Hilltop Red Apple — Local services in Seattle

I lived on Beacon Hill when I was growing up and I always remember driving by the Red Apple. It wasn't the most glamorous grocery store, but it was always there. I had not been back until a year or so ago and I was really surprised to see how it had be renovated to appeal to the new clientele moving into the area. The store is nicer on the inside - not a luxury grocery store but a nice one. When visiting around 2pm the clientele were on the older side and seemed like the kinds of people who lived on Beacon Hill before the light rail station. I'm glad some of them still live here. The people working there are pretty friendly - especially the people working at deli counter and the Chinese food counter. My most recent visit was specifically to try the deli counter food. I ordered a couple fried chicken thighs and a couple fried catfish filets. Both were tasty and flavorful. While it wasn't the best fried chicken I've had, it's really good fried chicken regardless of the fact you're getting it from deli counter in a grocery store. The fried catfish were some of the best I've ever had. They were crisp not greasy. The filets weren't too muddy tasting and they're a good price at $13.99 per pound. When you consider that two pieces were about 0.3 pounds you can get a healthy amount of fish for the price. I also had the lunch special of fried rice with two entrees. I got the orange chicken and string bean chicken. It's good Americanized Chinese food and it hits the spot. I expect to return soon and am happy to support this local...

I don’t understand how this store can constantly price gouge and stay in business. Their prices were high well before the skyrocketing grocery prices that we’re now facing. I feel sorry for the many seniors they’re ripping off in the area, whose only choice is Red Apple due to mobility issues, or lack of transportation. Highway robbery is what it is.

Their bathrooms are also disgusting! They have flies everywhere for some strange reason. So they hung fly strips in one of the bathrooms and it was filled with tons of flies. I wanted to puke!

Their employees use the same bathroom that they let the public use, and although they have a King County Health Department sticker in the restroom, mentioning the importance of washing your hands, the bathrooms don’t have working hot water. How are Deli employees washing their hands with cold water after using restrooms, then serving food? Please answer why and how you guys get away with not having hot water in restrooms? There’s what looks like blood & poop tracks all over the place. Like hire professional cleaners already. And lastly, how and why do they charge regular prices for the left over deli food, once it closes? Other grocery stores mark down their leftover hot food to 50% off after a certain time. Greedy, greedy all the way around, is what...

Nasty cashier really sank the excellent offering here. Needed cashback for the transit line after my first day of work and he acted like he wasn't being paid near minimum wage with a "it costs us money to do cashback you know so you need to spend more than $5" with a serious attitude problem (yes I do know; I used to do accounting for this kind of thing. Not okay. It costs next to nothing for each transaction.) I had bought a few taffies for the ride and he said this. Instead of giving them more because of this I just left and they got none of my money. A nasty person with a vanity problem can really sink an amazing place. Otherwise really fantastic place but whoever was doing self-checkout at around 7 this last Thursday needs to be sat down for a conversation about how much cash back actually costs and how often times the first time people come in to a store is for cash back and once they like what they see they come back later. If I didn't think critically about the situation this jerk would've made it so I wouldn't come back. Don't be nasty to people just trying to make it work because they won't come back and you'll crash the bottom line, especially when you yourself are bottom rung in terms of work, quality, pay and attitude to...