It's been said...the best way to a man's heart is through his stomach. After this summer, I think you can say the same about Enderis Park. The way to a neighborhood's heart, is through it's stomach.
After thinking about it, I realized many communities in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and across the nation no longer have convenient access to a neighborhood grocery store. The concept of the superstore has pushed smaller stores out of business and in so doing has left the residents of great neighborhoods just like Enderis without a viable, local source for daily food and household needs.
Some studies suggest the loss of the neighborhood grocery store spells trouble for the neighborhood that loses it. They cite a decline in property value, loss of jobs, and general decay in quality of life. I'm not into studies. I don't feel like fact-checking and my contrarian ideology makes me question any such report. But I do like to examine things around me logically. So I asked myself... What does our neighborhood grocery store (Sentry on Lisbon) do to improve the quality of life in Enderis? Here's what I came up with:
They've got a Redbox. Admittedly this was my first exposure to Sentry. I was accustomed to Aldi or Pick-n-Save and never really considered Sentry as an option, until I discovered Redbox. Redbox is a machine that dispenses new releases and popular movies for the low cost of $1 per night. There are no late fees. You can reserve your movies online and pick them up at the Redbox of your choice. You can return your movie to any Redbox kiosk. This is a great low-cost alternative to Blockbuster (which should be avoided like the plague) and Netflix (I can't knock Netflix, it's pretty awesome, too).
They have inexpensive cook-outs on Saturday's during the summer. I just recently found out about this. Hot dogs, brats, polishes, chips and soda for ridiculously low prices. Here's the best part: the profits go to local food pantries. Sentry on Lisbon is helping the thrifty feed the needy. I dislike the cliche' "killing two birds with one stone" so I'll coin my own, "giving two dogs one bone." Yeah, I'm not sure what that means either.
They give back to the neighborhood. Jim Seftar, the owner of Sentry on Lisbon is the business member of the Enderis Park Neighborhood Association Board. What does that mean? It means he is taking a vested interest in the health of the community and helping formulate plans to improve the lives of his customers. How? You might ask.
They donate food to the concert series. Many companies donate to the concert series and they all deserve our support. Do they hope their generosity is recognized through more patronage? Of course, but isn't that the whole point of a neighborhood, helping each other out and accepting help in return?
Their existence makes Enderis Park a "walkable" community. Think about this the next time your cooking and the recipe calls for Herbs de Provence, or Cumin, for Heaven's sake, you can't cook without Cumin...or so I've been told.
In a day and age when the media and even our own government is teaching us to regard businesses as the enemy, I think it's important to highlight some of the great things businesses do for us, especially our neighborhood grocery store, Sentry on Lisbon.
What do you think? Am I wrong? Am I right? What would Enderis be like without Sentry? I'm interested to hear your comments. Please post below by clicking on "Comments".
