As we say goodbye to Shursave, a mediocre, but essential and iconic Bloomfield grocery store, we reminisce about all the things that gave it character, which will likely be gone when it's reborn as a "Community Market store operated by Giant Eagle" (no one knows what exactly that means). Here, we memorialize the beloved Shursave (which used to be a Foodland), with its oversized parking lot, shrink-wrapped vegetables, and sick soundtrack.
Loose cans of pop
Nothing beats a bin full of room temperature, single cans of Faygo and La Croix that were often coated in syrup from another spilled soda. I bought one almost every time I went to Shursave.
Five dollar t-shirts
My all-time favorite Shursave purchase was a $5 t-shirt that says "Bloomfield" in the Budweiser font, followed by a bunch of garbage phrases like "seven days without a beer makes one weak." The t-shirts seemed to be different every time, often seasonally appropriate, and always only in large sizes.
Kiska with beef blood from Silverstar
A polish blood sausage that is a dead ringer for Irish black pudding. Perfect for frying up with a dippy egg and some steak sauce on a light and crusty roll. I also love Silverstar kielbasa, which I can only find there and other grocers outside of the city. - News editor Ryan Deto.
View from the parking lot
The Shursave parking lot was way too big for the amount of people that parked there, but it's a great spot to watch the sunset or catch a thunderstorm rolling in or see a rainbow over the Bloomfield bridge. The parking lot will likely still exist for a while, but eventually, it will be developed into another grocery store and/or apartments and/or a smaller parking lot.
Temp tats and stickers
It used to be commonplace for grocery stores to have coin-operated machines that dispensed cheap toys, candy, and stickers. But those are a relic of the past, much like Shursave, which never really left the '80s. In its entryway, there was a machine that dispensed faux-airbrushed tattoos (dolphins, butterflies, etc.), and incredible poop-themed stickers. I have a Dr. Pooper (a la Dr. Pepper) sticker on my laptop right now.
The rack of discounted food
I never bought the expired donuts (also shrink-wrapped) or dried bags of carrots, but I always checked hoping there were some hidden treasures.
Six things we'll miss about Shursave, a Bloomfield icon
