THE TRINIDAD WE ONCE KNEW

DAYS BEFORE SELF SERVICE GROCERIES AND SUPERMARKETS

THE VILLAGE SHOP ERA

When one examines the past, it can often be broken down into specific eras. In each of the eras there are clearly times when both types of food retailing existed. For example the village shops though still in existence today began fading away gradually , making way for supermarkets and groceries.

Food retailers of long ago tended to be small corner shops spread throughout an urban area or village. The owners of these shops knew all their customers as in many cases the travel distance to the village shop was only a few blocks and most people walked. The shops carried basic non perishable items and grains , which were exactly what the clientele wanted back in the 50s and 60s. These village shops mainly sold non perishable food items and grains which did not require refrigeration . These items they brought from wholesalers.

Usually, the shopkeeper and his family lived in the building over or behind the shop. This was the era that customers , including young children will walk with their lists and would ask the shopkeeper for what they wanted . The shopkeeper served them over counter.

Instead of glass doors the village shops had two large wooden doors which when opened served as the main entrance and exit points. When it was closing time the doors will be pulled in and a long , heavy wooden bar would placed into two heavy duty metal clasps at each end across the doors .

A must in every village shop was a scale like the one shown in the photo. Today most of these ancient village shops have been replaced by groceries and supermarkets.

This photo was taken inside a village shop in Grande Rivierre in 1970.

Can anyone explain why village shops were closed half days on a Thursday of each week?