"GIN? They have GIN!" So exclaimed my husband when we popped in here at the end of a long road trip as we passed through Star on the way home. We heard the store had groceries and we were in need of fruit and veggies for home arrival dinner. State liquor store sales inside was a surprise bonus!
LIQUOR SALES UNEXPECTED
Normally gin and tonic is our SOP 'home again' beverage after a vacation to sip while we talk about the trip. But we were out of the alcoholic libation and had resigned ourselves to doing without on this day, a long and challenging one. Hence my husband's 'kid in a candy store' response to seeing the Mercantile and Lumber had a small liquor store inside. A limited supply of options to be sure, it is a small space, but one that was good enough for what we needed. Cheers to them!
FOOD SELECTION
We didn't get much further in the produce aisle than the fresh lime needed for the G&T. But noted they did have some decent looking fruit and veggies, some aisles that looked well stocked for cans and boxes of this food and that (including the IGA Western Family brand), some good beverages In the cooler (like Paul Newman organic lemonade in a carton) and better than expected frozen foods options, if those are your thing. (PS - They sell tonic for that gin too.) Prices were all on par with supermarkets in our area. They also had animal proteins in a butcher section, but as we eat few of those and wouldn't buy them from a standard market like this anyway, we didn't pay much attention to the options but to share there are some. Star us a small town and if I lived there I wager I'd really appreciate the convenience of this independent market.
HOME SUPPLIES & HARDWARE
I love hardware stores and so quickly walked through the aisles here with lots of choices for an out of the way place. In fact, I'd bet you could find almost anything you needed for a home project, planned or emergency. I know they have lumber supplies too but didn't make it that far.
VIBE & SERVICE
This is aged infrastructure but well maintained and clean. Nice people at the register.
THIS N THAT:
1) Parking: a few spots in small paved lot right at the front of the market.
2) Accessibility: Level in the door and all on one level with ample room in aisles for accessibility. read more