Thrifty Produce & Meat — Attraction in Merritt Island

I LOVE THIS PRODUCE MARKET! For several reasons; it rivals ALL produce aisles in EVERY supermarket on the Island! 1.) The prices are simply unbeatable on 90% of the produce you would typically buy. The staples being lettuce, tomatos, celery, carrots, broccoli, onions, potatoes, scallions at much lower prices than other retailers. Now, the fruit, is another story. It's , on average, a lil cheaper. But, when the fruit is cheap, it's a steal. 😎HINT: As you enter the store, there is a cooler full of all the season's freshest, ripest fruits already conveniently chopped and ready to serve immediately. And, the cost? $1! That's right $1! 😮 Obviously it's the markets ripest fruit,but their loss might as well be your gain! You may have to use it within 1-3 days, but it's THE SWEETEST melons & strawberries (usually ). 2.) The variety is incredible! If you and your inventive family happen to be on the adventurous side and love cooking, then this market is your destination. They have all the real, fresh produce needed to make all those flavorful old world recipes from every corner of the globe; instead of using canned, powdered ingredients. 3.) The fresh herb selection is phenomenal! And, so cheap. And, we all know fresh herbs cost a pretty penny,but make a dish go from good to mouthwatering! Who doesn't love fresh basil in spaghetti sauce or chiffonade basil on top of fresh milk mozzarella tomato caprese! ? And, if they don't have it fresh, they have the largest selection of Badia spices & seasonings to perfect any style of cuisine your preparing. ) The staff is extremely friendly and are more than hapoy to help you find...

I like this store because it's heavy with Asian options and still will make some Latin American Specialties available. Fresh produce seems to be the strength at the store and I love that I can get Asian vegetables that are not available traditional supermarkets here. Recently I was able to get pea shoots and baby bok choy that was outstanding. I come here regularly for Napa cabbage, kimchi, Vietnamese coffee, and some Korean noodle soups. There is a lot to choose from packed into this small store. What I would love to see would be some fresh corn tortillas along with the nice selection of Mexican cheeses. A lot of stores have become complacent with the tortilla selection and somebody needs to start bringing in real corn tortillas not just the Masa Style but actual Nixtamal.

That said I was recently shopping with people who had lived in Korea they were thrilled that they could find some Specialties here that they haven't been able to find since they left Korea. There's a huge selection of Frozen Foods lots of dumplings, wrappers, banana leaves and items that might be hard to find at your traditional supermarket. They also have some dishware and cooking utensils that again are hard to find at your traditional supermarket. I recently got into the Vietnamese instant coffees and I have to say that some of them are really delicious. Good job everybody I know it's not easy stocking that little store but you guys are doing...

You can't trust some of the produce, like others have pointed out. I called about spoiled produce and they directed me to return with my receipt to replace spoiled produce. When I returned, I left the receipt and the replacement produce to be scanned last. With a sour and condescending attitude the veteran cashier in a different lane said I should have scanned the replacement items first so they could refund them, and now there is nothing she could do for me. The replacement items were not scanned yet and I pointed out that they could simply let me bag the replacement product without scanning. The veteran cashier threw her hands up in frustration and told my cashier to give them to me. My cashier then scanned the items and entered a refund to make them free, the exact thing the veteran cashier said was not possible.

Every time I am there, I wonder why all of the cashiers annoyed or unhappy. Maybe it's poor management or pay compensation. Everyone else that works there does not know where their products are or does not understand me. I won't...