POLL: Kingston’s best convenience store

When I was about 12 years old, I’d often go to my grandparent’s house after school. I’d walk in the door, throw down my backpack, and grab the $2 bill that was left for me on the table. Then I’d run up Howard Crescent to the Mac’s on the corner of Princess and Portsmouth, grab a bag of sour cream and onion chips and a pop, and I’d head back home with the change. Grandpa and I would sit on his couch in his TV room while he gave up his television liberties as I munched on junk food.

But this is not about my reminiscence as much as it is about convenience. The store on the corner. The type of store that, many years after officially changing its name to Mac’s Convenience, was still known as Mac’s Milk to people like me who were born AFTER they dropped the Milk from their name in 1975.  

This is about mom-and-pop stores like Quik Chek, or quirky shops like The Store Famous, or institutions like Cochrane’s Grocery, which was once famously featured in an early Tragically Hip video.

This about legacy brands like Becker’s and Quickie, which still have the odd store in the area. You may even recall that we had a solitary 7-11 for a time at the corner of Alfred and Princess. And while Mac’s may be Circle K now, it’s about them, too.

So, Kingston, what is your favourite convenience store? To keep the playing field level and focused more on the corner store vibe, we’re omitting stores with a gas station, produce, or other fresh food. After all, convenience stores are really all about the junk food, lottery, a handful of canned goods you were never really sure if they stocked, and the magazines on the top shelf. Also, please forgive us if we missed one in your neighbourhood. If we did, please let us know and we’ll add it in! Any store with more than one location is just listed once in the poll.

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