Folks in Grants Pass can send an e-mail shopping list to Scott Walter when they need provisions. Walter fills the orders at his grocery store in Glendale, 20 miles north of Grants Pass, and delivers the goods at the end of the day on his way home.

On Sunday, Walter brought milk, hot dogs, broccoli, snacks and doggie treats to 79-year-old Reba Cook after her grandson, Fred Rogers, e-mailed her order.

"This is wonderful for me," said Cook, who is confined to a wheelchair. "It's been years since I could get out and shop."

Walter himself filled telephone orders at his Glenway Superstore for years. He decided to sell groceries over the Internet after using a similar service himself.

He discovered the convenience of home grocery delivery while caring for a sick brother in Seattle.

"We used (a Web grocery service) a couple of times, and I said `Oh, this is interesting."'

His operation has little in common with big-city Web grocers and their giant warehouses. His is strictly a one-man operation. Customers send him their shopping list, and he fills the orders from items on his shelves.

"I check the e-mails when I come in and respond to queries," he said. "I'm the customer service department and the delivery department. I've just worked it into part of my routine.

"It's working for me because I already make that trip (from Glendale to Grants Pass)."

Walter has attracted about 25 customers in the six weeks since he began offering the service. Business has come from word of mouth and ads in local newspapers.

"It's chugging along," he said. "We're not burning the house down, but we don't need to burn the house down."

Walter asks customers to e-mail their grocery list to keep the shopping experience simple. Rogers, who orders for his grandmother, said the arrangement works well.

"It's real user-friendly," he said. "I'd done other Internet shopping. It just sounded like something that would work for us."

Walter said the Web sales still represent just a small portion of his total sales, but his presence on the Net gives him an opportunity to reach customers he would never attract to his store in Glendale.

"What I'm trying to do is move more groceries," he said.

"If I can increase my volume five or 10 percent, that can make or break me.

"The pie is only so big. I'm trying to find a unique market niche."

Walter said small businesses that expect to survive will need to look for ways to exploit the Internet to attract new customers.

"This dot-com is something small businesses have to be aggressive about," he said. "As a small businessman I'm going head-to-head with Costco and all of them."

Walter delivers only within the city limits of Grants Pass right now, but he plans to expand the delivery service to Myrtle Creek and Tri City. Bigger cities will have to wait until the business grows.