Lexington neighborhood grocery making a comeback, brings back popular lunch sandwiches
If you’ve been missing those great cheap sandwiches from Wilson’s Grocery, then get out your wallet.
Because the boloney is back.
Matt Bastin, who bought the tiny popular neighborhood store in Kenwick last fall, has relaunched lunch service and has a full menu of sandwiches that are bargains. They aren’t quite as cheap as the $2.59 baloney lunch special that the store offered for years, but what is?
It’s part of the slow revival on the store, which once fueled a neighborhood’s worth of working people just looking for a cheap and hearty lunch break, something lost since Jennifer and Roger Wilson sold it in 2018. Corey Maple, who renovated the building, sold the business to Bastin late last year.
Since Bastin took over the business and reopened, he’s remodeled the inside and revamped its offerings slowly and steadily adding items that the locals find irresistible.
Such as the Sunrise Bakery sourdough and now fresh baked pies and cookies from Stephanie Duckworth’s Honeyshine Pies. Fresh strawberries and produce, grab-and-go frozen soups and gourmet pizzas, as well as ice cream treats and craft beer, coffee from Nate’s and Crooked Dog, locally produced sausage and other items.
What’s on Wilson’s sandwich menu?
But it’s the sandwich counter that many wanted back after the store was back open for business.
On May 20, Bastin was working on a sign that had the new menu feature bologna or three-cheese sandwiches for $3.50, with extra cheese for $.50, lettuce and tomato for a quarter each. Turkey and roast beef will be $5.50, with chicken salad a splurge at $6.
The local sandwich counter also will do specials such as the Hamborghini Diabroll (country ham on Sunrise bread) for $3 on Wednesday. And on Friday you will be able to add bacon to anything for only $2.
The sign, he said, has served as a convenient prompt for people who come in, see the special and say, “I’ll have four of those, please.”
The favorite so far? “The ham roll,” he said. The country ham is the same Burger’s ham that Wilson’s has always served. All the meats come fresh from Critchfield’s. The bread is Crooked Dog Kitchen’s sliced sandwich.
Neighborhood store with local products
The neighborhood store has much more than lunch sandwiches. Such as the Sunrise Bakery sourdough and now fresh baked pies and cookies from Stephanie Duckworth’s Honeyshine Pies. Fresh strawberries and produce, grab-and-go frozen soups and gourmet pizzas, as well as ice cream treats and craft beer, coffee from Nate’s and Crooked Dog, locally produced sausage and other items.
Wilson’s also has a selection of usual pantry and household item, in case you’ve run out of them and just don’t have time to run back to Kroger for the 15th time this week.
On a slow Thursday, Pat Miller, who lives on Victory, popped in to grab a couple of Sunrise Bakery baguettes. She has been a longtime store shopper and has embraced the newest version.
“We did lunch for some people who did work on our house. We sent them here to get sandwiches,” she said.
She loves how his offerings “go the gamut” from Sunrise Bakery to Fruity Pebbles cereal, Silk and oat milks but also regular milk too.
“That’s what makes a great neighborhood market, that and it’s kind of a meeting place too,” Miller said.
Neighbor Tom Teator, who teaches private music lessons next door, said he’s always stopping by to grab a package of cookies from Wilson’s and comes over on Saturdays for a breakfast biscuit or two.
Bastin said that before he bought the store he’d worked some in retail, in internet technology and other things. “I always thought that I could do, and I told the Maples I was interested and I guess they called my bluff,” he said.
What’s coming next at Wilson’s Grocery?
He’s worked, in a lighthearted way, to give the neighborhood what it’s needed, from free stickers for the kids to free fresh herbs for the grownups.
What’s next, now that he’s added back sandwiches? “I would like to grow the lunch business, and eventually like to push into earlier morning hours and shoot for some breakfast,” Bastin said. “And Im considering a bar license so I can serve fun day-drinking type slush drinks.”
Think Ale-8-One and bourbon slushies. “That’s pretty on-brand with what I’ve done so far,” Bastin said.
Wilson’s Grocery
Where: 1010 Cramer Ave.
Hours: 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday-Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday. Closed Sunday and Monday.
Online: facebook.com/wilsonsgroceryandmeat
This story was originally published May 29, 2024 at 4:59 AM.
