| rev:text
| - I think my priorities are a bit different than most of the other reviewers, which isn't a good or bad thing--just different.
I love to cook. I love quality ingredients. And when I shop to cook, I want it to be an enjoyable, kid-in-candy-store-type of experience.
Here's why my very first experience at Earth Fare was so awesome:
1) It's got a Whole Foods-type vibe with a smaller, yet similar selection of quality produce, meats, cheese, dairy and healthy fare. AND without the horrid shoppers. But until I realized Earth Fare had this, I was traveling allllll the way to the east side Whole Foods locations and SUFFERING. Suffering getting stuck in 480 traffic. Suffering on Chagrin and Cedar Roads because they're the worst streets with the worst drivers on the face of the planet. And lastly, suffering through the clientele of these locations. I swear they collect the worst people of all of NEO and put them here. I never had a cutthroat run-in with a senior citizen until Whole Foods on Chagrin. Never again.
2) While I did notice the staff was a little standoff-ish at first, once you JUST ASK for some help, they are more than happy to answer all your questions. I tried this three times while I was there--same happy-to-help result. Staff at grocery stores have jobs to do while they're not helping you. So, if they look busy, that's because they are supposed to be. Just ask for help. Don't linger around them hoping they'll read your mind. My favorite staff member of my initial experience was the lady at the cheese counter. She was busy stocking wine and (gasp) I walked up to her and asked her if someone was working the cheese counter. She said it was her and then spent around 15 minutes helping me pick out cheeses, meats and small talking about grocery stores. She was the nicest--but if I wouldn't have asked for help, she probably would have kept working on the wine stocking. And I'm OK with that.
3) Did I mention it isn't on the east side?
4) Again, the inventory is about 95% amazing. Just missing a few minor things that I love at Whole Foods, but the prices are compatible. For those claiming they're way over-priced, I don't understand. First of all, their prices are the same as Whole Foods or Heinen's. In fact, I've spent more on the same items at both Whole Foods and Heinen's. I also shop at Giant Eagle frequently and their food quality is lacking which doesn't really make it a deal, now does it? I've tried the fresh seafood, produce, cheeses and filets from Heinen's, Whole Foods, Earth Fare and Giant Eagle. After comparing numerous times I WILL NOT purchase any meat or fish (besides packaged, organic chicken) at Giant Eagle. You're paying less and getting a crappy product. Again, NOT A DEAL. I've had better from Aldi's.
5) At 4:15PM on a weekday Earth Fare was pleasantly quiet. No scary, pushy, aggressive soccer moms or elderly women ready to neck stab you for being in their way. Heinen's Rocky River is a great store, but I won't go during certain hours, it's just too infuriating. And Giant Eagle during the rush is just as scary but for different reasons--and they only have 3 real-people check-outs going at any time. The rest are self-check-outs which fail constantly.
6) Besides Whole Foods, Earth Fare is the only grocery store in NEO that carries the best damn cheese in the world: Red Dragon. It's a grainy mustard cheddar-type cheese. It's life-changing. And it's now 10 minutes from me at all times. Not a 35 minute trip to the east side. YES.
|
![[RDF Data]](/fct/images/sw-rdf-blue.png)
![[cxml]](/fct/images/cxml_doc.png)
![[csv]](/fct/images/csv_doc.png)
![[text]](/fct/images/ntriples_doc.png)
![[turtle]](/fct/images/n3turtle_doc.png)
![[ld+json]](/fct/images/jsonld_doc.png)
![[rdf+json]](/fct/images/json_doc.png)
![[rdf+xml]](/fct/images/xml_doc.png)
![[atom+xml]](/fct/images/atom_doc.png)
![[html]](/fct/images/html_doc.png)