I really liked Earth Fare! They had what looked like absolutely delicious food on their hot bar, as well as in their Deli, Bakery, and Meat & Seafood sections. I also loved their selection of trail mixes, and they had an awesome selection of craft beers, both from afar and nearby. Would recommend! read more

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Earth fare has a nice variety if items you may not find in other stores such as good tasting plant based frozen desserts from Llama and Wicked. They also have anice selection of gluten free items. They usually have good deals on their sale items and daily specials. Customer service is excellent. You may have several members of their staff to ask you if you need help. read more

It's a nice store but the prices are high. I only go there looking for something special.

A big, spacious healthy food grocery continues to do well in Columbia. It has a very definite and approving clientele and offers a lot of fresh, organic food items from all over the world. The meats are especially appealing: hormone-free and cut to preference, and there are some yummy looking fishes. There also seem to be a number of to-go products such as salads, veggies, sandwiches, desserts, etc. We like their coffee selections, too. The downside to this would have to be the prices, which are generally higher than you'll find in neighboring groceries, and in some cases MUCH higher. If you're on a budget, this probably isn't going to be your go-to store, but we do like shopping here even if we wind up merely browsing. read more

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Great place to pick up healthy foods and drink. Clean and friendly staff. Highly recommend

Very friendly store with great selection! My wife's favorite store to go to once every couple of months. Every couple of moths bc it's definitely more expensive. 2 bags today was $163 including tax but the smile on my wife's face....worth it! read more

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Stopped in here with my neighbors to check out a sale that they had going on. I was under the impression that they were still closed. When we walked in, it was completely upgraded from the way I remember it. It looks more modern. They had ribeye steaks and lobster tails on sale, so I picked up a few things and grabbed some popcorn. We didn't encounter any staff except for the cashier. She was very pleasant. Bubbly! Nice experience. May return if I'm in that area again. read more

Earth Fare - Grocery Near Me - Columbia, South Carolina

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I like a few things there, like the fresh ground honey peanut butter, I always grind my own small amount. It is outstanding and reasonable in price. I like their pastries, especially the sour dough donut, I think it is. They also have excellent deli slicked (pre sliced in packages) provolone and swiss cheese. But the big draw is the salad and hot bar, outstanding option for me. I like the store personnel and cleanliness, and sometimes their fresh salsa over in the produce department. read more

Great place, awesome staff. Highly recommend. Great place to get water too. Frat selection in the deli

Earth Fare is one of the original healthy grocery stores, founded in 1975. Their location in Chattanooga closed. Many of their Carolina stores have made a comeback, including this one in South Carolina. And I'm so glad! They offer delicious, fresh desserts. I decided to enjoy their carrot cake tonight. Such a Sunday treat. read more

Earth Fare - Carrot Cake - Grocery Near Me - Columbia, South Carolina

No-one is happy here and it's incredibly uncomfortable to ask for help. I could NOT find a smiling face in the store. Maybe I'm old fashioned but customer service exists beyond the $$ read more

Very convenient and friendly service. Everything is always fresh. Extremely clean. Love the daily ads.

Lovely store, beautiful produce, lots of variety, healthy options, and great staff. This is one of my favorite grocery stores in Columbia. I first found Earth Fare while trying to look for sulfate and nitrate free wine. They have a beautiful wine and cheese section, definitely worth the trip. They have a great selection of bulk items at reasonable rates. I have seen many times their produce items being actually as inexpensive as aldi, so watch the flyers as it is absolutely possible to get great deals here on beautiful, healthy foods. As a military member, I try to come in on Tuesdays. They give 10% off so it's basically like shopping at the commissary, tax-free, these days which is great for my wallet. My other go-to items here are the fresh deli and the chocolate covered ginger. Ginger makes all my female aches and pains go away and the Deli is great if you want a peaceful place to study or catch up with friends. The seating is out of the way and private so it's really lovely. There is always plenty of parking outside, they give you bags so you don't have to bring your own unless you want to. They have plenty of deals each week and I am trying to figure out the deal with Tomato Bucks. If anyone has any insight, please share. Either way, I would just say, great supermarket. I will continue spending my shopping dollars here far into the future! :-) read more

