It's really not unusual for smaller or non-chain stores not to take plastic. Though there are even some local/regional chains that don't take or limit plastic (there's one in my town that was no plastic until recently and now they only take Discover...)

I'm sure in urban areas it's rare to see checks anymore. But probably because it's still more common in certain areas to need checks, there's not the same mindset against them so you'll still see people using them otherwise in grocery stores and chain stores and the like.