What can I say about Traders Joe's that I have not already said. Hmmmm let me see. Well first I…read morewas pleasantly happy to see there was one across the street from my hotel in the Monterey bay sand dunes. I was upset that a 1.5 hr drive from San Jose took over 2.5 hours. I missed my dinner meeting but was happy to stock up here. $9.95 for 88proof vodka. Are you kidding me. Seems to be the only thing cheap in CA. Add TJ's famous ginger beer and you get the best ever Moscow mule.

I'm just going to be very straightforward with this review: there's nothing wrong with the store…read moreitself the problem is the employees working there. The energy and customer service are honestly terrible. Yesterday, I went in to get some things for my kids, and I saw a woman asking one of the employees for help. There was a tall guy standing nearby who looked visibly annoyed. She politely asked him a question, and his response was, "Are you talking to me?" The way he said it was incredibly rude and completely unnecessary. He seemed genuinely bothered that a customer was asking him for help. Unfortunately, this isn't the first time I've experienced this. Every time I go to this location, the employees seem unfriendly, rude, and miserable. They often just stand around staring at customers instead of offering help, and the overall atmosphere feels very uncomfortable and unwelcoming. I can't say whether there is discrimination involved because I don't know what is going on behind the scenes, but the way some of the employees treat customers definitely raises concerns. Regardless of who walks into the store, customers should be treated with basic respect and courtesy. The store itself isn't the problem. The problem is the customer service and the attitude of the employees working there. Management really needs to address this because customers shouldn't feel uncomfortable simply for asking for assistance.

It's not Whole Foods, or Gelsons, or Trader Joe's. It is a Lucky's Market. A good old fashioned…read moremiddle of the road grocery store for working class folks like me! I have been shopping at this location since moving to Monterey County out of convenience. It is not necessarily my favorite grocery store of all times, but, it is sufficient enough for me to visit almost daily and or as needed. The prices are reasonable and the store is reasonably organized. I have always found what I needed and spent what I wanted on my budget. The ailses are clean and the staff respectful. I base my opinion also from the fact I have shopped at other Lucky's in the area and was disappointed. The Lucky's in Pacifice Grove, wow, the staff here was nearly always seriouosly obviously disgruntled. I shopped here occasionally as it is right outside my Pilates studio, which is no longer in session due to COVID, and also I have been to the Lucky's in Carmel, nice store, but not quite as good as favorite spot. The reason for 5 stars has to do with the pre-packaged salmon meals I purchase at the Marina Lucky's for $6.99. It is such a deal for a fantastic meal. The salmon is not local, it is Atlantic Salmon, but, it is so good! Nice big chunks of veggies clearly visible through the bag. I purchased this same meal at the Lucky's in Sand City, and the salmon was buried under small, miniscule sized cubes of squash. The salmon was decent, but veggies are not expensive, come on! Give it to me!! I just can't tell you how much I love these prepackaged meals. 24 minutes at 450 degrees in the oven and done. In a hurry you can microwave it, but I choose the oven. Or you can take it out of the bag and saute. Either way, good stuff. Cheers and happy shopping!

Smaller supermarket located on reservation road. It has basics and occasionally a good special…read more It also has to compete with Walmart and the new Trader Joe's. They appear to be short on staff at times. Today I called at 3:30 to meat dept and inquired about fresh crab. Verified when it came in and price. I' bought some there recently at a good price and it was fresh. When I got there at 5 PM I was told they didn't have crab today ... at all. Very disappointed in the earlier misinformation. Just glad the folks I invited over for crab Louie couldn't make it. Other thoughts... organic veggies supply limited - probably not enough demand. Self checkout is a pain when dealing with lookup for produce etc. Staff does their best.

Wow! This place has a little bit of everything. I came mostly for their prepared Kim chi and found…read moreout that they carry other spicy trays of bean sprouts, tofu and rice cakes. The frozen rolled meats is a bonus of cooking Hot pot. The cashier was super friendly and pointed out all the cool stuff. I also got the Ube or maybe taro rice crackers. It's a small spot but it has a wealth of Asian goodness.

Stopped by this store before heading home. The owner and daughter were the most polite, friendly,…read moreand nicest store owners I've met in a long time. I would recommend coming by and checking out thier local items

The staff are very friendly and helpful! They provided great customer service! Also there are many…read moregreat deals!

