Wagaya Groceries - Westside — Local services in Atlanta

Love the new, expanded, permanent neighborhood gem of an Asian market space below Wagaya, offering midtown Atlantans and the Georgia Tech community an easier way to access a fantastic selection of Japanese, Korean, Chinese and other Asian snacks, candies, noodles, sauces, and other grocery items that you’d previously need to drive up to Buford Highway/ Doraville / Duluth / Chamblee for. This is in addition to the amazing selection of sake and craft beers. Some of my favs are kasugai gummies, entire shelf of rice porridge flavors from Bonjuk, which I’d not seen at any other markets around town, ddukboki, duru duru dumplings, Yeo’s lychee and Hey-Song guava juice drinks, chestnut IPA, hitachino yuzu lager, bamboo shoots in chili oil, sashimi grade tuna and salmon, and bread from White Wind Mill bakery. Convenient stop when picking up takeout from Wagaya (or sister restaurant Chirori next door). To find the market, head down the stairs between Chirori and Wagaya, and the market will be directly below Wagaya on your right hand side. There is free parking on this lower...

I didn't see this mentioned in other reviews, so I want to clarify: this market is located underneath the WaGaYa restaurant at this location. It's very small and carries a lot of trendy items (DragonBall sodas, novelty flavor KitKats, etc.) as well as staples (tinned fish, curry, etc.). Don't expect a full or even medium sized grocer! It's more akin to a convenience store.

Were the prices higher than if you visited a well stocked, larger Asian grocer? Yes. But for the convenience and novelty, this place is great. The selection of goods is on-point, too. The ratio of novelty/fandom items to regular old ingredients/prepared foods is perfect.

The staff is super friendly! We spoke to what seemed to be the owner and she told us about how difficult it was to get the DragonBall sodas distributed to her location. Really cool info.

I really recommend the pudding KitKats! They're amazing. Normally I hate white chocolate and very sweet candies, but these are...

I really used to like this place when it first opened years ago. That said, the prices have gotten to a place where it is egregious, often being at least 50% and most of the time 100% more expensive (read: twice as expensive) than other places. The selection has gotten worse and prices significantly higher. My price comparisons is against Buford Highway Farmer's Market or City Farmer's Market, which both have equivalent items that I can compare. I simply cannot justify paying twice as much for everything, no matter how convenient.

I hope the owner sees this as I know they want to succeed. My couple of interactions with him always left me feeling like he does care and I know he's...