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Tue. October 9, 2007, 07:03am PDT
Neighborhood Market expired from my list
After grabbing food at The Red Hot a couple weeks ago Sarah and I remembered we needed some milk so we crossed the street to Neighborhood Market. [ map ] Nothing from the outside would really urge me away from this place with its available off-street parking and clean enough facade. We went inside and first enjoyed (or not) what seemed to be the smell of pot but, potentially even worse, could've been something in the store. As we wandered through to find milk a couple of the already tight aisles were clogged with piles of a lax re-stocking effort. Hey, as long as they had what I want and it's in a sealed container, I wasn't too worried about a little disorganization.
Once we found the milk I picked up one of the gallons and hear a "thud" when I moved it off-level. It had a column of solid milk ice which seemed odd until I noticed the expiration date. It was the same day. I suppose freezing the milk might help increase the shelf life a bit. Er something. I was satisfied with a nearby half gallon that still had a week to go and we headed for the checkout. Sarah did grab a quick box of toaster pastries as well.
The chill young man that checked us out then let us in on some kind of lonely bachelor secret scheme here that I didn't know about. He said the Pop Tarts were expired but, here's that kicker, that we could have them for 99 cents. What?! Since when did haggling cost for expired goods become OK? Since they're individually packaged and preserved little pastries we figured something a week or so past their recommended sell by date should be fine. In the car heading out we realized, however, that this particular box had expired in March 2006. Nice.
So, yea, Neighborhood Market? Not a big fan. I imagine there's some convenience in it for some but if they're not going to mark the place as a grocery outlet and be honest about the kind of stuff they carry, I'll pretty much steer clear.
Comments (15) | To Top
10/9/2007 @ 7:38am
They have great ground beef.
The owner is a butcher and knows how to make it.
I've always found their other food stuffs to be just fine ... a bit disjointed, but just fine. It is possible that the owner took some time off and might have left it in unable hands.
by NEAL
10/9/2007 @ 8:14am
Let's hope so NEAL. Having the two random things we sought be expired and very expired was a little off-putting.
by KevinFreitas
10/9/2007 @ 9:57am
Time off since March 2006?
by ensie
10/9/2007 @ 11:49am
I went in there once with moderate expectations. The outside looked nice. Great sign. Never returned.
Perhaps the owners could visit the new store on 21st street for a good model of what they could be.
The area around 6th has improved enough for this store to re-tool and really have some potential.
by Erik B.
10/9/2007 @ 12:27pm
Ew ew ew. I would never buy meat (or anything else for that matter) from there after reading that post. Imagine what the back room must look like if the front is full of milk ice, crowded isles and expired goods. Who knows what lurks behind the meat counter...
I love Dave's on the other hand. They have SAMPLES of their delicious produce out every time I go in and one of the guys even offered to cut up an apple so a customer could try one. Very clean, very bright, very friendly. Great produce and meat.
By the way, I'd love to be able to haggle for my groceries.
by How To Be Tacoman
10/9/2007 @ 1:23pm
I used to love the Neighborhood Market. Recently, however, they've stopped carrying a lot of things. (This is why the "lax re-shelving" - one of the workers told me the owner's phasing out much of their stock and moving the back wall in.) My husband also bought a bunch of yogurt there a week or two ago that expired in August.
The checker who told me they were downsizing said they just can't make a profit selling what they are now, but it seems like a little organizational help and not selling expired products would go a long way toward improving their bottom line.
by jenyum
10/9/2007 @ 7:57pm
It's a great spot considering the available parking and bustling location. Shame it can be cleaned up a bit and made into more of an open-air kind of place like Dave's. Thing like windows can prove so much more inviting (and offer literal transparency as to the conditions inside).
by KevinFreitas
10/10/2007 @ 12:39am
I agree it's a great spot and most of the workers in there are friendly. But the expired dates have been a problem as long as I can remember. Recently I've even noticed them taking measures to hide dates on some of the meats or smear the ink so you can't read them. I think some windows and an open air feel combined with fresh and organic foods would bring them out of the convenience market and be a good fit for the neighborhood. But I doubt it will ever happen with the current owner.
by Sara Sandefur
10/10/2007 @ 12:56am
Wow. What a thread Kevin.
Your post started off as a day in the life on 6th Avenue and it turned out to be a communal expose.
by Erik B.
10/10/2007 @ 6:29am
Erik: Well, I wanted to put my perspective out there to see if ours was a typical experience without having to go back time after time to find out.
Sara: "Smear" tactics? Really?! That's not cool at all.
by KevinFreitas
10/10/2007 @ 9:21am
OK, definitely not buying meat there again :(
by jenyum
10/10/2007 @ 8:44pm
I'll stick to the Metropolitan Market, or Stadium Thriftway, thanks.Ewwwwwww
by mlk
4/22/2008 @ 11:38pm
NO... whoever said buy the meat must be related. He rolls the OLD hamburger meat inside of the new meat. Every couple years I try again - same thing. ANY PERISHABLES should be avoided because the owner gets actually ANGRY if you push expired packages out of the way to reach for the fresh ones. One day he told me off because I didn't buy the expired BUTTER - insisting that it's just as good as the butter I pulled from the back of the shelf.
That was it for me.
Dairy and meat? Oh noooooooooooo.
Go look at the dates on the lunch meat -
I can TELL him they are expired, come back two days later and they are still for sale.
He should have to live with the consequences of his business practices.
by cloud
4/22/2008 @ 11:56pm
I apologize for the "must be related".
:)
by cloud
6/3/2008 @ 3:20pm
We need a new store in the area. I sent my son for FROZEN peas from Neighborhood Market. The next day I opened them to cook and add to tuna salad. They were entombed in ice, shriveled, and many were greyish white instead of green. Last night I took them back and the "dude" at the counter told me that I'd have to come back tomorrow.
Ten years - the first time I've gone to return something - and I have to go through a PROCESS and make it a multi-day endeavor?
I already knew to not buy fresh foods or any kind of meat product there... but frozen too?
I told him to look AT THE DATE on the package and that if he goes to the freezer that I bet he will SEE THERE ALSO the date on the rest of the peas - that they are to be sold by May 5th. He shrugged.
Yup. I went to the freezer and yes - all past the sell date.
I bet if I go back today they will still be there.
So now for me - only canned goods out of that dive... and I'll be checking the dates on those as well.
I told him KEEP THE PEAS - that I'm not going to carry them around, but that there is a BLOG online discussing their ratty products and that I'd post on it instead.
:)
Hmmmm.... I have an idea.
by Cloud