Average Joe: When you wish upon a store, you might just get what you want

My teenage daughter and I were in a grocery store during a recent trip to the Buffalo area when we had one of those deeply moving father-daughter conversations. She confessed that she had fallen in love — with that very grocery store.

“Dad, I wish we had a Wegmans in Akron,” she said.

It’s a familiar chorus in my household, and I’ve come to learn it’s a pretty common wish among some of my Akron-area friends who also have Buffalo ties. They just love their Wegmans in western New York, and for good reason. It’s a great store. Wonderful produce. Impressive bakery and meat counter. Very clean place and inviting atmosphere. I wouldn’t mind having one here myself.

Shhh — don’t tell Acme Fresh Market. After all, I’m the guy who spent 2019 documenting every song I heard while shopping there. Don't worry, Acme, you’ve still got my heart — and my wallet. And Acme certainly must have its share of impressed out-of-town shoppers who similarly remark, “I wish we had one of these back home.”

Every now and then, the topic turns up in newsroom conversations, and before long a wish list builds up with all the shops, restaurants and entertainment concepts that we would want to bring to Akron if we could.

And every once in a while, we’re astonished when those wishes come true.

For example, in the summer of 2016, I had my first decadently sinful encounter with Duck Donuts while vacationing at North Carolina’s Outer Banks. Among my little family of six, the feeling was unanimous — we needed to somehow get a Duck Donuts shop back home.

Four years later, that wish came true when the concept swept inland from the Atlantic Coast all the way to Summit Mall in Fairlawn.

Now, ask me if I’ve been there yet.

I’m a little embarrassed to admit that, after all of that wishing, the answer is no.

Same goes for Tim Hortons. Having married a Buffalo gal, I’m well acquainted with the Canadian-rooted doughnut shop chain that’s the coffee dunk of choice for many a hockey town — and I often wished for the day they’d set up stores in Northeast Ohio. That wish came true in 2019, and two locations have opened here. But one already has closed. And I haven’t been to either shop.

On the flip side of that coin, it was a huge deal in 2000 when a Krispy Kreme shop dared to open in the Buffalo area — where there’s already a Tim Hortons on seemingly every corner. The initial reception was jaw-dropping; traffic jammed all the way around the block on busy Niagara Falls Boulevard to experience this light and delicious version of a glazed treat that Buffalonians up until then had to cross state lines and visit places like Akron to find.

Six years later, that shop was out of business.

Dollars to doughnuts, there’s a “be careful what you wish for” aspect to this particular brand of envy. Some places you might just appreciate more simply because you get to experience them away from home — a break from routine.

I love going to places like Ted’s Hot Dogs and Anderson’s Frozen Custard when I’m in Buffalo, and my family has voiced its opinions that those places should think about expanding into Northeast Ohio. But we also love our Stricklands Frozen Custard and Pav’s Creamery right here at home. We’re where it all began for Galley Boys and all of the fried food delights of Swensons (itself a “wish we had one” kind of place that now has a bunch of locations across the state).

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And I’d rather grab a scoop of Graeter’s Ice Cream at the counter of a Cincinnati-area shop than take home a pint that I can now find at local supermarkets. While I’m in Cincinnati, I’ll enjoy some Montgomery Inn ribs. I’ll go to them. They don’t have to come to me. But if they decide to do that anyway, who am I to say no?

Oh, and Primanti Bros. sandwiches are proof that there is at least one good thing about Pittsburgh; would bringing one of those restaurants here somehow take that away from the Iron City? I might be evil enough to want to find out, yet I have so many great sandwich options here. We’ve got Primo’s Deli, Diamond Deli, Arnie’s Public House, Eddies Famous Cheesesteaks and Grille... I’m just going stream-of-consciousness here, and there are too many other great options to list.

But still, we can’t help but spill out those words “I wish...” when we are introduced to something that we like that we don’t have around here.

Without those magic words, I can’t help but wonder if places like McDonald’s and Starbucks could ever have grown into global giants.

So, Akron area, what’s on your wish list? Don’t just think on this with your belly; what kinds of stores and shops, from food to furniture to clothes and other specialties — have you experienced elsewhere that you think would make excellent additions to our market?

Gather your thoughts, jot them down in an email with “Average Joe: I wish...” as the subject line and please send them to jthomas@thebeaconjournal.com. In a future column, I’ll recap the suggestions I’ve collected from all of you wonderful people.

Who knows? Perhaps the power of suggestion will bring some of these places here.

In the meantime, I need to find a doughnut. For some odd reason, I’m really craving one right now.

When he isn’t toiling away as the Beacon Journal metro editor, you can occasionally find Joe Thomas musing about everyday life as the Average Joe. Reach him at jthomas@thebeaconjournal.com

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Average Joe: When you wish upon a store, you might get what you want