grocery stores

WBJ Reports Giant Grocery Store Coming to H St, NE

By Prince Of Petworth


Photo by PoPville flickr user rosiedawn

Michael Neibauer of WBJ has the scoop:

“A deal to put a Giant supermarket at Third and H streets NE two blocks from Union Station is imminent, sources tell the Washington Business Journal.”

There was a lot of speculation as to which grocery store would arrive. Folks were, understandably, pining for a Harris Teeter or Whole Foods. Those would certainly be great. And I know not everyone will agree with me, but I’ve been a big fan of the Giant in Columbia Heights. So overall I’d say this a great addition to the H Street, NE corridor.

Does anyone think Harris Teeter will ever open up another location in DC?

Update: Dang I forgot Harris Teeter is opening one up at 1st and M St, NE.

Guest Post: Takoma Park-Silver Spring Co-op by Laura

By Prince Of Petworth

Hi, I’m Laura and I’m delighted to be contributing to PoP as a guest blogger! I love to talk about interesting food items, like unique grocery shops/restaurants and recipes inspired by those places.

Hailing from Silver Spring, I thought I’d dedicate this first post to one of my local favorites, the Takoma Park-Silver Spring Co-op.

For those of you unfamiliar with this gem, the TPSS co-op is a locally owned organic market, featuring local produce, dairy, meat, and other foods. There are two locations, one in Silver Spring, just outside the DC border in Rock Creek Park, and one in Takoma Park. Right now, I’m loving their pots of fresh herbs outside.

Although I enjoy local produce, I just never have managed to be huge patron of Farmers’ Markets because many of them would require me to Wake Up Early on Saturdays. I consider this a huge waste of Sleeping In Opportunity. So while all those other “early birds” are off at the farmers market, I can just come to the TPSS co-op at any time I want until 9pm and get in on my organic spinach.

One aisle of the store is dedicated to bulk bins. Bulk bins hearken me back to the days of my childhood when my mom would push her cart right past the bulk bin displays of candy. So now that I am a grown-up,there is nothing more satisfying at the grocery store than the Bulk Bin Aisle. I suppose my tastes have developed somewhat, since it is not Brach’s wrapped candies I am interested in anymore, but that by-the-pound Pearl Couscous, Veggie Pasta, or Trail Mix. Spices also come in bulk bins, so you can stop buying overpriced bottles at Giant (seriously, $6 for a tiny jar of ground mustard?), and come here where you can stock up on Garam Masala, Whole Coriander, Mustard Seed, and other such grilling necessities.

So now, you have your bulk-bin pasta and organic produce, what are you to make? How about some Cavatappi with Butternut Squash and Spinach?

Continues after the jump. (more…)

Dear PoP – A Good CSA

By Prince Of Petworth


Photo by PoPville flickr user K’s Clicks

“Dear PoP,

I just joined a CSA, and i’d love it if we could share their info on POP…the clincher for me was that they has small size boxes…other places always do family size, which is just too much.

They are new, organic, and will be making a weekly delivery in Petworth (no hauling out to takoma park, yea!)”

They are called Earth Spring Farm.

I feel like I’ve been getting lots of emails about CSAs lately, so if you have on that you like or recommend feel free to leave in the comments.

Ellwood Thompson’s Grocery Store Update

By Prince Of Petworth

A few readers have been asking for an update on the status of the Ellwood Thompson’s arrival to the DC USA mall in Columbia Heights. I’m happy to report that a source has alerted me to the fact that their permits have officially been submitted to the DC government. So this is a step in the right direction. However, my other sources tell me that there is still a long road ahead before the store opens its doors. Sadly I don’t have a timeline but I promise to keep updating as developments are made. If I had to guess I would think an arrival in 2011 is more likely than a 2010 arrival. Perhaps a new sign is in order… But overall I think this is good news because it is some tangible evidence to show us that the deal is not dead.

You can read a previous statement from the owner of Ellwood Thompson’s here.

New DC-Focused Report: When Healthy Food is Out of Reach

By Prince Of Petworth

From an email:

I’m writing to pass along some information on a report released this week by D.C. Hunger Solutions called When Healthy Food is Out of Reach. The report found a wide discrepancy among the District’s neighborhoods in terms of availability of healthy food. Here are some of the key findings:

* The ratio of full-service grocery stores to residents varies widely among the District’s wards. Ward 3 has five times as many full-service grocers per capita as Ward 4.
* On average, residents of Wards 4, 5, and 7 must travel longer distances than residents in other wards to reach the closest full-service grocery store.
* The District loses more than $112 million in annual grocery revenues to neighboring jurisdictions because existing grocery retail is insufficient to meet residents’ demand.
* Some areas of the District—particularly in Wards 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8—are underserved by full-service grocery retail, compared to other areas. (The recent closure of one of Ward 5’s three full-service grocery stores has compounded the problem.)

