Totally surprised by how nice, clean and well stocked the downtown Fed Meyers is! Lots of gorgeous produce and lots of organic as well. There is a huge wine area with shopping carts of discounted wine. There is also a bar! Yep, you heard that right - a bar in the middle of Fred Meyers! Varied and inexpensive selection of wines and beer, with daily happy hours and Timbers viewing parties. What? Sign me up?
The bakery section was loaded with offerings from all the top local bakeries without the huge markup prices that other stor s sell for this convenience. Jaciva tortes and cakes; Papa Hardin delectable deserts; croissants and cinnamon rolls from La Petite Provence;sticky buns from Marsee Bakery; and lots of tasty offerings made in store. Definitely coming here next time I need a delicious dessert for a dinner party.
They don't just have sushi, they have a full on sushi bar! Plus a convenient takeout kiosk with fresh made sushi to go. The cheese counter is well stocked with local and national brands with lots of high end crackers, jams, dried fruit and nuts to create a stellar platter.
Now to the grocery area, it's huge and spread out. The store is not as large as the NE Weidler store where I shopped for 19 years when I lived in NE, but the way it's designed, you literally have to cover the entire store footprint if you want produce, dairy and staples. The housewares, personal items and home and garden are practically amongst the food aisles. Baffled me and made it challenging to figure out the logic. I'm sure I'll get better at this once I visit more often and get used to a completely different layout.
There is plenty of parking underground. The garage is well lit, which is super important to me since there are a lot of street people in this part of town and it can be intimidating. The recycling area is at the opposite end of the doors to the elevators - Good call! At the UnSafeway on 10th & Jefferson, it can be uncomfortable navigating through this area to get into the store. Fred Meyers planned this well.
The day I was there the escalator up to the store was not working. Hope this is temporary as the wait for the elevator took some time and there were a few people I didn't want to be in an elevator with so I waited to go it alone. There is also a parking area outside on NW 20th place, conveniently located across from entryway, which I will use next time.
In addition to picking up a few groceries, I scored a few Easter items on sale and some Mexican salsa bowls. That's what I always liked about Freddy's, one stop shopping. And this store, while limited in the non-grocery items, delivers.
Since I go to a gym nearby, I'll be back. From the outside location I had my doubts, but inside was all good. read more