Tufts Conveniences Store

It’s here. But it’s also got expired milk, expired phone cards, and unhelpful cashiers with attitude. I only use it when options are seriously limited.

After stepping into the disaster areas that best describe neighboring convenience stores on Boston Avenue, this one is a godsend.
It’s clean, everything is extremely well stocked, and you can find a fair selection of snacks and beverages. Hot Fries? Of course. Cherry Coke Zero? You got it. Canned sodas from NBA All-​Star Shaquille O’Neill? Surprisingly, yes.
Aside from actually feeling like a store, and not a mini-​warehouse of forgotten comestibles (yeah, I’m looking at you other convenience store down the block), it’s got that extra something special — the staff is super friendly. Not that I’m looking to formulate any long-​lasting friendships, but it’s nice to know I can buy my Slim Jims from a smiling face.
And that smile bumps it from a four to a five.

Hooray for convenience seriously, a few yards and a stones throw from my apartment. I am glad if I need something quick I don’t have to get in my car and go anywhere, although just a heads up they don’t have lettuce/​cole slaw type stuff. But other than that. We good!
It’s small, lots of stuff in there all crammed in but it has, so far gotten the job done for OJ, cheese, milk, snacks and a variety of other items I’ve found myself grabbing.

This place has saved breakfast many a morning! They have everything you need. A variety store fo’ sho. It is kind of cramped but the fact that they always have what you need makes up for it. I wish it were cleaner both inside and outside but it is not disgusting.
I love the brothers who run the place. They are sooooooo nice. They always ask how my family is and they smile wide and wave as I walk by. If you are a few cents short, they are cool.
It is a little over-​priced but the convenience makes up for it. They have lots of sodas and beverages, candy and gum, cigarettes and cigars, lottery and scratch tickets, frozen foods, ice cream and ice cream bars, slush, bagged ice, magazines, packaged foods and snacks, basic cooking supplies, coffee, and basic hygiene products.
Parking could be better. It is best to park on Hillsdale or across the street. People always park in the bus stop, right on the corner blocking the sidewalk, or in front of my driveway (assholes!).

It’s a pretty good old-​school convenience store all-​in-​all. Pretty useful and a wide range of items. For someone to slag it with one star only because the Western Union was apparently a letdown (?) and not even mention any other apsect of the place is idiotic. I hate viciously mean and unfair reviews like that on Unilocal.That’s like reviewing a furniture store by saying «terrible gumballs in their gumball machine!» It’s a friggin’ CONVENIENCE store. If the Western Union (a pretty damn obscure service) was deficient, put that in PERSPECTIVE with what a convenience store predomonantly does– sells you various convenient items.

If you need to use western union go somewhere else!

Picture it: Medford, 2005. Thanksgiving Day.
I lifted my body from bed and gazed out the window at the heavy flakes furiously falling from the heavens and quickly covering the ground. My then girlfriend told me that the friend who was suppose to have us for dinner had bailed. So we were stuck, without food, without car, without family in Tufts housing on Thanksgiving.
Then I heard the 3 magical words that every overly-​anxious, over-​protective andy-​dyke yearns to have spoken to her by her SO:
«Go find food.»
I strapped up like I was Sherpa Tenzing, and boldly braved the elements while my beloved stayed in bed. I stumbled down a barren Boston Ave, jerking on closed door after closed door.
Finally, like a sugar-​and-​fat oasis amidst the storm, I pulled on the door of Tufts Variety and it miraculously opened. What before my wonderous eyes should appear?! This crawlspace of a convenience store had one of everything I could need. Variety, indeed.
In a truly strange twist of fate, there was one remaining Hungry Man Turkey Dinner left, with corn, stuffing and mashed potatos. Best ghetto Thanksgiving EVER.
In the year that followed, I visited Tufts Variety often, fetching candies and ice cream. Not one inch of this store is wasted space – its a tight fit but it all fits, from ice cream novelties to lean cuisine frozen dinners, from soda in a can to peanut M&Ms. Hard-​on for scratch-​offs? There are PLENTY to be had here. It’s grungy and dirty, but I prefered it to those other convenience stores with their «wide aisles» and «well-​lit environments». The guy who ran that counter (always the same guy, always!) may not have known my name, but he sure did know my credit card – the $ 10 minimum on CC purchases meant I usually walked out with 3 more strings of Nerd Rope than I necessarily needed.