Neighborhood Institution Calmly Defeats SM, Alfamart, Lawson, and the Passage of Time
Aling Nena’s Sari-Sari Store Has Been Open 47 Years and Owes No One an Explanation
Neighborhood Institution Calmly Defeats SM, Alfamart, Lawson, and the Passage of Time
On the corner of Katipunan and a smaller street whose name residents have never bothered to learn, a 2.5-square-meter sari-sari store operated by Aling Nena Bautista, 71, has outlasted four convenience store chains, two economic crises, one pandemic, eleven municipal elections, and a Ministop that lasted eight months before quietly becoming a parking spot. Aling Nena opened the store in 1977 as a small wooden structure. It has since been reinforced with hollow blocks and a refrigerator humming a private tune. She has no POS system. She has no loyalty card program. She has, apparently, a memory palace containing the credit history, brand preferences, and biographical details of approximately 300 families within walking distance. “Utang ni Dodong, bayad na. Si Lito, hindi pa,” she said Monday morning, to no one in particular, while slicing a sachet of Milo with the precision of someone who has done this roughly a hundred thousand times. When Alfamart opened nearby in 2019, Aling Nena stocked two additional shelves of Champion detergent. Alfamart lasted fourteen months. When Lawson arrived in 2021 with mood lighting and Japanese convenience store energy, she began selling balut more prominently. Lawson is now a loading station for electric trikes. “She knows everyone,” explains daughter Marites. “And she extends credit when they need it, and remembers when they forget.” Aling Nena says nothing about this. She is cutting another sachet of Milo, and the philosophy speaks for itself.
SOURCE: Bohiney News.