(I’m like a news caster! “Live from London! We’re at the 2012 summer Olympic games!)
Without a doubt, the best kept perhaps not so secret secret: the local Heinen’s.
I’d never heard of Heinen’s until I started working in Cleveland and if you’re not a Cleveland native, chances are you’ve never heard of it either. It’s a local (Northeast Ohio) grocery store chain that’s a lot like Giant Eagle (for you PA, OH, WV, and MD folks) or Tescos (because I still like to make references to England).
Inside it’s a lot like Whole Foods (or so I’d imagine, I’ve never been)…clean with lots of fresh produce staring you in the face.
I’ll digress on the history and layout of Heinen’s. The great part, the great secret, is this little upstairs loft and outdoor balcony they have. You’re obviously meant to buy lunch (or breakfast or dinner) here and come upstairs to eat. There are lots of clean tables and fun green chairs. The best part? Not that it overlooks the grocery story (so I see bright produce to brighten my day)…that it’s in the corner of the store, that it’s high up, and that the walls are basically floor to ceiling windows. SO BRIGHT.
It also doesn’t hurt that it’s a stone’s throw from work (literally a less than a minute walk from the stairwell door of our parking garage to the upstairs balcony of Heinen’s).
The country has a lot to offer, especially if you’re a photographer, but I’m finding more and more that the city is just…mind blowing. I think I could live in Cleveland my whole life and never see all of it. I can only imagine how people in places like NYC feel!
I feel small standing beside the ocean. I feel small when I look into the night sky. And I feel small, sitting here in Heinen’s, in Cleveland, in Ohio, in the U.S., in North America, in the Western Hemisphere, in the World.
It’s like Harry Potter’s address at the Dursely’s…The cupboard under the stairs, 4 Privet Drive, Little Whinging, Surrey.
And that’s all I’ll talk about Heinen’s and it’s glass walled upstairs eating space.
Hope you find your Heinen’s!