How to be unchained in Tampa Bay: Grocery store addition

Written by Ariel Baron-Robbins

Look around. It might seem as if this place is clogged with corporations (it is rumored to be a "testing spot" for chains) but there are a plentitude of local, independent and family run operations that offer better quality products and much better customer service.

My rule of thumb is if I can't walk into a place and meet the owner, the real owner who lives in Tampa, then I don't shop there. If one of his or her family members is there (they are probably the staff) then that is of course, an exception. I also make exception for a place that has perhaps 2 locations within the area but I can't recall any that I've been to recently (The Jerk Hut is an example.)

I grocery shop at several locations, it might seem like a waste of gas but I usually hit all of them on one day and several are along the same path so I can stop and shop on the way there and back.

I go to the outdoor farmer's market on Hillsborough & 30th on Sundays with a couple of friends. I usually can get all of my veggies there for the week and it typically costs under $15 to get squash, sweet potatoes, 4-5 red peppers, Brussels sprouts, beets, 5-6 Roma tomatoes, spinach, lettuce, 6 oranges, 4 mangos, 2 avocados, 2 eggplants, etc. A plus is that I've learned what's really in season at the moment and look forward to what will be at the market next week because it always changes. The prices also change according to what is plentiful and I've also successfully haggled with several different stalls. The more you go, the more willing they are to offer 2 avocados for a $1 or 3 mangos for $2. Seeing that one mango (I'll argue the SAME mango) will cost you as much as a $1.50 at Publix or Sweetbay. Its not all guaranteed organic, but I make the sacrifice for the face-to-face interaction I get as well as feeling as if I live within the community and am actively supporting it with my money. I know where my money will go.

There is also a much smaller farmer's market on 56th between Busch and Fowler that I hit up on the way home in case I've forgotten anything. Just found some really good tomatoes there as well as the usual assortment of vegetables. The highlight recently came when I saw some coconut candy on the counter for 50 cents ( a massive piece actually ) and got some. This started a conversation with the very friendly lady behind the candy about how her mother made it and then I chimed in that my Grandma makes coconut cake from scratch. We talked about the decline in cooking from scratch going on today but she's noticed that since the markets gone down, business has gone up. This is great, perhaps people are noticing that the big corporations can't be trusted to provide quality merchandise, they can only be trusted to advertise more than indies ever could afford and for paying their employees starvation wages. They don't care about whichever community there are in and how each is unique. Its all about homogenous, I'll-know-what-I'm-getting here apathy. If I sound bitter, its because I am. I've just gone through seeing my favorite businesses, run by incredibly hard working and nice people fail too many times because of this attitude.

I also go to Java on Busch Blvd around 30th. Its a family owned grocery store/butcher/bakery with a little restaurant. I just recently found out that one of the owners is a guy that owned a little copy store back in my home town of Oxford, MS before he got run out by the chain copy centers. They have home made feta, aged roomy cheese (really good, very pungent) nuts, roasted seeds, an olive bar, and a selection of baked in the house breads as well as spices, flour, mixes, frozen foods, etc. etc. Seriously the place has everything!

Greenland grocery is somewhere else I've gone to. Both Java and Greenland are typical of local Middle Eastern grocery stores and I've found that they all get Sami's bakery items as well as other local baked goods. My new favorite bread is Lavash, but they also have flour pitas, whole wheat pitas and other crackers and such. Its nice when you see the bread having only 4 ingredients printed on the label and see that its all made in the area. I found the same whole wheat pita bread at the local organic store Chuck's All Natural for about $3 more and when I turned it over, it had mold all over it! It was green! I like Chuck's, go there occasionally for speciality items such as almond milk, but geez...don't blindly trust any place that calls things Organic or All Natural and jacks the price up.

I go to MD Oriental on Fowler occasionally as well. They are an Asian marketplace with an in-house butcher, live fish, eels, shrimp, oysters, squid, etc., frozen foods, a big veggie selection (awesome mushrooms) and many other things. The sweets aisle is wonderful and enticing, I love the crystallized ginger and tamarind and they have a wide assortment of canned goods with many, many vegetarian meat substitutes. They also have tofu for $1 (the same tofu I once found at Public for $3.99 and when I turned it over, I realized it had expired a month before) and local eggs. That is the cheapest tofu they have but the selection is endless. Baked, marinated, seitan, pre-seasoned, noodles, etc. etc. Amazing. They also have fun stuff like quail eggs, bok choy, all sorts of meat, Durian fruit, good prices and selection on pears, lots of crackers and biscuits, huge amount of tea, bulk rices and flours, coffee, beer, wine, frozen treats (lychee pops, anyone?) and an in-house pharmacy! I love this place and they are so nice. Credit cards accepted as well.

One of the most frequent stops for me is the Super Saver Latin Market on Fletcher. They recently expanded into the to-go place next door and now offer their home-cooked food there as well. They have all the normal grocery items that the chain stores do, and they are similar quality-wise. I get cat-food, litter box stuff, bisquick mix, canned beans (much cheaper), fruit, veggies that I run out of mid-week, butter spread, eggs, cheese, etc. They have beer, wine and a in-house butcher with fish, cheese, and other meats. The owner is a super-friendly guy that speaks fabulous English as well as Italian as I discovered! Now whenever I'm in there he greets me with an enthusiastic "Bongiourno Flaquita" (I take that last part as a joke) Their guava pastries are to die for as well as their Cuban bread. They also take credit cards.

I go to Kiran on Fowler as well whenever I go to Cafe Kili (my favorite family-owned and operated coffee shop). They are an Indian grocery store, cheap, good spices, pre-mixed boxed foods, frozen foods, oils, vinegars, mango chutney, yadda yadda yadda. They also have fresh veggies and by the counter, home made chapattis.