Nostalgia plays a big role in finding a grocery store we love, writes Martha Daniel for eater.com.

Your favorite store might be the place your mom took you to shop, or it has your favorite treat or it helps you reconnect with home after a long time away.

People value local stores and regional identity.

Take Wawa, a convenient store and sandwich shop unique to Philly. Now it’s expanding up the East Coast. Some are complaining the thing that made Wawa unique is getting lost in that expansion.

When it’s available to everyone it’s not special anymore.

Many pick their favorite store based on the people working the aisles.

Trader Joe’s is known for creating a friendly culture where no one is a stranger. They employ kind people to run the cash registers and stock the aisles during shopping hours.

Some grocery stores are better than others at creating a unique sense of place.

Wegmans has supermarkets designed to “look like European open-air markets,” according to its website. It has a  fervent fan base.

People remember the little differences between stores and become loyal customers based on those differences.

Read more about grocery store favorites here.

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