Does a two-story Teeter work with kids?

I'll admit that I headed over to the new two-story Harris Teeter at North Hills in Raleigh on the day it opened. In fact, I may have been there within an hour of it opening.

But really I was curious whether the two-story layout would work with kids. To test the layout, I took both my kids with me ... the four-year-old and the five-month-old who was strapped in her carseat in the cart.

I was hoping for one of those walking sidewalks liked I'd seen at stores in bigger cities that take shoppers from one floor to the next. So I was a little disappointed to see the elevator. 

The upstairs kind of reminded me of an old-school, small grocery. It was a little dark (had they forgotten to turn the lights on?). This is where you'll find all your toiletries, cereal, paper goods, baking goods, etc. So it will be hard to avoid on a standard shopping trip.

Though the store was not packed with shoppers, we had to wait a couple of turns before we could get on the elevator, which seems to fit just two carts at once. And there's not a lot of space on the first floor to wait. On our way down, we shared the elevator with another mom and her little boy and it got a bit cramped inside.

It's a hassle, but it works. The elevator that takes you to the second floor is a new distraction for the preschooler, though I'm not looking forward to it when the baby's cranky and I need some Cheerios.

What I really love is the parking deck with entrances into the store. No more mad dashes in the rain.