The Natural Market — Local services in Timonium

I used to really like this store and never had an issues. Hadn't gone here for awhile and went back today. That will be my last time going.

I went there I briefly looked at smoothie menu. I didn't even read all of the ingredients and just chose one. I was very hypoglycemic at that moment and just needed something quick. There was no one else there waiting for a smoothie and no one had ordered since I ordered mine. About 10 minutes later after I order, one of the girls behind the counter announces that a smoothie is ready. I couldn't hear what kind she said. To be honest, I really didn't even remember what kind I ordered because I ordered it so fast. The receipt they give you has no information on it whatsoever, just total. The smoothies aren't labeled either with an order number or description.

So I grabbed the smoothie and started drinking it while I waited for my food. About 5 min later, a girl from behind smoothie counter tells me "you ordered the green smoothie. You're drinking HIS smoothie" And points to a guy that was in an aisleway that looked like he was shopping.

I apologized profusely and was so embarrassed. The girl behind the counter just had a horrible attitude and says, in response to me saying sorry, "yeahhhh it's very much NOT green.... So it'll be another minute." She then rolls her eyes and starts complaining to the other girl in the behind the counter about it, to where I can hear.

I again told her I'm so sorry and don't worry about making my smoothie, I'll just drink the one I have. And apologized again. She just gave me this annoyed look and pulls out a green juice, not a smoothie ( I ordered a smoothie, not juice) and says "it's already made it soooo." And then walks away.

Needless to say, I will not...

I would give this place 5 stars except for what happened last time I was there. I called in an order for a black bean burger. The staffer in the kitchen said it would be ready in 20 minutes. Twenty-five minutes later, I show to pick up my order. Not only wasn't it ready, but the guy behind the cafe counter, the one who took my order, said he "forgot," even though he wrote it down (he showed me the slip). His assistant was willing to make it but, because I didn't have time to wait, I declined the offer. Plus, the fact that he forgot an order called in just minutes before, put me off.

I've been coming to The Natural for years, and this is the first time something like this has happened. Hopefully, it will be the last. I notice that they appear to have frequent turnover of help in the cafe....

My experience is only with the grocery portion of the store, not the cafe. I stopped in last week and was dismayed to see all the plastic bags used by the store. Other than spices, there was no bulk section, only bulk products that appeared to be repackaged by the store into plastic bags for resale. I did not have the option to use the glass jar I brought. The reason I buy from bulk sections is to AVOID plastic. I ended up buying some loose incense sticks. At checkout, I was asked whether I had seen the plastic sleeves available for incense sticks. Yes, I had but, again, I purposely avoided those because I don't like to use single-use plastic bags. It was unsettling that this natural market did not seem to understand this and actually encouraged the...