Justice J. S.
Google
I’ve enjoyed every experience I’ve ever had at a Gelson’s supermarket and this location is no different. Friendly, helpful, enthusiastic and most-importantly knowledgeable employees make every visit a pleasure; what a rare but refreshing thing to ask a random employee where a specific product was and not only knew what you were talking about and knew where it was located but even offer to walk to straight there. Product variety is good; it’s not really a health food store the way that other grocery store chains like Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s and Sprouts are, so unlike those Gelson’s is more of an upmarket grocery specializing in not just high quality produce and meat but also prepared foods, delicatessen, bakery, hot foods like rotisserie chicken, in-store cafés, specialty displays or kiosks like antipasti bars and cheese caves, catering for large groups, etcetera. And then there’s the wine; I’m not a drinker so that stuff is lost on me, but whenever I need to get a nice bottle of wine as a gift for someone, the person who is the store’s sommelier/alcohol manager has been a great source for suggestions for wines and spirits that will impress the most discerning lushes in your life.
As an added benefit for me, someone with a decidedly hedonistic approach to my diet, it’s fantastic that at Gelson’s I can find luxurious and artisanal versions of foods for people who aren’t beset by all manner of dietary restrictions, be they medical, dietetic or religious. At Whole Foods I can choose from an array of dozens of different kombuchas in various flavors and pairings, but when it comes to how many brands of non-diet, non-vegan, non-glute- free, non-low sugar, non-keto, non-dairy-free… and so on of ice cream, there’s like four or five brands with a handful of flavors. At Gelson’s there are still a wide variety of “decadent” foods for sale, it’s almost like grocery shopping at a high end grocery store back in the late 2000s.
Gelson’s as a business, brand and chain is always going to be a bit nostalgic for me because they harken back to an older time when there were still Dean & Deluca stores; brands like D&D, Citarella, Zingerman’s and other specialist gourmand grocers who sold food simply because it was of the finest quality and tasted good, not because it was of any particular nutritional or medical value. Browsing the shelves of a store like Erewhon, I can’t help but feel a little inundated by how health-focused all the food is - it’s like taste and pleasure don’t matter in comparison to what benefits our bodies physically, everything else is of marginal importance. It seems like everyone in those places are trying to min-max their entire diet; no fun, just efficiency.
I’m from Arizona originally and I moved to Oceanside about a year ago, near downtown. During that time my partner and I have been to just about every grocery store in North County, and Gelson’s have consistently been some of the best because they remind me of a grocery store chain brand in Arizona called AJ’s Fine Foods. Back in Arizona, AJ’s is a bourgeoise grocery store that is basically just Gelson’s in terms of layout, general vibe and price point, but with more locally-made products (a great store if you’re ever in Phoenix or Scottsdale, by the way), and just like Gelson’s they always seem to have employees that seem like they actually enjoy their work and are happy to help - they’re not as peppy as Trader Joe’s folks but may be plus in your book, your mileage may vary.
So if you’re tasked with bringing a dessert for a weekend barbecue, please don’t bring a tofu cheesecake or a vegan, gluten-free, sugar-free zucchini muffin tray - go to Gelson’s and buy a damn Boston Cream Pie with a chocolate glaze so glossy you can see your face in it. And no, this is not a paid review and I am not a bot; I -sincerely- enjoy grocery shopping, and have so since I was a little kid. So when I consistently have good experiences at a grocery store, you’ll have to forgive me if I wax poetic a bit.