this is not your every day grocery store. I would never go here to get my weekly groceries, but I will go here to do some rubbernecking and bargain hunting.
They have some weird stuff here. Erie, Michigan is not exactly a booming metropolis or Haven for culturally diverse food, but tucked away unassuming off the highway is a hidden gem known aw Erie IGA.
I was able to find some eastern European Staples and oddities. Think big lots meets a flea market for groceries and booze.
They do have fresh produce and fresh meats, (and typically even fresh pizza) but a lot of what they have is odd overstocked nearly expired items. Not to complain, because expiration dates are just dates that say best used by... They aren't truly expired. And as a bargain hunter, I love paying half the amount for food that is still perfectly fine.
Let's talk booze, beer, and wine. This place is staffed Floor to ceiling in one section full of bargain and bizarre. alcohol options. If you have never been here, you have to go in to understand what I am talking about. When I throw parties, this is my stop for a way to cheaply pump my guess full of drunken delight. They also have some houseware stuff sprinkled in between the nearly expired freezer food, and the Eastern European soup options.
My husband and I spent over an hour just looking at everything. We went in to pick up some cabbage on our way home from an event a few years back and left with $100 worth of food and alcohol that looks more like $300 worth.
I'm not sure if the owner is Russian or Ukrainian, but he was cool is hell. I picked up the best frozen spinach pies I have ever had. They had blitzes and my favorite kosher split pea soup in the freezer.
We try to go back every three months or so even though it's completely out of our way just so we can see what cool finds they have procured.
The days of small grocery stores are numbered, but every time I see one I go in. And usually, I keep going back. Maybe it's the nostalgia, maybe it's the 1950s housewife in me, but I love a good small town grocery store. read more