no good grocery stores? part one

I was standing at the intersection in front of the courthouse when I overheard this conversation:

Her: Sure there's a lot of new places to live around here! I think you're so lucky. I'd love to live right by work if I could!
Him: Parking is a bitch.
Her: It must be expensive.
Him: There's no good grocery stores downtown either.
Her: Like there's ever food in your apartment.

The grocery shopping issue is something people also always bring up to me when I tell them that I live in Pioneer Square. "But where do you buy groceries??" is second only to "But where do you PARK?" in top questions asked.

The answer is, everywhere. And nowhere in particular.

I knew what I was getting in to when I decided to live here. One of the top qualities of my ideal apartment was that it had to be near a grocery store, after all. Sure, we don't live with a two minute walk of a mega grocery store, but we manage. Plus, we actually do find ourselves with a few grocery CHOICES, which many neighborhoods just do not have.

Want to see something funny? Google "98104 grocery stores." Not a single major grocery store in the first several pages. That's because there just isn't any of those mega chains around these parts. There's just no room for that kind of streamlined nonsense in this historical neighborhood, maybe. More likely there's just physically NO ROOM.

For whatever reason, the rumor is that finding groceries can be tough.

It's just a rumor.

I like rumors. They can be fun.

This time the rumors are only as true as you choose to make them. Groceries can be found if you have a sense of adventure, if you stop thinking of groceries as the kind of thing you find in a mega chain store, and instead get a little zen about it. Groceries=food, right? Do you really need to be lost in an aisle of cereal choices? Or will half an aisle do?

If half an aisle will do, you'll be fine here.

Here are the places within walking distance that I've found groceries. P.S. is certainly not a pasta-free, hamburger free, eggplant free wasteland that the woman I quoted above seems to think it is.

Saveway Market
109 Occidental Avenue South

OK, I admit, it's a little frightening here some nights. They don't really seem too concerned with many of the things that larger, trendier grocery stores might be concerned with, like muzak, an abundance of fresh fruit and veggies, nice lighting, shopping carts, and a choice between paper and plastic bags. In fact, if you need those things to feel good about grocery shopping, you might want to stay away from Saveway. But, what they lack by not having an enticing array of deli meats, they make up for in for in pure entertainment. Don't piss the owner off, and you'll do fine. How can you piss her off? Hanging out in front of her store selling drugs, staying in the store too long, asking too many questions, asking to buy a single beer, or sometimes just being you. I love her very much anyway. Even though I'm pretty scared of her.
A plus and minus: things are priced in a sort of random manner. I don't think they like to change the numbers on their price gun much, so many times things will be rounded off. For example, a six pack of both Newcastle and Hornsby Cider are the same price: $8.99. Either a great deal or overpriced.

Uwajimaya
600 5th Avenue South

The close proximity of this store to P.S. is part of the reason that I knew we'd be fine living in the Square. I do feel so blandly American shopping here, but that's OK. It's good to feel like a dork sometimes as you try to figure out what the difference is between two kinds of soy sauce. They do have the best selection of Asian groceries I've ever seen, but they also have a ton of American stuff, too. Hot dogs? Check. Frozen pizza? Check. Squid? Check. Sashimi? Check. Bananas? Check. Milk? Got milk. My husband feels sad sometimes when he comes here, because they don't have ALL of his favorite American comfort food, but it's so close. And there's even a food court and a book store attached. How cool is that? Plusses: There really is a huge array of soy sauces. Minuses: I still don't know how to choose one. And don't even think about coming here on a weekend afternoon, unless you're crazy.


Rite Aid
802 Third Ave

No, really! They have milk, eggs, soup, chips, juice, even ice cream. It's strange, but true.

Bartell Drugs
1101 Madison Street

Again, really! They also have milk, eggs, soups, pasta and sauces, cheese, ice cream, even some baking supplies. It may not be a grocery urban oasis, but it's pretty close to one. Pick up a few things on your way home from the library, and you can survive another week without making the incredible journey to a megastore.

Drexel Deli and Grocery
523 3rd Ave

Don't even bother.

Pioneer Mart
609 3rd Ave

Technically you could get food here, so I'm putting it on my list. Honestly, though, I really feel that you'd do better psychologically if you just go to Rite Aid across the street.

I'll add more to this post.
The next post in this series will be groceries a little farther afield...