For those that live in Wards 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8 (and all folks for that matter) do you feel that you are underserved by full-service grocery stores?

As a Ward 4 resident I am very happy with the new Yes! Organic Market at Taylor and Georgia. But when I want a “regular” grocery store I walk all the way to the Giant in Columbia Heights (with my awesome granny cart) instead of using the less than appealing Safeway at Georgia and Quincy. Hopefully I’ll have an update on the future of that store in the next week or so.

You can read the press release here:  http://www.dchunger.org/press/grocery_gap.htm

And you can download the full report here: http://www.dchunger.org/pdf/grocerygap.pdf

Arts District Hyattsville Getting a Yes! Organic Market and a Busboys & Poets

By Prince Of Petworth


View Larger Map

From a press release:

“Local developer EYA and retail consultant/developer Streetsense partner to welcome Yes! Organic Market as the newest tenant set to occupy retail space at Arts District Hyattsville, the 25-acre mixed-use development emerging along historic Route 1 in downtown Hyattsville. This will be the eighth planned retail location in the metropolitan area for Yes!. The “living naturally” food store chain offers a refreshing mix of natural and organic groceries, health supplements, and eco-friendly household items.

Preliminary land development work has already begun for the new 36,000 s.f. retail town center at Arts District Hyattsville and construction is scheduled for completion late 2010. Yes! Organic Market, along with other retailers, are expected to be open for sales in Spring 2011.”

Yes! Organic will join Busboys and Poets and Tara Thai who have already signed onto the project. You can learn more about the project here.

Anyone Know What Happened at the CH Giant Last Night?

By Prince Of Petworth


Photo from PoPville flickr user rosiedawn

A reader writes:

“Last night around 6:30pm, the CH Giant was evacuated due to some fire alarms. Carts and baskets left strewn throughout the store. Fire Trucks came and left. I waited at Sticky Fingers for sanity to resume then moseyed back on over. I was told the store was closed due to malfunctioning sprinkler system and “too bad”. So I got my parking receipt stamped and left, sans the groceries I had spent nearly an hour collecting and then waiting to pay for in astronomical lines. On my way out of the garage I notice that all of a sudden folks are going back in to shop. This was almost immediately after a police officer and store employee told me they were closed down by the fire department. What the heck happened here?”

Anyone experience this as well?

Dear PoP – Props to Petworth Safeway

By Prince Of Petworth

It’s not often I get emailed props for the Petworth Safeway, in fact this may be the first one, glad to hear it!

“Dear PoP,

I was at the Petworth Safeway (3830 Georgia Avenue) last night around 8:30 PM. While waiting in line, a checkout clerk opened up the register next to mine and called me over to his register. As I was coming around, someone else rushed in front of me, even though I only had one item. As I was allowing the annoyance to settle in and decide what to do, the clerk reached back to me and told the other person that he had asked me to come to his register and that I was first. The other person was pretty rude, but the clerk kept his composure despite offensive comments from the first person, and just told him, politely, that I was there first and he would take care of him in a minute.

What the clerk didn’t know, is that I was buying hydrogen peroxide to induce vomiting in my dog at the advice of ASPCA poison control. He had eaten onions, and in fact it was very important for me to get home as soon as possible. (Many people don’t know this but onions are extremely toxic to dogs, more so than chocolate, and even a small amount can cause great harm).

I didn’t get the clerk’s name but he is a middle-aged thin black man with a mustache, I’ve seen him there before, and I just wanted to recognize his professional behavior which stands out in a world where I’ve gotten used to often apathetic and sometimes downright rude behavior from checkout clerks.”

Dear PoP – What to do When Express Line is Violated?

By Prince Of Petworth

“Dear PoP,

Last night, I went grocery shopping at the new and extremely busy Safeway at the City Vista condo building. Having only 8 items, I went to a checkout line labeled “Express 15 Items or Less”. As the couple in front of me started putting their items on the conveyor belt, I noticed they had a lot more than 15 items. I estimated 25 items. So my question is: At this point, since they have already waited and are the next in line and already loading stuff up to be checked out, do you mention that this is the Express lane? I just went to another line, but was rather disgusted.”

Ah, this is one of the small but very frustrating aspects of life. I think we’ve all probably encountered this at one point. I know I never say anything, because I think it’s just not worth it. I wish the cashier would see the violation before the offender puts all his/her items on the conveyor belt. But that’s not very realistic. I think this is a situation where some folks are just inconsiderate and it is easiest to just wait. But I can understand that if you don’t say anything the offender is likely to continue his/her behavior in the future. On the flip side, I was at the Giant on Park Road the other day and I only had some milk and a very nice customer let me go ahead of her. So it may all even out at the end of the day…

Has anyone ever mentioned to a shopper that they have more than 15 (or whatever the number is) items in an express lane?

View More Stories