When you live in a town with a population of around 10,000 people, apparently getting a new grocery store is kind of a big deal. So imagine my surprise when I found myself standing in line with gazillion other people to check out the new Main and Vine grocery store this morning at 6:45 am {15 minutes before the official opening}.
You would have thought it was black friday at the mall or something… there were that many people.
Main and Vine sent out a flyer last week with their weekly specials and a little blurb offering a free bag of goodies for the first 250 customers. I hadn’t planned on being there when the doors opened this morning but I managed to get all my {early morning} blog work done and headed down at the last minute.
The first 250 customers went home with a new cutting board, pot holder, insulated cup and a heavy duty spatula. Everyone else was treated to free coffee and cookies. 
Check out the olive bar. The HH is going to love this place!
There’s even a salsa/hummus/pesto bar too. 
And wood fired pizzas. I think I’ll have to bring the HH here for one of our “date days.”
Main and Vine reminds me a lot of Whole Foods in that the focus is on prepared foods and produce with aisles stocked with more upscale brands than you would see in a regular grocery store.
If I was single, and didn’t like to cook, I’d probably get all my meals here.
The store even carries local milk in glass bottles {which I may have to start buying again because I LOVE the little “plug” of sweet cream butter at the top of the bottle}. 
The produce section. Seriously, it’s huge.
I think it’s awesome. 
Oodles of mushrooms.
And the bulk section. It’s pretty awesome too. 
The bulk section was pretty crowded, so I couldn’t snap a whole lot of photos but I plan to go back and check out the selection {and prices} the next time I’m there. Luckily, the store is right down the street from the library so I’ll be able to swing by once a week while I’m running errands and picking up books.
Food wise it takes a lot to impress me these days, but Main and Vine? It’s pretty rad if you ask me. I think it’s just what our town needed.
So what did I buy? Oh please, I bought what was on sale of course. 😉
Tillamook Cheese $3.99
Tillamook Yogurt 3 for $1
Simple Truth Eggs $1.99
Banana’s $0.59 lb
Does your local grocery store have a bulk section?
If so, what’s your favorite thing to buy there?
~Mavis
Shelle says
Our local WinCo has a bulk section and I LOVE IT! The convenience of getting a little or a lot of a particular spice or ingredient is so great and I’ve been pleasantly surprised by how high the quality is of the bulk items.
Mavis says
I love the bulk section at Winco too!
Karin C says
Our local stores (BC Canada) has lots of bulk items, I have a love hate relationship with the bulk food area, my issue is cleanliness/germs, as they are places that are just not clean. I won’t buy anything that is not cooked long enough to kill any germs ect. I have a friend who works in this area of one of the grocery store and she will never touch anything from the bulk bins.
Debbie says
I agree! (I’m in BC too, close to the Osoyoos border) I don’t mind the Bulk Barn though. They are fairly new to our area here.
And Mavis… that is a killer deal on cheese! I shop in Oroville, WA alot, as we’re pretty close. The cheapest we ever get Tillamook is $8.99 for the 2 lb block! They had it on (the medium cheddar variety only) at Christmas, for one week, for $6.99, and that is the best price I’ve seen it for in over 2 years.
Jenn in Indiana says
I can’t help but think that they will be tossing a lot of that food on the bars. Which equals waste and more in the landfills.
Mavis says
Good point, maybe I’ll ask them what they do with the prepared meals that are close to their expiration limit next time I stop in…
Kristina says
I’d have to drive a long way to go to a store with anything but jelly bellies, rice, and beans in bulk (but have availed myself of those on occasion 🙂 ). The last time I lived in a big metro area was when I was in grad school 20 years ago, and I loved the bulk bins at our local market. The only problem I had was with sometimes bringing bugs (pantry moths, I think) home in them. In my archivist training, we were taught to freeze books, papers, etc with bug infestations, so that is what I took to doing with my bulk goods. I’d love to hear if you have a better method, though.
Amy says
We have a store that’s nothing but the bulk section, and I love all of it! Every kind of flour, grain, and nut you can imagine, plus bulk candy, honey bar, and grind it yourself peanut butter. Oh my gosh it just goes on. Plus they have great specials and send out really good coupons. We don’t have Main and Vine in Florida, but compared to whole foods it’s a bigger variety and better prices.
Lisa says
I love bulk foods, but then I’m not a germophobe. I am also quite healthy. It must give my immune system a workout.
Anita says
The salsa/hummus/pesto bar looks great, however, the cleanliness issue and cross-contamination (allergies) would stop me from buying there.
Lynda says
So happy to see “Twin Brooks Creamery” milk in your photo. Love them. From my town, and wonderful owners. (The dairy industry up here is hurting.) Their chocolate milk is out of this world! Pricey, but you get a refund on the bottle.
Jenny says
They are pricey! But THE best chocolate milk and egg nog I have ever had! I LOVE the glass bottles and always keep one around to make iced tea in 🙂
Connie says
Great buys. That Tillamook cheese is $9.99 for 2# here in the middle of nowhere ! Looks like an awesome store.
