Super Mercado Esmeralda (Red Barn) — Local services in Mount Airy

Awful place!! I wish I could give zero stars. The inside…and the staff!!…is truly shocking. Good luck getting any help if you’re not Hispanic. This was our first visit here and we will never return: Cramped, messy, & very unsanitary to start. Their “aisles” are so narrow and overflowing with random stuff that blocks the way and 2 people cannot stand side by side or pass each other. Most of the produce is scary looking and the food is old and unsanitary. There were many random & unknown products for sale that were just placed in Ziploc bags; some were sitting next to factory sealed bags with the same product. Most of the items have no price anywhere which is scary because they can charge you whatever they want and you wouldn’t know.

Back to the aisle issue.:.as a retired firefighter from CA, we would have fined and/or shut them down in a heartbeat. I don’t know how they have been able to pass fire inspections and laws. Just hope you’re not in the weird back side aisle with the drink cases if a fire breaks out. It doesn’t seem very ADA compliant either. Also with the health department regulations…very unsanitary, generally dirty, and food not packaged properly, especially their ‘bakery’ stuff and those Ziploc bags.

I completely know & understand that Mexican grocery shops are a bit different. We frequented different ones all the time in CA and they were almost always very clean, organized, helpful, etc. so we were excited to find this one. That excitement dwindled quickly into deep disappointment as we checked out the store. The cashier’s counter was concerning as it is completely encased in the clear acrylic that you see in shady convenience stores in sketchy, crime ridden, inner city areas.

I’m aware that this is long (I apologize) but one last thing regarding being not-Hispanic. The staff doesn’t say it to your face (well, not in English anyways) but they don’t want you there if you’re caucasian. They ignored a white male when he needed assistance, couldn’t help the Hispanic lady fast enough when she was ready, and treated us like we didn’t exist. We waited at the counter to ask about 2 items for over 5 minutes. They were in the “office area” doing nothing and the one gal would peek around the corner at us, laugh, then say a few words in Spanish. My husband walked over there, said we were ready, and the gal snapped with an “YES I KNOW” then turned her back and started laughing and talking again to the other lady. Here’s the thing…I happen to know Spanish. I know what they were saying and it was NOT okay and we walked out. You can read between the lines when I tell you they did not want anything to do with the white people in their store. I told our neighbor about this incident in addition to a friend that’s lived here forever and they both stated that you don’t go there if you’re white. They’ve had similar experiences as well. The type of attitude there & lack of service is unacceptable, especially in this day and age.

As awful as this place is, we really tried to give it a chance at first. We truly did. I love supporting small businesses, seeing them thrive. However, for food safety concerns, lack of general store safety. & compliance, poor business practice, and frankly bad, r@cist attitudes, we will never...

This store is too small for everything they've put inside. I was shocked & completely disgusted. Frozen & cold food items just left out stacked in the shipping boxes open with the cooler door left open as well as staff talked & did nothing. I was there for approximately 20-25 minutes because this was my 1st time there & was looking at Everything. Had very difficult time walking through from the moment I walked through the doors. I'm handicapped & use a cane mostly & a wheelchair other times. So this place is a safety hazard. Empty boxes everywhere on the floor, having to step on & over. Very narrow aisles. I've never experienced a place this concerning or posted a review this entailed. I'd give negative stars if possible. People should definitely avoid this place & officials should be checking into this store because of the food risks, safety to all people, the fire risk, & the small restaurant/snack area & foods being sold. I haven't begun to address the cleanliness of this place as well. What gets me also,is the store has been there in operation for years according to some locals I spoke with. So I'm thinking that I can't be the 1st person to experience this. Officials in Mt Airy NC must know about this. I do have pictures. I walked out without purchasing anything. I will NEVER visit this...

Stood there to get strawberries and cream and no one ever came to the front. It is so hard to buy things from the ice cream/snack side so unless you are using the store side don't waste your time. I say this because this wasn't just one time that this happened. This happens EVERYTIME I go in there and I go quite alot because of the green taco truck in which I LOVE BEST...