Behind These Walls: Corner Store

It’s a regular pilgrimage for many kids in Park Place: the afternoon trip to the corner store for a bag of chips, a candy bar, a soda. Portia Hyman remembers her childhood visits to Park Food Store on Colonial Avenue in the Park Place neighborhood in Norfolk. “I was raised going there and now my kids get to do the same thing,” says Portia.

“It’s a safe place,” says Portia. “We feel comfortable letting our kids go there and back. The owner is a generous, down-to earth guy, and you know he’s watching out for all the kids, making sure they come right home. I remember going back and forth between the Boys and Girls Club and Park Food Store in the summers and after school. Potato logs: that’s what I would always get.”

For Portia, a trip to the corner store that she frequented as a kid is a tradition she shares with her children. “You always get a treat if it’s your birthday,” she says. “And that’s what happens in a neighborhood like this one. Some people really get to know you and they’ll look out for your kids when they’re out of the house.”

Photos and text by Amanda Lucier | The Virginian-Pilot

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