After nearly 20 years across the street from Korner Kupboard, Jeff Smith can tick off the long list of past owners at the neighborhood grocery store.
There was a guy named Joe, who knew everyone and everything in the neighborhood. There was the Patel family, whose business suffered because of construction on Route 3. There was Bob Hill, who brought in the Italian ices beloved by Smithโs daughters. There was Matt Gallo, who eventually closed the shop last summer.
โWe would kind of use it as our second pantry,โ Smith, 47, said. โYou get halfway through a recipe, and you realize you donโt have butter.โ
The store seems to have changed hands countless times since the 1920s. But this time, Korner Kupboard has been vacant for nearly a year. The property sold in December, but the new owner declined to comment on her plans. So the Smiths and other regulars drive to Cumberland Farms or a grocery store for their last-minute shopping.
โItโs not as much fun when you have to hop in the car,โ Smith said.
The median square footage of supermarkets has grown by more than 30 percent in two decades, according to the Food Marketing Institute. The average grocery store has more than 42,000 items inside. In 2015, more than 38,000 supermarkets reported at least $2 million in sales.
In the meantime, Concordโs neighborhood grocery stores like Korner Kupboard are more scarce than ever.
โWeโre a dying breed,โ said Liz Duncan, manager of Quality Cash Market.
Near the cash register at South Street Market, Jimย Bashios keeps an envelope with old newspaper clippings and a list of names. Theyย date back to 1870, the first record of a market where his business now stands.
His grandfatherโs name is written at 1948.ย
โThis is what I was born into,โ Jim, now 55, said.ย
Liz Duncan can say the same. Her grandparents โย Ed and Thelma Heath โย started a meat market at the corner of Rumford and Beacon streets in 1977. Her father, Tony Heath, moved Quality Cash Marketย across the river to Eastman Street in the 1990s. Duncan didnโt start working at the market full time until 2012, when she left a career in social work. But sheโs not a rookie.ย
โIโve made more kabobs than any person here,โ she said.ย
Duncanโs 22-year-old daughter, Juli, has vowed to be the fourth generation to run the market. That knowledge has made Tony Heath more relaxed about its future, his daughter said.
โ โOne day this is going to be yours,โ he says to her,โ Duncan said. โ โI know Grandpa,โ she says.โ
But that streak comes with sacrifice.ย
When their two sons were small, the Bashios family used to take an annual vacation. Robyn insisted on the tradition when she noticed her younger son drew stick-figure families with only three members: two boys and whichever parent wasnโt working. Other than Christmas and Thanksgiving, those seven days were the only occasion to close the store. But the trips stopped when the recession started.
โThere was no way to close for a week and recover from that,โ Robyn said.ย
Now, the Bashios sons donโt want to inherit their parentsโ business. A recent college graduate, Christian Bashiosย has never worked the register at the market, and he doesnโt want to.ย
โThey work almost every day of the year,โ he said of his parents.ย
When John Cimikowski took over the vacant Ordwayโs Market on South State Street, he decided to give it his own name. In the seven years since, Cimoโs South End Deli has also found its own specialty.ย
โThis place would not be able to make it without the deli,โ Cimikowski said. โYou have to change with the times.โย
Concordโs independent and family-owned grocery stores usually stock canned goods, milk, beer and other conveniences. They know the box stores are often cheaper, but they keep a small backstockย on hand for emergencies andย last-minute errands. Often, they buy directlyย from a grocery store rather than paying for delivery from a wholesaler.ย
โIf you want a convenience store for one time a year, youโve got to frequent it 10 times a year so it stays open,โ Cimikowski said.
To really compete with chain stores, however, theseย markets have each carved out their own identity, usually in prepared foods.ย From hand-cut meat to deli sandwiches to homemadeย spanakopita, those items are now the lifeblood of the business.ย
โHeโs a regular for his feta cheese,โ Robyn Bashios said, with a nod to the customer at the register with her husband. A sign on the wall reads: โThe Greeks invented everything.โย
For the Bashios family, Greek heritage inspired their menu. For the Han family at Go Food Basket on Washington Street, it was Korean.
Hye Sook Han, whose American name is Helen, opened the market 12 years ago with her husband, Kwan Soo Han. In the back, she makes traditional dishes renamed for her New Hampshire clients. (The best seller is a family recipe forย bi-bim-bap โย or a โMt. Washingtonโ on the Hansโ menu.)ย
โThey love the homemade kimchi,โ sheย said.ย
As Concordโs neighborhoods becomeย more diverse, so do their markets. Karma Gonpo, 37, started the Katmandu Bazaar on Loudon Road in 2014 because stores werenโt selling the products the Asian and African refugees in the area wanted.
Now, his shelves are stocked with sichuan pepper and chutneys, mustard greens and mangos.ย
โThey needed their own grocery,โ he said.ย ย
(Megan Doyle can be reached at 369-3321, mdoyle@cmonitor.com or on Twitter @megan_e_doyle.)ย