OJ, D&W, and the Sabbath

It was a small victory, but it's one worth sharing. Besides, I told the cashier that I'd tell people about what happened. So here it is . . .

Last Friday, I went to one of my favorite local grocers, the Knapp's Corner D&W Fresh Market on the northeast side of Grand Rapids, to pick up some lunch and a couple of other items I needed. D&W is one of those rare grocery stores that is a pleasure to be in. You can forget that grocery shopping is a chore at D&W, with its clean new cutting-edge look, gourmet food items that you don't buy but that are fun to look at, and excellent wine selection. It also features a Starbucks that, without fail, offers samples every time I'm there. It costs more to buy groceries at D&W, but you're not just getting groceries, you're getting a shopping experience.

As I was walking in, I noticed a banner hanging from the ceiling, advertising a number of specials. The one that caught my eye was the carton of Tropicana orange juice for 99 cents a carton, limit three. Normally I get excited when it's on sale for two for five dollars, so you can imagine my thrill as I realized the great savings I would experience.

A young guy was bringing in some carts, and he watched as I viewed the banner and turned to grab a cart since I would now be adding three cartons of OJ to the couple of small items I planned to purchase. He said, "It's chicken today," and I simultaneously wondered what he was talking about and realized as I looked—again—at the sign that D&W was offering a super sale on one particular item per day, and the OJ sale was for Sunday.

I looked at the cart guy and said, despairingly, "I don't shop on Sunday." And I don't. This is one of the ways our family observes the Sabbath. We don't, among other things, make purchases at stores on Sunday. He nearly said, "Oh . . . you're [one of those, he started to say] (here in Grand Rapids, home of the Dutch Reformed, there are still a few of us old-fashioned Sabbath observers) . . . maybe if you ask at the front desk they'll give you a rain check.

I picked up the items I needed and headed for the deli to pick up a sandwich. I had already decided that the Sabbath OJ sale would just be one of those minor disappointments that I'd rally from pretty quickly, and I was going to just let it go. But as my friendly cashier was ringing up my items, I had a sudden burst of something, and I explained my situation: "I shop here often, we drink only Tropicana OJ (it's true—we don't like others), and I'd love to take advantage of the sale, but I don't shop on Sunday."

"Let me mention it to my manager," she said. When she returned a minute later, she told me that the manager said I could have the sale price—today. The next thing I knew, I was the happy owner of three cartons of Tropicana OJ with vitamin C and lots of pulp, promising to tell everyone I knew about the gracious management of D&W.

And so I'm keeping my promise. And knowing that I got Sabbath OJ on Friday for 99 cents will make it taste that much sweeter.