Bell’s Market — Local services in Philadelphia

As a local, I gave Bell's Market a chance. At first it wasn't all too bad, but after shopping there a few time's I started to become that "unsatisfied customer." I understand that this is a foreign market and that Bell's Market caters to a varied group of nationality's. My Interaction with some of the staff, especially in the Prepared foods section was not always pleasant, at least 9 times out of 10 I would get a Person with very little social skills and with very arrogant attitudes, fine I kinda just dealt with it for a while and overlooked that kind of stuff. The cleanliness of the store I would have to say 2 out of 10. Their convayer belts are always dirty, Staff are not properly trained to handle food in the prepared foods department, Some of there poultry and meats that are markets up because they marked the product Organic, but are not in fact organic or even even stamped with a USDA confirmation inspection tag. A lot of there products are old, I purchased Palmolive Dish cleaning detergent once and It must have had shelf life of over 10 years. I could not even use the stuff as it was already too old all I would get out of the bottle was glumps of non-foaming liquid and an odor that was not even of what the bottle said, (Citrus Scent) was more like bland glue scent. After today I Promise not to enter that store after I made a recent purchase two different brands of green tea. I tried the product at home and was very disappointed to find that this product was not only not of green tea quality, it was old and one box marked organic. I wanted to return the Item and let me make it clear, I did not have my receipt with me and only asked if I could get a store credit. The Customer service clerk immediately rolled her eyes and me and did some spit sound with her mouth. She then proceeds to go see if she even had the item in the stores and comes back with 2 of the items I wanted to return, She asked me where was the original packaging and she didn't even give me a chance to explain why I was returning the product, I explained and then she tell's me it was open and that she will not return it. I then asked for the floor manager. She proceeds to grab a store manager. When the manager returns, The Manager stands at least 10 feet away from me and asked me "How can I help you'? I proceed to explain that the 2 items that I purchased from the store did not hold up to good quality standards and that I wanted to try something else. She refused and then Explains to me that in her 15 years as an employee no one has ever complained about this item. She also said that this was a Russian Item why would you pick a Russian item, this is a Russian store and this item as well is a Russian product. If I am not Russian then I should not be choosing these types of products. I asked her if that was her final answer and she said yes. that was her reasoning for not returning the item. I will never again step foot into a Bell's Market store that only caters to there kind of people. I spent lots of money in Bell's Market only to be treated like I am person that not deserve the same treatment as...

I've been to Bell's Market at least 20 times... Mostly when I lived in that area. They always have the best Eastern European and Russian treats AND cooked foods, at reasonable prices. Not to mention the vast array of groceries, nuts, snacks, candy, cake, cookies, drinks, healthy meals, and more. Mostly international stuff, but they also have some local brands.

Scenario: you're a single parent, the kids are almost home, and you didn't have a chance to cook yet. And you don't want to stuff your beloved kids with garbage/junk "food" from (insert chain fast-food restaurant name here). So you stop by Bell's Market and pick up a few samsas, pirogies, meat-laden ribs, vegetable-potato salad, and a slab of fish... A nutritious meal for 3, for maybe $20, $25 tops.

The reason I gave 4 stars instead of 5: the checkout staff isn't always "nice" (by American standards). More importantly, the store has metal fences outside that prevent people taking their carts to their car. So you are pretty much forced to shop with at least 1 more person to bring the car to you... Or only buy enough stuff that you can directly carry to your car 🤷🏽‍♂️

I could literally spend hours and hundreds of dollars there (and recently I did spend over a hundred bucks there, cuz I rarely visit that side of town). Today I picked up some plav slathered in Russian Sweet and Sour Beef Stew, tasted so good it made me wanna slap someone's mama 😅 If THIS is what Russian Meddling looks like, well knock me upside the head and call me Ivan! 😂

My point is... If you like good food that actually TASTES good, and won't break the bank, I highly suggest checking out...

I live close to this market. Their produce section rivals the big chain grocery stores. They are almost as good as Shoprite and Giant. They are better than Acme in my opinion. Although a smaller sized store their produce section has a very good variety of fruits and vegetables. Very fresh reasonably priced for these difficult economic times. You can get starfruit, dragon fruit, persimmon and one of my favorites gooseberries. A wide variety of apples, pears peppers, potatoes and onions. A very interesting salad bar. Try some of the European ones for a twist on your palate. A great jarred pickled section that would help you get through a colder climates winter. Good deli and meat section. A wonderful bakery and a great candy-sweet section. Fast checkout small and large shopping carts. Big parking lot. Customer service. Still a great place to shop. They need to make the storefront wheelchair accessible. Picked up some bakery treats for my friend who is visiting. Challah bread cornbread and some truffles from the candy aisle. Still have very good produce. Great bakery try the lovash bread. Try the Lovare Teas. A green tea blend with many pairings Strawberry Marshmallow Bahaimian Soursop Golden Mango Cleopatras Night 1001 Nights etc. Many more flavors. Look in the bottom righthand corner for meat ends from the deli. Where the salami n sausages are. My new thing is a chocolate covered biscuit with...