They reopened as of 8/2020. There selection is the best in town for healthy food, fantastic produce and good vegan options. Their faux chicken salad is an addition. So good. Plus, they are one of the few places you can buy beer, wine and champagne on Sunday. Plus, they are doing a fantastic job of following safety guidelines to keep customers safe during the pandemic. read more

I've loved Earthfare for years, ( previously an Ohio resident) and was thrilled to find one in Columbia, SC. Unfortunately, it's not that close to me, about a 20-25 minute drive. Still, I make sure I go at least once a month. Their fresh meat and seafood choices are outstanding; I've never had a problem with anything I've purchased here. The fresh produce is great, the hot/cold bar is delicious, and the frozen food choices are really good. I think their prices are very competitive, especially for organic products. I shop Publix and Costco during the weeks I can't make it to Earthfare. I love their bakery items. Parking has never been an issue for me, but I use Handicapped parking. I love their little carts; so much easier to push around the store. Employees are always helpful, meat counter clerks are friendly and knowledgeable, checkout is quick, and I actually enjoy my time in the store. Try it, check out all they have to offer, and you'll see why I live this store. read more

Extremely overpriced + went around 8:00 and deli/sushi/meat/seafood areas were all closed and put away as well as only 1 cashier working. Place is clean and has good variety if you can afford it. Go early in afternoon if you plan on purchasing ready made meals read more

Earth Fare - $5 sushi at 8:00, closed - Grocery Near Me - Columbia, South Carolina

Went in today for the first time since the re-open. I gotta say, I wasn't impressed. They have much less product than before. Everything is spaced out to make it look full, but it's so much less. I bought a canned matcha drink, only to find out it expired before the store even reopened. Seems like they didn't sell out of everything when they closed and put stuff away in storage, and then restocked it. But maybe check your dates? Gross. read more

Earth Fare - The Matcha drink I purchased. - Grocery Near Me - Columbia, South Carolina

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A nice remodel has been done to the store as of a few months ago, seafood section has clearly marked signs on frozen varieties of fish. They will have basil lemon or teriyaki marinades cobia or steelhead trout from different countries of origin. Beer section is more open and more importantly more styles and options. Breakfast items are still lackluster and do not taste good on several visits I weigh my opinion. Juice bar could use a upgrade with more options wheat grass shots are not always fresh tasting. Cheese and cold meats here make great party trays , a lot of choices. When I come here I'm mostly interested the new smoked items such as shrimp or the chili coffee dusted tuna. Prices vary from inexpensive to through the roof. I enjoy shopping here as does my wife I how ever do not see the point of the points system. Too many vists to little points or rewards to show for it. Parking is usually not hard to find on most days. read more

Earth Fare - Smoked shrimp - Grocery Near Me - Columbia, South Carolina

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Great employees and great service with a great selection. I can't say enough nice things about Earthfare

Was so excited when Earth Fare reopened on Devine! Wish this was my easy pop-in healthy neighborhood grocery store. Disappointed every time I go. Prepared foods look old and gross. Salads always wilted. Literally saw a dead fly in one of the to go salad containers. Rotisserie chicken specials on Monday- sounds great- but the chicken is chewy. Fed it to my dog. Check out employees are all very, very nice!!!! read more

EarthFare has definitely improved since Whole Foods opened down the street. I went in today and the Produce section was perfectly stocked, looked nice, and was super fresh, great quality. I was impressed. The prices are competitive with Whole Foods and even had some better deals (4lb. bag of organic oranges $2.99!). I will be shopping here more often. read more

Earth Fare - Produce section - Grocery Near Me - Columbia, South Carolina

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Arrived late in Columbia due to cancelled flights. Being here first time not in a hotel but in an Airbnb house there was need to go and buy some food. By chance we found that shop in the neighborhood. I was immediately attracted since I am buying organic at home in Germany, too, and found lots of european organic delis in that Shop. I was really impressed with the variety of fresh produce, even meat and fish at a Big counter. What really kicked me off was finding a pinkus beer bottle, a local beer coming from Münster, the german town I lived in quite some years. Greatly Done! I left that shop with 150$ less but packed with lots of great and healthy food. read more

Earth Fare - Grocery Near Me - Columbia, South Carolina

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Not really a review, just a note. The phone number (803) 799-0048 has been disconnected. You want (803) 223-7366

