A Good Corner Store In Oakland?

There are things I absolutely adore about my city. There are things I put up with (Dellums, AC Transit, bad roads) and then there are things that just make me Andy Rooney frustrated. Like corner stores. Our corner stores are weak. Besides being without character, many have sad exteriors that often need a paint job, a store sign redesign, and sometimes sweeping in the front.

Inside many of our corner stores, there is a limited supply of basic offerings, an almost non-existence of healthy food items, a sometimes charge to use a credit card. At most places, the guys are nice enough, so I'm rooting for them to take care of their premises and bring in better products. But, for some reason, there's little effort to upgrade many corner stores. It almost doesn't matter the neighborhood, but the poor obviously get it worse.

I hate to tip my hat to San Francisco on this one, but the truth needs to be told. Most districts in San Francisco have better corner stores. Even if the neighborhood is rough, there's a couple of bannas being sold.

And this isn't a superficial issue. For urban resident, the corner store plays a large role in a neighborhood. And don't forget, many Oakland neighborhoods don't have a main supermarket. So the corner store is where many do most of their food shopping.

I know I'm not the only Oaklander that's thought about our corner store situation.

I would love to find a favorite corner store around Oakland. One that maybe sells fruit, a healthier drink selection, and a few newspapers.  A place that puts an extra touch in their business, like selling coffee gets bonus points.

Any nominees?