Nature's Emporium — Restaurant in Newmarket

"Vegetable, thy name is... PUTREFACTION!"

I dropped in this morning, not having been there for months since my last disappointing visit - I was looking for Lacinato kale and couldn't find any anywhere else.

Things had not changed since I was last there, in November 2024. Most of the produce was in an advanced state of putrefaction and completely unfit for display, let alone consumption. I felt embarrassed for the staff on duty (it was just past 9am). What was wrong? Had a delivery been missed? Were they just trying to move old produce off the shelves before displaying the new? If "yes" to the latter, I've seen them at it many times before today, and a shoddy practice such as this is doubly criminal when you have an almost captive market. My great-grandfather was a market gardener north of Montreal in the 50s, 60s and 70s - if he'd taken to market produce such as what I saw today, he would have lost an appreciable clientele. And besides the state of the "fresh" produce, I also noticed quite a few packs of vine tomatoes in cellophane wrap sporting a toupée of assorted moulds. Saturday is a big shopping day for many families - I pity those who came in after me...

And beware the cheese counter - since the "cheese lady" left, some months back, it is a pale facsimile of what it was; the selection and presentation are less than half what we had come to appreciate - and the dates on some of the cheeses are not altogether right: I fancied some Brie deMaux this morning, and could smell strong ammonia through the cling wrap, which belied the "best by" date of April 26. If you know your Brie, you shouldn't be wrinkling your nose at ammonia quite so early in its "shelf life".

Stay clear of the nuts and seeds - they are dry and stale, if not rancid.

Look out for the eggs: many are broken in their cardboard nests.

Check out the dates on all dairy products - unless you consume them right away, you may be in for a surprise, like something clabbered (sic) you over the head - LOL...

I do not buy meat here - I have been buying my meat from AE Natural Meats in Mount Albert for years: their quality and prices are much superior. But I did have a look at Nature's Emporium's selection this morning, and noticed several packs of pork and beef which were already past their "best by" date.

The question is: where else can you shop for organic produce and various & sundry? If you put some effort into it, you'll establish a circuit of grocers from whom you'll get "this, here" and "that, there". Yes, this is time-consuming, but it may be the only way to go. The prices here border on exorbitant - that might be acceptable IF you get what you pay for. Convinced? Start shopping around - you may surprised at what you find.

My final word: I was a stalwart customer of Nature's Emporium way back in the beginning when they were just making a go of it - for a while they were good, very good in fact. I remained a devoted customer for years, through various ups and downs - but for nearly a decade now, it's just been "downs", and as of this morning, they have simply lost me.

Sorry, and best of...

I love Nature's Emporium for their wide variety of harder-to-come-by baking products like fresh vanilla pods, cinnamon sticks, and unrefined cacao nibs.

They have a section where you can grind your own kinds of nut butter in a machine as well. Every variety of hard, soft, nut and alternative flours are available here, and the odd types of flour as well.

I mainly shop here for their hormone free meat and fish, as well as heavy cream, cottage cheese, and monk fruit chocolate.

They have hot plates available with a variety of foods, as well as a cafe serving smoothies, cookies, etc. The store stocks a wide variety of soft and hard cheeses, produce, and baked goods in the hot plate area.

Every food aficionado's dream.

They also have a section sporting Naturopathic tinctures, vitamins, protein powders, workout and pre-workout formulas, and body building snacks. Adjacent to that, there's an organic toiletries sections, stocking coconut, jojoba, and beeswax skin butters, hair products, musk fragrances, and and naturally sourced make-ups for those with sensitive skin. The fragrances are really nice, so check them out!

Staff is nice as well. It's uncommon to get bad service, so if you do, please let them know. Management is on top of everything, and help is always available when you need it.

I only take issue with the prices - they routinely over charge for virtually everything in the store because they label themselves a 'health food' shop, which immediately pushes the prices up. I have seen the same quality food available for less from my local butcher and farmer's market when they're available. Even the water here is 'special' and supposed to help you sleep, and then marked up to $4.00 a bottle.

Unfortunately, they are the only store offering many carbohydrate free / low-carb options for some foods.

More people would shop here if the prices weren't so extensive. Healthy, humane food should be affordable and available to everyone. You shouldn't have to push up the price to make a profit - most of these items are local, not imported, anyway.

Otherwise, wonderful. I do have a special place for Nature's, even if their prices ream the living daylights...

I’ve visited the Woodbridge, and Oakville locations. Nothing negative to say about neither one. However I happened to be in the area today and I am disappointed with the behavior of certain staff, but there was one gentleman who was pleasant. Jacob was sampling Thanksgiving food, and he was interactive and did a good job of explaining what you could get if you catered your meal. Now the negative. I had bought a cleaner (Natura) that was leaking. I used it once and it leaked as I was cleaning my counter. So I bought it back to do an EXCHANGE. Again it was barely used and you could feel how heavy it was. Samira was so rude! She took the bottle, sprayed it on the counter (I guess to see if I was lying?) then asked when I bought it. I told her I didn’t know I’d have to check my bank app and see. Again this was just a straight exchange. She scrunched up her face, then asked her co worker what to do. Her co worker (shorter lady who was much more pleasant) said just let her get another one. Exchanged it. I get there are policies but just explain yourself if you have limits to what can be done. Onto the cashier by the name of Iba. The lady in front of me had a baby and was mostly buying juices. Iba was so nice to her, and even pointed out that there was a coupon for 10% off and gave her the flyer for it. Now I’m next and Iba doesn’t have the same attitude to me as she did the previous customer. I greeted her, and she said hi, then proceeded to question if I put celery that was in one bag as 2. Huh? So you think I put the celery that was pre packaged in two pieces to try to buy one? Um no. And that’s insulting! I of course said no and at the end did Iba tell me about the wonderful deal of getting 10% off? NOPE. I had to ask. Natures emporium has been my go to for quality organic products. However why should I spend my money here to be treated like this? Re train your employees on how to treat people or maybe that’s not the...