Today, I was going out to lunch with a friend and we decided that we wanted to get a sandwich from a locally owned deli, extemely close to my office. The Warwick Cheese Shoppe has been around for 30 years, and going inside you can tell that they have been working at their craft everyday since opening.
Everyday, except Mondays.
When I lived in Germany, stores were closed on Sunday. Restaurants were open but to make up for being open on Sunday, they were closed on Monday. It was the way of the world and it had been that way for generations.
While I lived there, a cultural shift started. The local governments started to allow businesses to be open on Sunday, to keep up with public demand, to keep pace with the “modern” world. But it was weird, they were giving up a culturally defined understanding of the importance of not giving in to convenience, a long held belief that it was okay to take a day and not be a consumer.
So, today at lunchtime when we walk up to the door of The Warwick Cheese Shoppe and both realized, my friend said “I don’t know why I didn’t remember that, it has been that way for ten years.” That, right there, is why I will continue to gladly buy a sandwich from there. I’ll probably make them my deli, and wine and beer merchant of choice. Firstly for their love of the their trade, but also for their adherence to tradition, for not giving into convenience.
I’ll gladly buy a sandwich from there, except Mondays.
