I do miss the Italian deli that closed. It’s not that we don’t frequent the corner markets and farmers markets either! And again, the delivery we get is a small local butcher, and I imagine once things open up we’ll visit when we have time.
I think of online as replacing just the droll half, or when times in a pinch. The pantry items, milk. It saves time for trips to my favorite deli. No more DFW-commencement-speech Safeway coupon rush hour traffic jams. More time for the farmers market!
You sound like a nostalgic grandpa pining for the good old days that are passing, but to be honest, if anything the online half has opened up a lot of room for fun excursions in the real world. I share the hope that local businesses thrive as well. The Asian fish market ladies certainly know me better than before. One not need replace the other, but the optionality has made things dramatically better for me, at least.