Cervantes General Store — Local services in Cervantes

The good: Fantastic that there is a general store in a remote town with a small population

Concerns: drinks in fridge were warm (even the ones at the back) lights in fridges were off (didn't check whether they were cool) Icecreams we bought had clearly been through a few defrost/refreezing cycles

It does raise the concern that there is inadequate adherence to food safety requirements, and although I always seek to support local businesses, I would not risk my health based on the evidence available. Thus I would not purchase products which require appropriate handling (meat, vegetables) from this store. Even if the food was handled perfectly, there is not customer trust (lights were off, icecreams poorly handled)

Suggestions for improvement: Please review whether fridges are compliant (i.e. are actually meeting temperature goals). There appears to be plenty of empty fridges, so perhaps consolidate stock and perform maintenance on the ones which are off. I understand it may be difficult to source parts/workers in a remote area however I would encourage the owner to consider the consequences 1. no one feels confident therefore does not purchase (lost profits) 2. they were found to be noncompliant with food safety guidelines and someone got sick/died, I suspect there may be fines for this.

If it were not for the icecreams which had clearly been throught a few defrost/freeze cycles, I would have assumed perhaps the fridges had just been stocked or maybe the lights were off to save power. So hopefully I am incorrect in this regard, however, just taking time out of my busy life to help the owner at least remedy the impression that...

I wanted to add my review at this because people want to see the negative in everything. I love this bakery for what it is and what it has. Sounds like the out of towners love getting their claws into anything that doesn’t fit their rhetoric and bad mouth whatever they can. Have a think about where you are, how far goods have to come to be sold there, how often deliveries are made to the store, how many other tourists have to share the same store. Yes, you’ll empty shelves, yes you’ll get heavy traffic and things may get untidy. For those that think the lady behind may not appeal to your touchy feely emotions, maybe she is a little tired of the out of Towner attitudes.

For me, I’m off to the bakery for...

I hate to give such a low rating to anyone and never have. However when I walk into a convenience store and ask "Hi where can I find the bread?" and I'm told by a very unhappy looking lady "if you open your eyes you'll find it at the back!" I have no choice but to rate it this low. She could've been having a bad day but no reason to talk to a customer who has walked into your store to make a purchase in that manner. I was in total shock and walked straight out and went to the service station down the road. I went in asked exactly the same question and the young girl who served me there was extremely nice. So it is obvious where I went for all...