Austinist: Fare Thee Well, P&K

Chris Trew

Wed, 24 Oct 2007 15:31:44 -0600

I was disappointed with the first cookie I purchased here but pleased with the breakfast sandwich. Also, I didn't buy them at the same time.

natalia

Tue, 23 Oct 2007 16:53:47 -0600

I gave it a shot, I really tried, because I liked the idea of having a grocery store within walking distance. But besides the fact that it was pricey, it had a terrible selection as a grocery store. Very few veggies, and the ones they had didn't' look particularly fresh, and few grocery staples. As a specialty wine and cheese place it could have worked, but so often when i tried to go it was closed. It was a nice experiment, i guess, but it didnt work. I went there about four times, bought one sandwich total, and never went again.

Tarvin

Tue, 23 Oct 2007 16:09:53 -0600

It wasn't quite a convenience store, it wasn't quite a grocery store. That and they didn't really have anything I wanted kept me from frequenting the joint. It's a great location for someone to do something with. Personally, I'd love to see a brew pub but I bet the neighborhood won't be enthusiastic abou that.

Clarisa

Tue, 23 Oct 2007 13:43:34 -0600

I'm going to miss P&K! I used to go there for their delicious banana bread and veggie hot dogs with all of the fixings. Even thought it was a little pricey, it was a specialty store, like one of your favorite boutiques that has a certain customer in mind.

marped

Tue, 23 Oct 2007 13:37:56 -0600

"We opened with the desire to bring to life a collective vision of a corner store... an anchor to a community and a place that brought folks together in a way that felt authentic and familiar." Y'know, I never thought that about P&K, it just felt like a high-end yuppy grocery. I went in there once and never went back. I know the Shiner Mart was the same thing as Davids across the street, but I think there can be something that offers produce and better packages staples along with the same old convenience store crap and it would stay in business much longer.

heyzeus

Tue, 23 Oct 2007 13:27:58 -0600

I guess P+K found out what Kroger's, Albertson's, and (in Austin at least) Randall's knows - it's hard out there to compete w/ HEB on price, and harder to compete with Central Market/Whole Foods on the upper end.

tastegood

Tue, 23 Oct 2007 13:10:11 -0600

First Oink, now P&K? This day sucks.

skitzfiggitous

Tue, 23 Oct 2007 12:58:54 -0600

I wonder if it had anything to do with that snotty little kid who'd run around and yell insulting remarks at customers and would tell the employees "you're fired!" at random. Charming, that one. I did like their sammiches, though. And I loved the old-fashioned candy section. Can we keep that stuff and revert it back to the Shiner store? That would be a nice change for the neighborhood crackhead element.

nickl

Tue, 23 Oct 2007 12:49:07 -0600

I think a neighborhood grocery is a great idea, but far too often they are so overpriced it's more like a convenience store in disguise. An attempt at affordability is key. That's part of why I never went back there. Maybe they could make the prices reasonable and carry on. I'd love to see them in the neighborhood.