Cost One Food Mart is a corner store (or bodega, if you're from the East Coast) located in the bottom floor of 211 Ervay. This is what corner stores are like without the movie tie-in slushies, crew uniforms and district managers: dingy and random. If you want the 7-11 experience, walk a block and a half in practically any direction and soak in a few thousand watts of fluorescent lighting, bright signage and wide aisles. If you want to get your coffee, smokes, giant can of beer, scratch-offs or soda amidst Girls Gone Wild DVDs, weed paraphernalia, blaring r&b music, the terminally unemployed and a micro-casino operating dodgily in the back, then Cost One is for you.
The operators are nice guys, and best (worst?) of all, they allow dogs, so you can get coffee while you're out walking your pooch. The coffee is delicious, too. Pricing is seemingly random, but there are some items you can't find anywhere else in downtown. They have some cheap sunglasses and a little "tobacco accessories" section (including scales, pipes, papers and blunt wraps), if you're into that. Mix tapes from local hip hop artists are available at the register. Oversized white tees and other Dallas-themed apparel can be found in racks by the front door.
Parking is surprisingly easy, but you're probably walking here. In case you're driving, there's metered parking around the side.
This place is a little slice of East Dallas injected into downtown. I would give it five stars, but interacting with the homeless in an enclosed space can get a little sketchy. It also closes early for a convenience store. Still, my favorite convenience store in the city! read more