Why is it that the cashiers greet some customers with great enthusiasm and even chit chat with them…read moreabout frivolous things like the weather or a random baseball game but completely ignore others? Happened to me today. The two customers in front of me got a "hello, how is your day going?" and a smile but when it was my turn she was quiet and dismissive? Please train your employees better.

Always make a stop here before flying home. I buy gifts for everyone. Lots of Hawaii/ Maui-related…read moresouvenirs to choose from. Always grab a 5 pack of chocolate macadamia nuts for gift giving. They come in a pack that's easy to handle and they go onto the plane with us.

I have mixed feelings about this store. Today, I went there with my senior parents at around 3 pm…read more I left them to shop as I looked at other things. I found that the staff were very helpful when I asked them to check on the price of a shirt that I found that was missing its price. I am always glad with the soda selection especially Walmart's own brand of Dr. Thunder that virtually tastes exactly like Dr. Pepper. It is always a great to buy their brand of soda and the flavor is so close to the popular brands that I barely can tell the difference. However, when I meant up to my parents, my mom was very upset and was anxious to leave. Apparently, there was uninvolved parents who were so into themselves that they did not care that their children were running around and making items fall on purpose. Those parents were not watching their children. Now, some people may think what do I expect?!? This is Walmart! This is where the "wild life" ill mannered customers blend in with the mature civilized customers. Yes, I am clearly saying that is what you may expect- people with their children who do not know how to supervise their children or act in public. But then, you would not see this in say Trader Joes. Perhaps the types of customers are kind of different. It seems that way. Although, some stores also appreciate customers who tell staff about unruly customers and would be willing to go on the intercom to tell parents to supervise their children and that any broken items they will be required to pay for. Or at least have a staff person confront the customer with their unruly children to tell them to supervise their children. I never see any Walmart that does this and clearly Walmart is not a playground. I am also aware that they deal with property loss as I keep up with the news. If one of those kids ran into one of my parents who are unsteady on their feet or one of those items they dropped, one of my parents would trip on and they fell down getting hurt, I would be very upset and I would not ignore it or look the other way. The law clearly states if a customer informs a clerk that there are unruly unsupervised children, and they do nothing about it, then an elderly customer gets hurt, not only are the parents held accountable but also the store. This is because the staff were warned and still did not intervene to prevent a tragedy. Of course, I am aware that it is to the store's advantage not to do anything and hope no tragedy happens and if it does the person won't take legal action. It is better then for the store to look the other way and being that it is Walmart, it is a huge corporation. A corporation I am all to familiar with as I read at least 3 books about this successful company that was started by a determined and extremely compulsive founder Sam Walton who started the mega company by modest means. But I also know that there is such a thing as making the shopping experience for everyone to be pleasant and welcoming. That means informing people to watch their children and not allow them to misbehave. Let me suggest a recording through the intercom that comes on upon every hour that would state, parents need to supervise their children at all times and are expected to pick up any items their children drop. If any item becomes broken, then the parents will be required to pay for it. Or at least perhaps staff should take customers concerns especially those who are seniors seriously. We all hope someday we will live into old age (although we may not be looking forward to it) but it is little things like respect that matter.

Just moved here and I'm so happy I found a Korean market! We got teokkbokki and brown rice.read more

We haven't been here since the started offering hot foods and prepared foods in the cooler. Its a…read moresmall store but their prices are very competitive with other Asian stores in the area. The owners are so nice and helpful. We ordered 3 kimbaps at 2.50 each are she went straight to the back to make them for us. I liked the addition of fresh cucumber in the kimbaps. I also had some warm veggies pancakes 7.99 for 4. They were packed with an assortment of veggies, so good! Served with some soy sauce and chop sticks. I'll be back just for these but I look for to trying all their banchan which looked so good. They keep adding new prepared foods and they sell out quickly. Today I tried the Spam musubi which is popular, I got the last one. and a bean sprout banchan. Both were good the bean sprouts were slightly spicy. This is our new favorite spot.

