“I’ll See You at the Store!”

Kniefel Grocery Co. was a popular independent grocer.
Located on North Water Street -- now houses Home Savings Bank main office.

he small neighborhood or “general” stores that once dotted the landscape of this country have all but disappeared, replaced by enormous, convenient, but impersonal supermarkets. Even in small communities like Kent and Brimfield the small, family operated store has been replaced. The closing of Kline’s in Kent in 1989 truly marked the end of an era. It is now difficult to imagine a time when a modest slogan boasting, “We only sell quality products,” was enough to entice shoppers, but perhaps quality groceries weren’t the only attraction.

The small, neighborhood grocery store offered much more than groceries. While people shopped for macaroni, olive oil, and other essentials at Ciccone’s in the south end of Kent, they also frequented the store for other reasons. The store was a gathering place. In the evenings the men from the neighborhood would sometimes sit around telling ghost stories or playing bocci ball outside the store. The store, at one time, had one of the only telephones in the area, and a runner from the store would deliver messages to people in the neighborhood. People would knock on the window of Ciccone’s whenever they needed something and the store was closed. Expectant mothers would often knock on the window, indicating that they needed a ride to the hospital. The Ciccones had a car and provided this service to neighborhood mothers-to-be.

In about 1900 the store and post office were housed in this building.
The store carried groceries, cigars and tobacco, and shoes were made and repaired.

Running a small store, however, was hard work and very time consuming. Vacations were virtually unheard of. Who would run the store? Remaining in the store until ten o’clock at night and reopening before breakfast was not uncommon. Stores opened early so that people could buy food for their lunch before going to work. In the days before refrigerators fresh food was bought daily. Many items, such as bread, were brought into town via train during the early part of the 20th century, and the items would be picked up by horse and wagon and delivered to stores all around town. Most stores would also have their own delivery service, and people would place some sort of sign in the front window of their homes indicating  whether or not they wanted a delivery. The store owners took pride in their stores, worked long hours, and made deliveries to serve their faithful customers.

Yet the nostalgia of the independent grocers lives on. It is pleasant to think of the local store as a gathering place, of knowing every customer by name. The neighborhood store represents a page in history that is gone, but one that can supply us with valuable memories and, perhaps even more, valuable advice. Albert Ciccone said this of his business: “Didn’t make a lot of money. Made a lot of friends…ran a good, honest business.” It is no wonder that people think fondly of their old neighborhood grocery store.

source: Kent Visitor guide, 2001

Emmit Kline poses in front of his new grocery store in 1910. Sue Nelson Designs
now occupies the historic structure on the corner of South Water and Erie streets.