Penzeys Spices — Attraction in Houston

Unless I can't make it to Penzeys, I only buy from them. Their herbs and spices are always fresh and flavorful. I hate to admit it, but I still have a few that are 5+ years old like chives and rosemary, but I add a little more and they flavor my sauces and soups just fine.

I'm allergic to all the cinnamon I can find in grocery stores, but Penzeys has Ceylon cinnamon. It has an earthier, less bitter taste and I put it in everything from cinnamon toast to pumpkin pie.

I always keep it stock their Italian seasoning for meat sauce, original taco for tacos and chilli, freeze dried garlic, minced onion (freeze-dried or regular doesn't make as much difference as the garlic), and pork chop seasoning. You can't put too much pork chop seasoning on pork chops. We also particularly like the black pepper tellicherry fine shaker grind, bouquet garni or Bangkok blend on chicken, Chicago steak seasoning for steaks, and Bready Street cheese sprinkle on popcorn. We don't find much difference in their salt and those from the grocery store, so we buy from the grocery store.

The store is nice, kinda like what you would think going back in time would feel like. It's always clean and smells like a warm hug of a kitchen. The people I meet there always seem interesting too. I'm glad there's...

Fantastic products, place & people!

I would rather support a small-ish business (esp a local brick & mortar that employs real people in our community) whose owners might be more liberal than I am, than buy the big brands at a big retail chain grocer. We cook to spread love; let's shop to spread love locally too :)

As a 1st-time customer looking for a refresh on some spices, I ordered about 10 items online last week to pick up at the Houston store, and when I got a call 15 minutes later, I thought it was a "Sorry, we're out of that" call...but my order was READY! And it was accurate!

Their offering the 1/4c jars is wonderful, as I've let some of the usual 1/2c jars you find at the grocer sit around past their prime (some, like cream of tartar, I use infrequently).

Aside from the spices, I ordered a few of their "hug" coins--they are a perfect little, tangible something the recipient can carry around for a tactile reminder...

Penzeys is my favorite place for spices even if I don't get treated very nice all the time. , I don't know if the lady was having a bad day when I walked in with coupon in hand and to look for my spices I needed and my free spice and she immediately said to me, "I hope you plan on buying something and didn't come in just for the free spice!" She said this to me in a mean awful tone. I let it be and went on to with my business. But I have never forgotten it and continue to go to Penzeys a little reluctant to take my coupons now.

I went in there this past Saturday morning needed some chili and a man walks in reaches over the register hands the lady (not the same lady) a coupon and said I just came to my free spice, got it and rushed out of the store She was very nice to him, never said a word to him about buying something. I left there shaking my head. Staff needs to be...