Lipto s. That’s all there is to say, really.
But for those who want the full story: We have a little store around the corner from our house. Cedar Market, at California and Cedar. Berkeley used to be full of them. Not just on the intersections of major streets, but on corners on residential blocks away from the commercial thoroughfares. They’re nearly all gone, but you can recognize a lot of the old ones from the way their doorways open onto the corner at 45-degree angles or sometimes from the big commercial-size windows that have been clumsily integrated into an apartment front.
I might have even seen the sign at Cedar Market when it still said “Lipton’s Tea.” I definitely remember that “Tea” was still there sometime in the last 15 years or so. Now it’s just “Lipto s.” The market itself just changed hands. A Chinese immigrant couple owned it, and they sold a few months ago to an Arab family. The new owners have made some changes. They’re open later — till 9 p.m — and on Sundays, too. But so far they are content to leave “Lipto s” be.
