"spa" = 'neighborhood grocery store', aka 'convenience store'?

[Joel S. Berson]

At 3/1/2011 01:24 PM, Barbara Need wrote:
>Andover Spa in Andover! I lived in Andover for 10 years and do not
>remember this institution at all (but I know the street)! I wonder
>when it opened--I will check with my friends still there.

I missed the origin of the Oxford Spa as an eatery.  Haven't been in
the old neighborhood for a while.

And then tell us (or perhaps it's only me that's still interested, as
the old geezer perhaps longest in the Boston area and thus with the
longest history of "spa") whether it's (1) only, or predominantly, a
soda (frappe?) fountain; or (2) a "cafe", with a wider menu; or (3)
just a "convenience store", aka "grocery".

Joel

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