Surely this age we’re living in will go down in the history books as . . . The Gilded Grocery Era. I will tell my grandkids how there used to be a day when you couldn’t go into a grocery store and get fresh ground peanut butter, and they will laugh at me. (Maybe because of the peanut butter, or perhaps because by then I’ll be an old man with eyebrows like hedge rows.)

But the point is, we’re living in a great age to buy groceries. Nearly every place in Lawrence that sells groceries has undergone some type of significant renovation in the last several years. As we’ve reported several times over the last few months, the Dillons store at Sixth Street and Lawrence Avenue is the latest.

Dillons officials on Wednesday declared the renovation of the store complete, and held a well-attended ribbon cutting. The major structural change to the building was the addition of a drive-thru lane for the store’s pharmacy. But there was more to the renovations than that. Dillons pulled building permits for $1.2 million worth of construction on the site, making it the 10th largest building project in the city, thus far, in 2013. Here’s a look at other improvements at the store:

• A revamping of the natural and organic foods department, which is branded Nature’s Market. It includes a new bulk foods section.

• Hand-made sushi

• New selections of gourmet cheeses and an olive bar. (My grandkids will laugh when I tell them I used to have to order gin to get an olive at a bar.)

• An expanded salad bar

• A new beverage center with expanded fountain drinks and coffee selections

• A new floral department

• New color schemes throughout the store, and new energy efficient lighting

Dillons is holding special events through Saturday to celebrate the renovations. The Sixth and Lawrence store will host a t-shirt sidewalk sale from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. today and Friday and from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday. On Friday and Saturday, pay attention here, the store will offer large amounts of food samples.
So, while I’m uncertain what historians will call this age we’re living in, I have no doubt what this weekend will be labeled at the Lawhorn household: The Toothpick Times. As in: Kids, any food with a toothpick stuck in it, grab it, because that’s supper tonight. (Don’t feel sorry for them. They love it, especially when we put on the fake mustaches and wigs to go through a second time.)

•••

What’s better than writing about one retail renovation? Well, writing about two, of course. Bob Catlin, the store manager at the Walmart on South Iowa Street, confirmed to me renovations are underway for that store.

Catlin said perhaps the most noticeable interior improvements will be all new fixtures and cases for the store’s produce department. The exterior of the store, however, also will get a new look. He said the entire exterior of the building will be repainted with a different color scheme, and new signs for the building and along the road are on the way. All the departments of the store will remain open during the renovations, which are expected to be complete sometime next month.

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