They may do so little cash business that it will make sense for them to put a NO CASH sign in the window and forego what small amount of business they lose, if they lose any.
I generally pay cash in a place like that, but I wouldn’t have to. I don’t think my kid pays cash for anything, I mean ANYTHING, it’s all on the debit card.
Cash is guaranteed. You can also haggle folks that are selling stuff like tools, parts, trucks, firearms, etc. Ever been at the gas station during a bad night time thunderstorm, and people paying card can’t get the payments to go through? Cash can just as easily be stolen as card, yes, but cards can be replaced, cash can’t. If somebody gets past my reflexes, I suppose they might get my cash, but I’m going to hurt them very badly in the process.
I’m trying to get my wife out of the habit of using the debit card if avoidable; there is a lot of exposure to fraud out there. Sometimes it is just more practical (supermarket trips for hundreds of dollars), but using it for smaller purchases (gas or deli stuff) isn’t worth the risk - especially in our area, where many of those businesses are run by foreigners.
On top of that, many of the protections provided by credit cards limiting your exposure don’t apply to debit cards; your whole account can be drained quickly.