EVG Archive Photo
Report and video by Stacey Joy
Shopping at Key Foods has changed dramatically in the last week since Aug. 12, “the day the music died.”
The PA system at the grocery store on Avenue A and Fourth Street is out of order.
Shoppers won’t be hearing in-store playlists dominated by alternative hits from the late 1980s and classics from the 1990s (we know what Paula Cole means when she says I Don’t Want to Wait!).
Not only is the music turned off, but the store’s intercom system is also turned off, so there’s no interruption when someone from above tells Richie to take line two or when a call comes in about a meat department delivery.
Co-manager Dennis Acuna explained that a technician came in to fix the intercom and music box (one controller unit for both systems) and discovered they needed to order parts to make the repairs. They’re hopeful the replacement parts will arrive soon and the system will be back to playing Eddie Grant’s “Electric Avenue” and Stevie Nicks’ “Rooms on Fire” soon.
Meanwhile, a deafening silence pervades the hallway.
“Imagine, you [in the grocery] “It’s just for a little while,” Acuna said. “We’ve been here forever, so it’s going to be lonely.”
I spoke with several employees, some of whom expressed relief when the music temporarily stopped. “It’s a relief, it’s not as tense in the store,” one cashier said. Another said he missed stocking shelves while listening to music.
For now, all I can hear are the ghostly moans of Key Food, the self-checkouts’ relentless message to “please place last scanned item on the scale”, and the thumping of cases of White Claw.
