get me started on the tiny bakery section. Today, we bought a freshly baked baguette, still warm to touch, that we ate while walking back home. Yes, E ate it too!