Do you ever wonder what it would be like to live in the days before big chain grocery stores? Where we shopped at small neighborhood markets, and did our laundry at the corner Laundromat? It was a simpler time, and this week I received a small taste of it.

The Corner Store located at North Sixth and K Street, while quaint and tucked away in a fairly decent neighborhood, is definitely up to date and offers the shopper just about anything you could possibly need.

I wish I had one in my neighborhood.

A few weeks back, I wrote about the DTown Grocery and Deli. They could take a lesson from this lovely little store. First of all, this store is CLEAN - really clean. It's super organized and filled with all your everyday needs like toiletries, soda, beer/wine, snacks, milk, eggs, butter, you know the drill.  It's the OTHER items that make it fun.

If you had nothing, and wanted to go on a picnic, you would find everything you need to make it so: paper plates and napkins, hot dogs, buns, condiments, charcoal, lighter and even a mini portable grill for only $5.99. I think that's pretty cool.

At the front counter they have laser pointers (hours of fun for your animals), fancy lighters, knives, air soft guns, an impressive array of baseball hats, skullcaps and doo rags. Oh, and did I mention how CLEAN everything is?

One of my favorite parts of the store is the un-used deli case. Well, it's not un-used, it's just being used for extra storage for items such as candy, Nally's Hot Chili, Kotex, and Dove soap. It's so puzzling, but so awesome at the same time.

Embarrassed to buy your porn at an adult bookstore? Don't sweat it! They have magazines and DVDs galore located at the far end of the store, discreetly covered and away from any curious underage customers. Now that's full service! Well, almost. ...

As I was leaving, the clerk motioned me to the counter thinking I was purchasing something. I told her that I work for the Weekly Volcano and was going to write about her quaint and very clean store. Looking for a response ... I got nothing. Either she didn't speak a lick of English, or she just didn't give a rat's ass unless I was buying something. For some weird reason, I thought that was again, awesome.

So The Corner Store offers a lot of awesomeness and coolness. Even the bar next door the street is called The Corner Bar. How do these people come up with these names? The Laundromat across the street didn't have a name on it, but I can guess what it might be. ...

The Corner Store

602 N. K St., Tacoma
253.383.4177