I had lunch at Earthfare in Columbia, SC. Compared to other Earthfare locations, this location is so-so. The dining area is not as inviting as other locations' dining area. The hot food choices were very limited. I ended up with pizza that was nothing to brag about. I felt like I was playing Hide n Seek as I walked in circles trying to figure out where everything was. I still don't know where the drink fountain and knives, forks, cups, etc. are. I just happened to find some napkins by the soup and found the trash/recycles hidden in the corner. The set up was just plain awkward. I will continue to eat at Earthfare in other cities, like Charleston. I don't necessarily see myself dining at the Columbia location again. read more

I'm not a regular Earth Fare customer and my trip yesterday confirmed why I'm not. A while back I signed up for the Earth Fare mailing list and every week they send me a coupon for something. Normally I initially get excited about getting a pound of free peaches when I spend $5 in the store but that fades and never materializes into me actually going to the store. (Publix and I are already in a long term, committed relationship and I'm not all about the store hopping in the first place.) But... This week the coupon was for 5 organic products for $5. No additional purchase necessary. It seemed like an excellent deal on products we would use. So off I go. I obviously don't know where anything in the store is so I have to wander around a bit to find the 5 items on my list. The first area I head to was the produce section. I wrongfully assumed that Earth Fare would have impeccable produce. Nay. The bananas were way past their prime and turning brown and in some cases black and the produce on the whole was pricey. So moving on... I wasn't the only person wandering around with the coupon looking for these products. We started to team up and share information since the staff seemed to be a bit difficult to identify. They all seemed to be just wearing t-shirts and shorts... some had aprons. I saw one staff member talking to a customer about when he was going to call him to offer him a new job. I guess he didn't like Earth Fare either. Anyway...finally found the products. They were running out of some items and DID offer substitutions which was nice. Not all stores do that and the coupon said while supplies last so they REALLY didn't have to do that. The cashier and bagger were friendly enough and checkout didn't take long at all. They also had those small carts which I like (sometimes I don't need a giant cart... we aren't all buying 40lb bags of dog food or 3 cases of bottled water). If there is another fabulous coupon (I paid $5.05 and saved more than $12 on this trip) then I'll probably go back but those produce coupons won't even get me excited anymore. It's going to take more than some cheap organics to break Publix and me up! read more

I have a love/hate relationship with this place, some things are great but others are really bad. Let's start with the good: Their wine selection. BOOM. It's small but great and there is always something new. Some of the staff, the deli staff and wine staff are wonderful, always nice and friendly. The free samples. The fresh nut/grain selection is awesome. Their coffee. Their meat and cheese section is awesome. Salad bar (if you're not looking for anything fancy) I just get just lettuce, broccoli, cucumbers and carrots. The carne asada was actually really good, but a little chewy. Their 1.5L bottle of water for $.98 Frozen ravioli that you can take home (only 4-cheese kind is tasty, others were meh) The bad: Their made to order sandwiches are grease mounds. They use sliced over salty mozzarella (not fresh) on the mozz/tomato one. The chicken in the chicken wrap is weird, I got a weird bite and couldn't finish it. The pre-packaged sandwiches means the bread falls apart in your hands and falls all over your lap like tears of sadness. The clam chowder used to be my absolute favorite but the last two times ruined it for me, first the onion sizes started getting bigger and bigger, WHY :( then I noticed lots of parts of the clams in the soup that you really don't want to eat, weird stringy things..ew. They never, ever have the oyster crackers out when they have the clam chowder...I always have to ask for them and then someone brings me one packet...ONE packet... Could have gone either way between 2-3 stars but the weird strings in my chowda pushed it down to 2. read more

Keep a barf-bag handy. As a regular patron of Earth Fare, I can attest to spotting rotting cheeses, moldy ravioli, old cardboard-like bulk food items, and milk products one-to-two weeks past their expiration date I've talked to their employees, their manager, and even pulled some stunts in attempts to draw attention to their unsafe food offerings, but I've seen no improvement over the two years I've been shopping there. Unfortunately, for now this remains the only natural foods option on my way home from work. However, like many other former customers, I will be taking my future shopping dollars to Whole Foods. read more

