Love this place and their selection of items. I got goat meat here recently and it was delicious…read more The staff is always incredibly nice and helpful

Perfect food. Perfect people Everything is wonderful. Easy access from parking area.read more

Last month, on a very hot day, my son was feeling sick and we stopped at Oliver Lemon's to buy a…read morecold drink. The woman behind the counter could not have been kinder! Without us even asking, she wet some paper towels for my son to put on the back of his neck and got some crackers for him to eat since he was feeling light-headed. She took such good care of him, you would have thought we had known her forever! I have been thinking about her generosity every day since then. I just wanted to say thank you to her, and that we are both still marveling at what a kind person she is.

Had fantastic fresh meat sandwiches here. What a refreshing option and on the way back from Bend!…read moreLovely organic food store with lots of options as well

I just went to Local Acres Marketplace for the first time and had a great experience. As soon as…read moreyou walk in the store the first thing your tempted with is a ton of local goodies from Sisters and beyond. Ton of specialty items I usually would have to trek into Newport Market for. The bakery had marionberry pies, there is a deli section, and they have organic options! Lots of fruits, veggies plus plenty of gluten free choices too. The store was really really clean with a nice atmosphere and similar aesthetic to Market of Choice but seems to provide more value and less stress. The best part was my cashier Judy! She was genuinely nice to me, I had a great customer service experience with her. She really made me feel that local true community feeling, honestly how it should be. She was so nice when I mentioned it was my first time - she truly authentically welcomed me with such a kind tone and even walked me through signing up for their points system (much better than Market of Choice coupons this actually adds up toward your grocery bill)!!! We chatted about the store and its history a bit which was cool. I walked away feeling like wow, that was a nice experience! Rare these days even in Bend. This is a sleeper hit for me and is going to be my new go to. I told her I will definitely be back and I will. Highly recommend, customer service means a lot to me and I truly had a positive experience.

The double line checkout is a joke when the dang checkers DO…read moreNOT pay attention to whom is next. Terry is like I didn't know.. well maybe use your peripheral vision and wake up! Then Theresa on the other checkout has her RBF on. And your bubbly waters are thee highest in Bend. Not sure why...Do better local acres. Where is the CUSTOMER SERVICE??!?!

Dinner with a friend at Boken (shameless plug for that good place…read morehttp://www.yelp.com/biz/boken-bend#hrid:5GYsTuHhgi0gn9J-uJt0Ng ) on Thursday night led to a bounty of tomatoes for my kitchen on Friday afternoon to enjoy for dinner on Friday night. Everything is connected to everything else. In this case, eating good food at Boken made my friend remember to mention the yummy tomatoes she purchased at the previous week's Friday market held in the St. Charles Medical Center (SCMC) Parking lot.. "You need to try these tomatoes" she said. If you live in Central Oregon, you know how rare are good tomatoes here. In particular if, like me, you've lived in some wicked good tomato growing places before such as New Jersey (seriously...the best tomatoes) and the SF Bay area. A recommendation for good tomatoes in Bend is worth following up. So on Friday I went to the SCMC market to find the them. The first thing I noted is these smelled like great tomatoes. You know what I mean. As I picked up and picked out my New Girl, Big Beef, Big Dina and cherry tomato selections, my hands smelled like fresh tomatoes too. Ahhhhh! Hubby and I had a tomato sampler for dinner to go along with wonderful spicy lettuce greens mix from Rainshadow Organics farm (also at the market) and a cheese baguette from Village Baker (also at the market). Along with a nice glass (or two) of Chehalem winery's most recent Inox release, it was a fantabulous Oregon locavore foods dinner with tomatoes at the center. The remaining tomatoes perfume my kitchen this morning as they wait to be our dinner tonight. I emailed my friend to thank her for the heads up. Now I've used Yelp to recommend Victoria's Vegetables tomatoes to Yeeps and other Peeps. If you try the tomatoes, I think you'll want to thank my friend too. NOTES: 1 ) A key reason good tomatoes are rare here is Central Oregon's growing season is short (really only a couple of months), the elevation is high, the rainfall is little (under 12" year) and the soil is not great for growing things other than Juniper. Victoria's Vegetables uses the Mittleider Method to grown theirs. Neutral soil and vertical growing are part of that mix. The owners like to share about the method and if you contact them you can also tour the greenhouses. 2) Victoria's Vegetables are at both the SCMC market on Fridays (2 - 6) and the downtown Mirror Pond Plaza market on Wednesdays (3-7). Maybe at the Saturday NW Crossing market too (10 - ?) which starts in late June.

