بقال

Iranian neighborhoods are still organized around the baqqâli. Even in Tehran, where chain supermarkets have multiplied, every residential alley has at least one small grocery within a five-minute walk. The baqal sits behind the counter or on a stool by the door. He knows every regular by face if not by name, knows which kid is allowed to buy candy and which is not, knows whose mother needs a bag of rice charged on credit until pay day, knows when someone has been out of town because they have not come in for bread.