Naya S.
Yelp
Today was my second time going to this store in the past 2 months, and I have to say it is really nice and clean. I noticed it has been open for a while a now prior to going and it is bigger than other Spanish grocery stores in the area, more diverse in products from Central America & South America, as well as the islands ex Jamaica. I have a pros and cons of the grocery store .
For the Latino area this is a great addition to the area, in servicing to the community. It is very hard to find a grocer that does not cater to one specific country of origin and that is not in the city.
Still while it looks like supermarket it still has a convenience store price aka pretty high for that convenience , compared to Walmart or Shoprite, for the same America items. Vegetables and fruit at Asian supermarket/Produce junction has better competition, but for certain cuts of specialty meats and packaged items from Latin america is worth it. But they need more work in customer service ( has a lot to do with difference in culture as well ) ,and re thinking outlay of the store poor floor planning.
I do not know if it was to keep cost low from building bigger or not. But it really puts a damper on the shopping experience due to the layout of the store, the design in my opinion is not in any way constructed to be inviting or to linger in any space too long with it's tight corners and aisles, barely 2 people can walk down aisle while pushing a cart .
Only if your petite and skinny ,having a regular push shopping cart is redundant when you can barely turn without hitting something or someone for that matter, best to get the little carry on carts for efficiency and if you need to get more stuff bring some one along so they can carry a second little cart.
The employees other than the cashiers do not in any way have any manners and it shows with their management, they just try to squeeze past you without saying anything to give notice to their presence when in the store. Since the store is so claustrophobic it is hard to move around people, today as well was the same thing, with management in the section of the freezer where all the baked goods are.
The managers/supervisors a woman with a pink/rosada blouse and a older man in a suit,
pushed there way beside me and a family member without a excuse me or sorry ( not even in Spanish) and preceded to block our way in their attempts to do what they need to do with no remorse .
Only when the older man in the suit in his attempts to brush/push past us knocked over bags of chips acknowledged us only by slightly looking at me and then at the bags of chips, as if though I did it.
When he saw I was not making any attempt to pick them up, since I was not a fault he picked them up then again he continued to talk with the other women in the pink blouse, as if though they did not try to bulldoze us over just seconds prior.
While turning the cart into next aisle they did not really attempt to move for us to to be able to get out of the freezer section. As we got out of the little corner of the freezer, going towards where the candles are. The older woman in the pink blouse walked very briskly passed us and another couple with the older man in the suit trailing along in almost in a very authoritarian manner, without any regard to whom was walking, no excuse me or pardon me with her little clipboard.
Any business has to respect the customer to some degree, It is quite hard to support a small Latino business owners, since the air of elitism is thick in a neighborhood that needs a access to a market for necessity . In this scenario since they are the biggest so far.. as I said, with the various selection of products they feel that it does not matter how their customer service is.
People will come regardless due to necessity, it is not about over the stars back bending down service, but common courtesy that she( pink blouse ) and the older man( in suit) seem to lack. Karma is a real beach, sooner or later another market will open bigger and better as theirs, hopefully with some class and hospitality in tow.
With all that I have written here, you will not be disappointed on what you find in there , in that I give it five stars, the 2 stars is for rude management . So please do go, but to go with the best mental readiness. Stock up so as not to have to come as often if you are a claustrophobic person or allergic to rude people !!
Pros:
-Close by
-good selection from each country
- fresh produce
-meat section is clean and tidy
-parking
- girls on the cashier are fast at check out.
Cons
- stockers are rude
- management is rude
- aisle are too squished together
- parking quite a bit hectic
- prices are a bit high for American brands even for a regular supermarket.
- claustrophobic