Sometimes when we travel to new places we wonder how to meet the locals and learn what they are…read moregenerally about and the vibe that they exude. Well if you're ever in Bend, Oregon (and are wondering the same thing) we'd recommend giving their Farmer's Market in the Northwest Crossing neighborhood a try. If I were to overly simplify the local vibe I'd describe it as laidback. Not like the SoCal surfer mindset where most things are deemphasized in importance ("Dude, you should just chill!), but more like the quality of life mindset where living and appreciating each moment carries great value ("Man, isn't it great to be HERE right now?"). Clearly participating in the proverbial "rat race" holds little value in this place. Hosted every Saturday (June-September, 10:00-2:00) you'll find a wide array of unique booths to stroll by. You might expect the fresh produce, but may be surprised by the honey, gourmet mushrooms, grass fed beef, pies, hummus, and soaps. The emphasis here is on the local products that they proudly produce. We heard about the Farmer's Market from several of the locals and they suggested that spending 2 hours is pretty typical. While we wondered if that might be more than we needed, we found ourselves losing track of time because we became immersed in meandering about just soaking up the atmosphere and chatting with the locals (both the attendees and the vendors). If we lived here I think we might just come back every week! And that's...Henry's Take. #bendfarmersmarket #bendvibe #unplug

Great NWX community event. Seasonal but well worth checking out but be considerate of parking in…read moreany of the private lots. Tons of street parking. All NWX shops open, lots of booths, food, music and happy people. Note this is a no dogs event.

The staff is always helpful and pleasant. There are selections of beer, wine and spirits is…read moreextensive and the most inclusive in Bend.

This is a lovely small town locals liquor store with great customer service. While browsing the…read moreaisles, a staff member who was stocking shelves offered a few suggestions and friendly small talk. I was happy with my selection and then enjoyed just looking around at all the interesting accessories that could be found here or even in little boutiques. The displays were well stocked and prices were reasonable but a little high. This is a great place to make an alcohol purchase as a gift and fill the bag with fun add-ons that you might not find in the big box stores.

The Alfalfa Store is a great place to visit and have lunch or dinner. They have a really clean and…read morecomfortable area for enjoying freshly prepared food from the nice cart outside. Today, we had the Philly Cheese Steak sandwich and a strawberry smoothie - both were delicious! The staff at the store and working the cart are super nice and welcoming. Some of our car club drove out to have dinner this evening and there was plenty of safe parking and the staff was extra attentive and even gave our group some cool souvenirs. We love love love the donuts that the store sells also. (We often drive through Alfalfa on our way to Bend, just to get a donut). If you see that the case doesn't have the one you want, just ask - they always have more in the back! Their fresh coffee was an added bonus with that scrumptious donut, by the way. The only thing I'm bummed about is that I WISH I WOULD HAVE FOUND THIS PLACE A LONG TIME AGO

The Alfalfa Store is quaint and kitschy stop on the way out to the Prineville Reservoir. They have…read moregas, propane, ice, beer, snacks, lotto, etc. and there's a small sitting area outside. There is a decent selection of products and the beverage section received a nice expansion in 2015. The owners and staff are friendly and helpful. One word of caution: watch out for the ATM machine! It shows that the transaction will cost a $2 service fee -- but upon checking your statement, you will find that you actually paid $4 (or even $5) for the transaction. They will refund your money if you ask, but that might not be an option for those just traveling through.

This great liquor store is well located and has plenty of parking…read more Here in Oregon all liquor stores are state licensed so they all charge the same price. Service is what makes the difference at this store. Owned and run by Allison she has a great and knowledgeable team who are passionate about spirits and really know their stuff. They're bursting at the seams with a great selection of spirits across all categories at this store.

This place has the best selection and best staff. Obviously pricing is an issue because it's set by…read morethe state but when you have great staff and a great selection it's hard not to want to support them for all your alcohol needs.