Overall, Earth Fare is pretty disappointing. It lacks the great deals of a Trader Joe's or the wide selection of items of Whole Foods. Indeed, its selection is, for me, more limited than Trade Joe's, but it's probably more expensive than "Whole Paycheck." We dropped by there the other day to pick up some tortillas and vegetables for making enchiladas, but the only tortillas they had were whole grain (spelt or something). No corn tortillas of any type. By contrast, Trader Joe's has several options for tortillas. We were also hoping to get some chocolate chips, but found nothing under $5 a bag, double what we pay at TJ's. On the plus side, their prepared food seemed solid and they do have a lot of things you will not find elsewhere in Columbia. In general, however, going to Earth Fare makes me homesick for the West Coast. read more

Earthfare is a good natural foods store. Great promos in weekly e-mails for free items and such. Kids night on Thursday. They also sponser many differnet local charities. I believe some people do not realize they have a more strict guideline as to what they will carry from Whole Foods BUT selection is poor at this Location compared to the others in the chain read more

Earth Fare - Grocery Near Me - Columbia, South Carolina

Seems to have an amazing selection considering it's size, and appears to be a little more specialized in hard to find items than either Whole Foods or Trader Joe's is. I enjoy both of the aforementioned establishments but coming her beats making the drive to Greenville/Charlotte (or waiting until we're in those areas to hit the stores). I really appreciated the fact that I saw a gentleman in the produce section going through and removing anything that wasn't fresh, and trimming the tips on things like celery. Pricey, as you'd expect, but there are some deals to be found. I was in there during lunch last week and the deli/buffet area was pretty busy. Must be good! read more

If you've been to Cali, or anywhere on the west coast, you will enjoy a trip to Earth Fare. These type of specialty "organic-whole food" stores are pretty easy to come by in the land of hip. In fact, I Met my lovely wife in one such store called Bushel Basket, way out west in a place called Victorville :) This store is nice and clean, and comfortable- it has polished cement floors, kind of low lighting, and some pleasant cool elevator music playing. It makes for a relaxed environment- you can take your time and pursue the shelves. It really seems bigger than it is. Earth Fare has a nice selection of specialty and hard to find items...A nice multiple selection of items- for example they had 4 to 5 different choices of rice noodles and many different choices of Pad Thai sauces- so you can find just what you want. They must have 30 different energy bars to choose from, if you are one given to indecision, skip this section :) The variety in this store is very nice from can goods to fresh meat and vegetables, to ready to eat, hot prepared foods...There is even a little section to sit and enjoy a meal. read more

I stopped here driving through Columbia and I just needed something to eat that wasn't fast food...unfortunately it was a Sunday and like most small cities, a lot of places are closed...so there I see Earth Fare and a sign on the window that says "hot bar"...cool, went in and saw the "hot bar" was not so hot...decided on some sushi and veggie rolls which were really good I must say...the store is like a little Whole Foods, it just doesn't have a big selection in certain departments like the hot bar and salad bar...customer service was great, cashier encouraged me to look online for coupons...if I am in the area again, I might come back and see what they've done to that hot bar..for a small organic store..not bad~ read more

Earth Fare - Sushi w/shrimp and Veggie Rolls to go~ - Grocery Near Me - Columbia, South Carolina

Sometimes they're okay but I typically reserve shopping here for things I can't find at places like 14 carrots or publix. I do this generally because there are pretty over priced on a good amount of products that can be found elsewhere. Another reason it, there seams to always be a problem with the meat and fruits I buy here. The meats tend to go bad sooner than the expiration date ( like 2 or 3 days after purchasing when there is another 4-5 days on the label). The fruit (strawberries in particular) has a tendency to be bad by the time I get it home from the store!!! I live so far away it's not worth it to drive all the way back for a refund (I do monthly trips here). Now to give Credit where credit is due, the managers are always nice and willing to correct the problems that arise, the thing is...how many times do I need to call or come by for a complaint about expired items(Meat, Strawberries, even protein shakes I bought off the shelf once were 2 months past exp WHEN I PURCHASED THEM....Do we not rotate shelves people??). My final complaints and big reasons I do not enjoy shopping here are .... military discounts have been restricted to Thursdays and there's a no concealed weapons sign at the door!!! This just on principle makes it hard to want to walk through the door! As far as the discount, Saturdays or Sundays would have made more sense but why not every day like it was before...Seriously? With your over charging and competition like Whole foods not terribly far away (and 14 carrots depending on what side of town you live on), it seems silly to be so close to a military base and restrict military discounts to Thursdays. Also the no concealed weapons sign...truly...this must be some corporate policy....or at least I sincerely hope it is. Having to disarm to go grocery shopping in an area that's not necessarily the best, for overpriced groceries, where I can only go and get a discount on Thursdays, and hope my purchase doesn't go bad before promised...Is there any surprise that my once a week shopping trip at Earth Fare has turned into once a month sale and hard to find items trip? Nah, probably not. read more