I really wish this Safeway would reconsider how they handle checkout in the early mornings. I…read moresometimes shop here around 6:00-6:30 a.m. before work, and it's frustrating how quickly a long line can form with only one cashier open while self-checkout is still closed. What makes it worse is that even when the line is clearly getting backed up, it can take 10-15 minutes before another employee is called up to help. At that point, several customers are already standing around waiting. A lot of people are working much earlier schedules these days, and you can tell many of the customers shopping at that hour are grabbing breakfast, lunch, drinks, or other things on their way to work. People shopping that early are usually trying to get in and out quickly. If there are enough customers consistently shopping at that hour to create a line, Safeway should either have additional cashiers scheduled so 2-3 lanes can be opened when needed, or simply allow self-checkout to open as early as 6 a.m. It would make such a big difference for early-morning customers.

Gayle and were in town with 2 of our grandkids. These darling girls are finicky eaters, while…read moreliking and hating different things. For the most part, going to most any restaurant was a waste of time and money. A better choice was to let them shop and choose at Safeway and then bring it all back to the Hotel. Our choices weren't all that nutritious over all, but it did reduce the drama and later cries of "I'm Starving"! My most pleasant surprise here was that my old California land line number was still linked to the Safeway Loyalty program. Past that, the combination of an unfamiliar store, and so many choices made this Safeway trip a fairly lengthy one. And later back at the Hotel, all was well.

I love Trader Joe's! This store is located in Monterey, it has its own parking lot and is walking…read moredistance to many other shops and restaurants. The store is large, clean, bright and full of fresh delicious produce, fresh ready made salads, frozen foods, baked goods and so much more! I loved my salad and cinnamon rolls! The food here is always top of the line. Staff is friendly, they have reusable bags for sale. Definitely get your groceries here!

So the great thing about TJs is you have a pretty standard experience no matter where you are in…read morethe country. This one is no exception. The great thing is it's big (for a Trader Joe's) with plenty of room to move around. The parking lot is "big" as well. However it's shared with other places so it fills quickly. However I didn't have time finding parking the few times we went. It's close to some Inns as well as the transit center. It's well stocked and the staff are friendly.

Love the potato and corn place! Love the fruit drink stand and the hummus place as well!read more

If I'm in need...which is rarely. Living in the Salinas…read moreValley is a great blessing when it comes to fruit and vegetables. Marina's farmer's market is small which doesn't make it bad. With so many other farmers markets in the country and Santa Cruz County too Marina is not my go too or favorite. Two of the vegetable vendors couldn't break a fifty. So I just moved on. Super majority of food vendors are serving Mexican food which is great...if that's what you want. No diversity. I get it, it's not about me, I'm sure many count on this market. Last words...it's there.

Good location, customer service and products. My favorite…read morevitamin here is the fruit tart. However, in the last two months we discovered they prepare it on Saturday so it is crunchy that day , HOWEVER, if you try to buy it on Sunday, it's not crunchy anymore specially, the bottom... it is a pie at this point. Last two times it was not crunchy. . We spent 10 minutes this morning investigating why it's not crunchy anymore and that's where I got the information from. One of the staff at the patisserie suggested to recall them three days ahead of time and we ask them to prepare it the same day we want to buy it... maybe we will give it a third try for a Sunday (I hope they don't give us one made the day before and tell us" oh, it's all the same"...) By the way, they discontinued, the blueberry almond tart: that one stayed crunchy for days. I'll come back next time to either give them an extra star or to take off one more star, depending on how crunchy the tarte will be. By the way France, patisserie does not stay From day today. It is baked in the morning and by five or 6 PM nothing is left... same thing at any French trained patisserie. All over the world.

I've had strange experiences with service. At the bakery counter I wanted to buy several 'S'mores…read morecupcakes and the unpleasant person who decided to assist me didn't like that I asked for a box that wouldn't mess up the toasted swirl on top of each cupcake. Rather than understand that I wanted to keep the attractiveness in tact, she decided to take exception to my request. Then another employee walking past made some nasty comments about we don't even have those kind of containers. So I pointed them out in a nearby display of baking goods. Then after a lot of sneering and snideness a man came up from behind the counter to gruffly inform me that they are out of those containers and I will have to take they have. The girl knew, because I told her, that I wanted the cupcakes to remain attractive. So as she boxed them up I watched and she made a point of damaging a few. I should have told her shove them! What the hell is not understandable about wanting your carefully decorated baked goods to not get smear in the box?! Why was that so hard to understand? I have a photo of the cupcakes-- the only undamaged one in front. I'm reluctant to make any more purchases because they made it an unpleasant experience for no good reason