I have been to this grocery about three times now and though I find it to be rather expensive in general, I think it has some very cool stuff on its shelves and some things are reasonably priced.
I would especially recommend it for NOTHING.
I love how this place always has the right kind of scents in every aisle! I wonder how they manage that. In the produce aisle, it smells like fresh tomatoes and sometimes bell peppers. In the cosmetics aisle, it smells earthy and cool - I think it might be the handmade soaps. In the bread aisle, it smells of wheat and cinnamon. In the small kitchen/salad bar, it smells... well, simply delicious. They have lavender soaked cleansing towels near the entrance and it smells great when someone grabs and uses one! You can actually smell the delicate scent of lavender for about 30 metres all around the store.
The prices in the produce/bread section are, as I mentioned before, expensive. I know I might sound like the crabby old lady that (e:zobar) mentioned in his comment, but I just can't bring myself to buy any of the produce or the breads here. They are really fresh and very tempting but the temptation goes out as soon as you see that they are priced a whole $1 - $2 more than the rest of the grocery stores around downtown. As an example, the 160g loaves of Banana-nut, Date-nut, Zucchini-nut bread from a bakery called "Perfectly baked breads and desserts" (?) is $2.50 instead of the $1.50 at which it is sold at Guercio's and in the Elmwood-Bidwell market. I know the store needs to make a profit, but this is almost a 66% increase in price.
I am guessing the store is located in a relatively affluent neighbourhood, so people who buy here do not really need to worry about paying a couple dollars more for each of their groceries. But in the long run, the extra dollars do add up to a sizeable amount.
Recommended:
Not Recommended: For poor graduate students and people who are looking to stretch their dollar.
EDIT: NOT RECOMMENDED FOR ANYONE.
PS: They hiked the price of the orange juice to 2.49/half-gallon. That makes the hike to this store for one single item totally worthless; especially when I can get orange juice at Guercio's for cheaper. Yeah, you heard it Lexi, you can suck that half-gallon orange juice up your nose, you 32% price-hiker, you!!
Yes, the prices are higher than elsewhere, but since it's more or less across the street from my house, when I need a head of garlic or a pound of pasta, it's worth it to not have to bother getting into my car.
I know I am certainly the minority here, though.
jason. I know 2 other republicans in the Village. (and they are not my wife and I)
The co-op has the awesomest coconut curry sauce. It costs an arm and a leg, but Josh and I love that stuff.
And, believe it or not, the only two Republicans on Elmwood actually have one of those co-op totes.
The prices are crazy for some of the stuff, but that's what you get when your target market is a bunch of elitists who will pay whatever to have organic products. They say it costs money to eat healthy! Well then, we can count on people on the east side eating like shit for the rest of their lives.
Interesting aside here from a show on markets like Whole Foods, and the like - the "health foods" market is growing at 25% a year, which is incredible.
I would like to note that the co-op is not a co-op. Ya, you can become a member for paying a fee or you can work instead of paying some of that fee, but that makes it about as much a co-op as Costco. It is run for profit, members have only marginal say in how the store is run, and those that work there are not necessarily members who do have some control with management. It is just an expensive store with some shwank products.
(e:Carolinian): the ingredients in those breads aren't all organic. That actually goes for many foods marked organic as well depending on the organic certifying body. This is what happens when big-agro's dollars sway gov. run certifying boards.
I used to be suspicious of the Co-op, but I find myself stopping there more often this summer than I have in the past. I agree with (e:tinypliny) 's assessment for the most part, though I will say that those little date-nut, carrot, zucchini, etc. breads are delicious, and sometimes I just bite the bullet and pony up the $2.50. Also, they sell spices, dried herbs, and seasonings by weight, which is expensive but convenient. And their selection of veg-oriented goods is excellent for a smaller store.
A minor correction for (e:zobar) , who knows a lot more about Buffalo than I do and who is correct 99 44/100 percent of the time: the Co-op "membership" does cost $80.00 but it is a one-time, lifetime investment, which means that if you plan to stay in the city for a couple of years or more it will almost certainly pay itself back in 2% discounts at the register. And, according to one of the Co-op workers, if you move out of Buffalo, the Co-op will refund your one-time fee (I am a bit wary of this, but maybe it's true?).
Also, the canvas bag is quite large and sturdy. While I have not joined the Co-op yet, I did pick up a canvas bag there for around $3.50 (maybe 3.99 at most?) and don't regret it (esp. in light of the responses to my "bag it" post (e:chico,39741) ).
If all the ingrediants in the baked goods are organically grown, it might explain at least some of the price difference.
I've only been to the co-op once or twice, but as I recall the prices are insane because there is a significant surcharge for non-members.
Oop - upon further investigation, it seems that an $80 yearly membership gets you a whole 2% off at the register!!! and a trendy tote bag. What a deal! :::link:::
- Z