Earthfare is OK, but they better step up their game before Wholepaycheck comes to town. The deli has seen a slight improvement lately. It used to be near inedible. Update - Dec 2015. They have improved even more since I wrote my initial review. Good job! I actually want to eat the hot bar again and get kind of excited about the mashed potatoes. read more

Simply not that good of a store. I want to like the place, and Heaven knows Columbia needs more high quality meat and produce, but Earth Fare is very hit or miss. The prices are quite high, considering what you get. I have absolutely no problem paying a premium for excellent groceries, but I've had middling experiences with Earth Fare and will spent an inordinate amount at Whole Foods, when they open. Earth Fare is just 'okay'. The service is so-so, the employees seem disinterested, and the deli is a mess - some of the food borders on gross. Tough to recommend, especially with Rosewood Market nearby if you want to buy local. Hope Earth Fare management gets their house in order before Whole Foods lands. read more

Earth fare is hands down the best grocery store in Columbia. I was introduced to EF by a friend who knew the founder and was familiar with it since it opened. Many complain that it's too expensive to which I retort, you get what you pay for. However, I think if you shop smart it's not so bad. Deli items and gourmet items are expensive but if you stick with staples, such as raw meat, it's not much more than alternatives, but is SO much higher quality. And they have specials often. Unfortunately I do not live near otherwise i would shop there regularly. The reason for the 4 stars and not 5, their corporate marketing department annoys me with their specials. Many times they are misleading, and the butcher will explain that it's not 5 burgers for $5 it's actually a discount on raw meat. Which is OK but they should say that. Also many times they run out of items on sale- such as the 5 for $5 where you get crackers, peanut butter and so on.. they will not have them. This puts a damper on the excitement - and usually it's the coupons that motivate me to take the drive and spend time there filling up my cart. Then they cancelled the free chicken coupon, and now the tomato bank doesn't really have any value (used to be real money off your bill). They need to rethink their strategy. One time I complained about this to the manager and Barbara gave me a free pound of Buffalo meat. Their customer service is super... the staff is friendly and usually very knowledgeable about the products. They have an excellent selection of cheese, wine, and specialty items not easy to find elsewhere (such as Dr. Bronners soaps - which you can use from laundry to bathing to cleaning your car!). Overall Earthfare is the only place in town with really high quality foods, especially meat and seafood where you can see the difference. Some items expensive but I encourage shoppers to learn more about the products (for example - organic meat which does not have preservatives and chemicals tends to spoil faster, meat from WalMart will last for weeks in the fridge or longer). Also in terms of value, getting meat which is free of chemicals, hormones, and other crap, it's really a much better value.. I have 2 hens and can tell you the real price of raising hens is much more than you can get a whole chicken for. One last thing, last thanksgiving I convinced the family to get our Turkey there - it was the BEST turkey ever.. unfortunately it was HUGE - we only had a few people and the bird was enough for 10.. but probably the best bird meat of any kind we ever tasted.. read more

Earthfare is a reliable staple with an excellent selection in their bulk bins, and unusual ingredients that one might not expect to be able to find in Columbia. Sure, it's got its issues sometimes, but I keep going back because it's close to my house, isn't as overwhelming as Whole Foods, and has decent coupons on occasion. I wouldn't buy my whole grocery list from here because the produce and convenience item prices are high, but I also don't expect it to be my one stop shop. read more

Really good selection of meat and fish. Also, the Turkey Thighs are tender and wonderful flavor compared to [say] Publix.

The new redo is very promising !! My biggest complaint before was poor cust service but no more.

Two pet peeves at Earth Fare- no.1- they have no lettuce that isn't packaged in plastic , and no.2,, Could the food preps please actually chop the ingredients instead of throwing practically whole vegetables into things. Pimento cheese is great, but who needs a whole stem of parsley and half a pimento in it? Chili with huge chunks of uncooked celery ? I got one serving of Brussels sprouts and counted 17 whole garlic cloves in it! Barf! Is it laziness or Just bad cooking? read more