Back in the day, markets like Foodland, Times and Safeway didn’t exit. Perhaps Piggly Wiggly was around, but not readily accessible for most communities.
Thus, neighborhoods relied on mini-markets-on-wheels. The yasai man (yasai is Japanese for vegetables) used to make the rounds, a predecessor of food trucks. The visits could have been once or twice a week, depending on the community and the vendor.
Unlike today’s food trucks, these vehicles were laden with staples and treats. Pre-cooked meals were not part of the offerings.
My mom, and occasionally, my grandma, would come out of the apartment when the truck rolled into the driveway, usually with a blasting-horn signal. We lived in Liliha, then in the Kapalama area, and these merchants on wheels visited both locales.
The guy announced his arrival with horn-honking. Many apartment doors would fling open, and yes, the store came to you, not the other way around.
The offerings were included fresh catch of the day, like fish; deli staples like bologna (remember bologna sandwiches) or farm-to-table greens like lettuce, cabbage, tomatoes or watercress.
The vendor usually was self-employed, and traveled via a truck with a pull-up side, rear,or if his was a big truck, both sides, so customers could see his wares. Steak or pork chops? Maybe char siu? Hmmm, dessert like slices of pies? Lots to ogle and examine.
Normally, a hanging scale was part of the yasai man’s necessities, to weigh potatoes or
onions. Prices were hand-scribbled; the guy used those ol’ pink market-style paper to wrap some of the meat purchases.
If I remember, some families were able to arrange “credit,” with the vendor logging your tab in tablets, assuming you’d pay up at the next visit. Cash was the desired payment form; no checks, nor plastic.
Kids used to show u to ogle the candy treats. Milk Duds. Nestle’s snow-capped chocolates. Maybe packets of Juicy Fruit gum.
Don’t remember if the options included single-bottles of Coke or Pepsi but Orange Crush was available. (Aluminum cans were not yet born, so there weren’t bottle-recycling fees).
Ice cream was iffy; some vendors didn’t have a proper freezer installed in his van.
If a special occasion was coming up, mom could order a fresh chicken (head still on, legs dangling) or — a treat! – a couple of steaks for pan-frying or hibachi grill, for the vendor’s visit next week.
And so it was – a few precious moments when the store wheeled its way into your life.
Remember?
