This place has been under renovation for almost 2 years now. The last I saw it was closed to the…read morepublic and I have not seen workers in there for a few months. I don't know if it is open anymore, if it is being sold, or if new management is being procured. I do know, that traversing the past two owners that stock had been sold with the establishment and that on top of the old stock that the new owners had brought in a lot of new stock.
This store has a loyal Middle Eastern clientele and I am white American/ Euro. I have always been treated with respect when shopping at this establishment which has been run by several different owners.
(Keep in mind I don't shop here daily, or weekly even. I am a sporadic customer who shops here when I want the convenience of a small store that is easily accessible when I need something quickly. Also, this review is written with the intentions of providing customer feedback to the owners of this establishment with hopes of them using it to address the issues. I like this store, I want to shop here, and this area needs a small market.)
Biggest gripe about this establishment. Transparency - this location has always had a frozen meats section, something you don't see at many stores if any. In this section there are packaged meats that the store sells to the public. They are meats that are packaged at or by the store. I don't know if the meats are fresh and flash frozen, or what. There is no transparency to this practice and I find it to be out of the ordinary. I feel like it is a way for the owners to make money on near expiring products they would normally have to dispose of. This section has to go. Very disturbing.
Second biggest gripe is the condition of the fruit, vegetable, and fresh salad section. This store has a LARGE fruit and vegetable section and probably takes up about 20% of the floorspace at this market. I love the fact that they keep such a large fruit and vegetable section, but it is not managed well.
First off, for the most part, their vegetables section is pretty clean... maybe not what I would consider to be average for a market, but it is acceptably clean in the manner that I would purchase something if I needed it there and then take it home and wash it appropriately.
I have occasionally found rotten vegetables in this section, and I don't think that any of the store managers have procedures put in place to avoid this kind of influence on their customers. That being, I don't think that they make the necessary accommodations to keep customers from seeing their expired or near expiring stock.
Fruit section is regularly a mess. I don't think they know how to rotate stock, or keep an active log of purchase dates and expiration dates. This section commonly has a mix of fresh fruit, expiring fruit, and some damaged or degrading fruit items. I do not buy fruit from here unless it appears to be a specialty purchase that is obviously very fresh.
Secondly, this store sells out of date fruit and veg at a discount, which is disgusting. This is a market not your grandmother's refrigerator. This section needs to go.
Thirdly, this store has a fresh salad section that appears unclean, and dated. Nothing here ever seems fresh. Basically, what it is, is a small kiosk near their deli and made to order catering station. It is a self serve buffet style salad center that has things like mixed veg salads, olives, etc. This section is never labeled correctly (if labeled at all). I generally walk by this section without even looking at it. Mainly, because I know there are things there that I would purchase, but I would never purchase from here or in that manner. This station has a "Trader Joes" aesthetic, but the store doesn't care about it. If this station is a "feature" they treat it as a burden and it isn't appropriate for the level of management this store can provide.
What I do like about this store is what keeps me shopping here. They have a HUGE variety of import goods, mostly Middle Eastern. I started shopping at this store because they had a deal on Shawarma wraps. At first the wraps were very good, but after a while they almost doubled the price of the wraps and then they completely phased this service out. They still do catering, but it seems to be on a preorder only basis. I am not sure what the new management will do with this section, but I assume it will become a kitchen of some sort. I do not know.
This store has always sold fresh Middle Eastern breads, and meat and veg. pies. They make them daily and I think that out of all of the fresh foods sections this section is the most well managed section. Their breads and pies are very good and I have never gotten a bad pie or bread from here. They also make them very affordable and I find it to be a value as well as a treat.
This store does have a cold section for cheeses, milk, yogurt etc... Most of the products are Middle Eastern cuisine themed. This store also sells some pre-packaged frozen goods.
