A Town In Turmoil: 4 Grocers Battle for Top Billing in Star

Seven years ago, we moved to the tiny town of Star.

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Before the housing boom hit, the exurb just 20 minutes northwest of Boise was rich in farmland and fresh air. Toon Town, a modest main street, and a few subdivisions were there, but for the most part, Star was wide open and ripe for the picking. Residents knew it and so did the commercial developers.

What residents hadn't realized, was how quickly Star would change over the following seven years.

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It started with Bi-Mart.

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As a townspeople, we were different back then. Naïve and full of hope, the building of Bi-Mart represented Star's first steps into the Treasure Valley spotlight.

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We were movin' on up the like the Jeffersons.

We were sky rockets in flight anticipating an afternoon delight.

We were catfished.

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Apart from a few handy convenience items, Bi-Mart missed the mark for me. Had I not been carried away by the excitement, the $5.00 one-time membership fee might've tipped me off that all was not well in the kingdom.

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A flop for me and several neighbors who wish to remain anonymous, Bi-Mart set off a domino effect that produced three grocery stores in under three years.

And it's weird.

To me, Star feels like a stepchild forced to choose between their mom, their dad, and their grandma who makes the good cookies. It's an impossible choice.

Bear in mind that as this is all happening, the Star Mercantile—Star's OG general store—was taking a hard hit in the shadowlands. Like a feeble spouse who knew their mate was a runaround Sue, the Merc took it on the chin.

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Is it a tragedy that our burgeoning town of 9,000 people has four grocery stores? Certainly not. I just wonder why. Why not bring in other amenities? Who thought it was a good idea to undermine a decades-old family business?

Jeff Goldblum put it best in Jurassic Park—"Yeah, but your [councilmen] were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, that they didn't stop to think if they should." To Dr. Malcom's point, should the town's leadership reconsider their approach to expansion?

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If you're from Star or frequent it, I'd love to hear your opinion.

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