Bonus Episode: Vanessa Anderson aka Grocery Goblin brings storytelling to the aisles

"Stories in Store" transforms local grocery markets into intimate stages for literary readings, blending culinary history with personal narrative. This series, a collaboration between KCRW’s *Good Food* and Vanessa Anderson, invites writers to explore specific themes like "lunchtime" through diverse, lived experiences. Angel Dimayuga recounts their father’s legacy as a McDonald’s manager who pioneered the "extra value meal" to bridge language barriers for immigrant customers, while navigating their own journey as a queer artist and chef. Lauren Bethke offers a contrasting perspective, detailing the intersection of food and subculture through an unconventional interview with a dominatrix at a local diner. These stories turn mundane grocery aisles into sites for exploring complex family dynamics, professional identity, and the universal human experience of finding connection through food and shared public spaces.