Riding the Escalator with Groceries, on the Upper West Side

Photo by myself at Trader Joe's, on the Upper West Side.

In cities, floor area is limited. So one option for more space is to go up or down.

At many supermarkets and drugstores, escalators take people and their shopping carts to other levels. The street level might have an entrance and a small display area, but larger lower floors provide more area for shopping.

It's a win-win situation: windows aren't necessary for stores, and buildings can rent out large underground expanses in one fell swoop.

At Trader Joe's on the Upper West Side, an escalator brings shoppers down to a larger basement floor. Their shopping carts ride on a separate escalator alongside. There are two basement levels at this store, one for produce and the checkout lines, another for frozen foods and other items. The store was packed as usual, Tuesday night.

Trader Joe's is known for its grass roots aesthetic, reasonable prices and interesting foodstuffs. There are many grocery store chains here, each with their own personality.

-- By the way, I ran around town Tuesday while carrying: architectural drawings, a 25-foot measuring tape, wallet, pens, tracing paper, a notebook and my big Canon DSL camera. Without exaggeration, my bag must have weighed 15 lbs!

Life has been much busier than usual, with weekends spent at the office, and early mornings at my desk until late at night. I'm working on several things: a townhouse kitchen renovation, a two-part renovation on Central Park South, a small project on the Upper East Side that is just finishing up, and another project on the Upper East Side that just started. Yipes.

I miss walking around the city with my camera. The craziness will end soon, thank goodness!

Related posts: Window Shopping on Elizabeth Street, in Chinatown, All Things Food, at Brooklyn Kitchen, in Williamsburg, and Living in Style at A&G Merch, in Williamsburg.