The staff is super nice, and you see the same faces over the years, for the most part, so you can…read moretell it is a decent place to work. The food is REALLY diverse, with the tried-and-true favorites, as well as some more upscale, new agey things. They have a little bit of organic product (not much, but still surprising for a small store) they have a Japanese sushi bar, though I think they may be closing it down. They roast chile during the season when it has been harvested. THey do it in specially designed, big barrels outside the store and then they wrap it up and sell it to their customers.
The variety is astonishing, really. In the produce, I recommend the blueberries, strawberries, cranberries (in season), avocados, green chile. For some reason, those things, in particular, are better than anywhere else in town. I suspect that this store has an "in" with local growers of SOMETHING.
Basically, this store has pretty much EVERYTHING that a person needs in their household, including some gourmetish items.
STAY AWAY FROM: The CHEESE. For some reason, I have had to return several cheese items. I don't think they are storing it properly. Also, the yellow onions look really tired but the white ones are just fine. THE BREAD is also not great. I've never been able to find an expiration date on any of their breads and I am suspicious about that. But at least they HAVE bread, when you're in a pinch.
don't expect a lot in the meat department. They used to have a full time person behind the counter, but now the pickings are slim.
The store has fallen on hard times since Covid, though, which is why I don't give them 5 stars. They USED to have a full SERVICE department, with Western Union and everything, but now they don't even pay out for the winning lottery tickets. (They do have a lottery machine, however, so at least you can buy them there.) I think that the pandemic made it difficult for them to get staff, but I am betting that when things improve in that department, they will be able to hire back some of the staff.
The location of this store is very convenient, and it is a quick "in" and "out" - which is great for me, because I am disabled and can't be on my feet for very long. They switched from manned checkout stations to "do-it-yourself" about a year ago, but if they see someone struggling, they help them through the procedures. Today, when I went in there, I had a complicated checkout, using two different cards, so one of the gals opened up the manned checkout counter for me. They're nice like that.
By the way, in the lot right next door, on 12th and Lomas, there is a small gas station with 4 pumps and a small little 7-11 type store THERE as well - but it's only good for EMERGENCY gas runs because it is very difficult to get in and out of there, the gas pumps NEVER have receipts. They always make you walk into the store to get a receipt from the checker, and their customer service stinks. I just mention it because having the gas station there HAS BEEN convenient a couple times when I was running really low on gas.
This IS the best neighborhood place ever! When they're able to get more staff again, when they open up the service counter again, and when they get a real handle on the expiration dates on some of the foods, I'll come back and give them a '5." In the meantime, 4 stars for a great effort, good variety, and surprisingly good quality during difficult times.