Sharon@MLT says
Did you recognize the eggs? Main and Vine is a teeny little division of Kroger. Not good or bad, just don’t think you are supporting an independent market.
As for bulk bins we just got a Winco. Super clean. I do not hesitate to buy anything there.
It is some crazy times in the grocery business. It will be interesting to see how it shakes out for the consumer.
Meredith says
Okay this makes more sense now. I was all “She bought what was on sale at *another* store then?!” LOL My Kroger is King Soopers (CO). I love them and I had never heard of this little offshoot store!
Jane says
I noticed that too! We have a Smith’s here (part of Kroger family) and these pics look familiar!
Lori says
Yes! I came to the comments to see if anyone else recognized “Simple Truth” as Kroger. What a neat concept store. We have Kroger Marketplace here that has many of those same features. In fact, we recently moved to a little more rural setting (though it won’t be rural for long) and they are building a new Marketplace about 7 minutes from my house. Between the product, health food section and sushi bar, I’m in heaven.
lynne says
what a fun looking grocery! Our local store doesn’t have hardly any – maybe 2 doz, tops, and only candies & nuts. When I travel 30 minutes to get to our Natural Foods Coop, they have lotsa bulk bins, and I’d have to say my favorite is the rolled oats. Boring, but it’s what I buy the most of. Curiously, their bulk flour is more expensive than the bagged flour, hmm. Never could figure that out… Have fun at the new grocery! LynneinMN
Min says
Hope one comes to Portland area.
Destiny says
They are offering free shipping to all Washington residents. Which is great because we don’t have one 🙂
Cindi says
I, too, am totally jealous of that price on the Tillamook cheese. And that’s a good deal on the Simple Truth eggs, too (which I buy at my local Kroger affiliate, City Market (I’m in Colorado, too.) Looks like a fun outing!
Tracy says
I have a good friend who ran a production floor at a prepared foods distribution center for a well known gourmet grocery store chain. I almost fell of my chair when he told me that most prepared salads and sandwiches have a shelf life of up to 30 days because they just all the items with a dilute solution of bleach. Worse, after 30 days, they can replace any wilted ingredients –usually just lettuce– spray them again, and repack for an additional 2 weeks. All perfectly FDA approved. Add that to my experience at my local and very clean Trader Joe’s very early one morning when I stopped to buy pearly barley from the bulk section. I waited patiently for a young guy to move out of the way but became curious when I saw him plunge his hand into one bin after the other, swishing his bare hand around and around. I was horrified and asked him what on earth he was doing. (Are you ready….?). He told me very matter of factly that one of his jobs upon opening every morning was to “check the bulk bins for wads of gum, used band aids, rodents, or other small junk people toss in the just to make trouble”. I was so speechless, I walked out and have never been back.
Heidi P says
I’m mortified by your story! I will not be buying bulk in the future. I’m seriously grossed out.
erin says
That is absolutely disgusting! I will never buy bulk again. If they find something in there the bin should really be discarded.
Jennifer says
I have a Whole Foods (lots o’ bulk bins) and a Safeway that has fewer, but does have loose tea. We also have a local market with bulk bins, and I think Peet’s Coffee with bulk teas. There’s an app called Bulk made by a the Zero Waste Home author, in which you can upload info about bulk availability in your area. Of course you can search for bulk stores and see what they offer, too.
Lisa Millar says
This was amazing to see!! Nothing like that down here!!
So much colour and food!!
GardenNut says
Actual maple syrup in bulk?! Amazing! I’d love to see that in a store near where I live.
Carole says
Our newest grocery is a super Kroger that actually has a bar! Yes, that’s right, you can buy beer or wine by the glass and walk around the store drinking while you shop! My husband works there and runs the bar. You can get flights of beer or wine or buy a growler. We have a lot of craft brews being produced here and they feature a lot of them. He has some regular customers that just love that they can shop and drink at the same time. Or sit and have a brew while their wives, or whatever, do the shopping.
Jon says
The old qfc used to carry the glass milk too. Albertsons in gig harbor has it as well. The fred meyer marketplace across the freeway had the bulk syrup too. The store does look nice though but essentially is just Kroger moving things around and adding a bit. If u want local goto harbor greens down the street and get eggs in artondale from the farmers.
Margery says
I miss my old bulk store, it was nice since they bought everything in bulk, and then packaged it up and had it on the shelf. But if you needed more or less then they had in the package you just asked and they got you the amount you needed. The plus of cleanliness, and the plus of bulk amounts and a great selection. Spices were so cheap, and so much stuff. The name of the place of Pine Ridge Grocery in Bainbridge NY, and enjoy some of the bake goods, the deli counter, and a sub if you are ever there.
AlysonRR says
Shoot, we were just in Gig Harbor for orthodontist appointments and could have gone… Maybe next time!