Wilbun's is one of those small, third-generation-family-owned supermarkets that's been the mainstay of my small hometown for years. And now it's closing. They claim it's NOT because Wal-mart just moved into town, but I'm sure that didn't help.
Wilbun's carried a lot of the Southern specialities that the chain supermarket (first Harris Teeter, then later Krogers and Food Lion) didn't--White Lily flour, hog jowls, the good country ham. They supplied the 100 pounds of pork for my wedding, at $1.99 a pound. Now they've fallen victim to the cult of the new. When the new shopping center opened, people started buying groceries at the national chain instead. When the bypass around town opened, it was less convenient to go into town. When Wal-mart opened, everyone raved about Wal-mart, and how much money they were going to save on cheap toxin-laden mass-produced Chinese crap (that includes the food), and now the locally-owned businesses are biting the dust.
RIP, Wilbun's. I'll miss your White Lily flour and country ham. Sigh.
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