Fiesta Farms — Restaurant in Toronto

I've been spending $200 a week here since 2007, and I've finally had enough. Though, unlike Loblaws, they stock many items I want, the low quality of the produce has finally put me off. I've complained about it to the management several times but it never improves (and why would it? There's no competition in this city.). Typical produce experiences include bin after bin after bin of apples that look great until you touch them, only to realize they're spongy; get them home and they're pulpy and inedible. The celery and kale look yellow; cilantro doesn't even make it home before it rots. Last week I bought a crate of clementines; 1/3 of them were literally rotten inside, and the rest were dry and pulpy. Bananas are grass green until they rot. Peppers are blighted and spongy. Berries are from South America, even in high summer (apparently, good things grow in Ontario, but you can't find them at Fiesta Farms), except the boxes of strawberries, which are sometimes local but the ones not on the top of the boxes are either white (not ripe) or rotten. Onions are soft and squishy, and so are the potatoes. Sometimes if you bake the baking potatoes, they're hard inside and inedible. We have a joke at home now, after shopping at Fiesta Farms; it goes, "Darling, have you thrown away the groceries yet?" That's it; I've had it. I'm now about to drive half an hour to Whole Foods at Yonge and Sheppard, hoping against experience that it'll be better.

Update: Just returned from Whole Foods. Produce was GREAT! Fresh, organic, fruit actually smells like what it is, and we bought so many fresh fruits that I feel like Christmas came early. There were TWO kinds of organic apples that weren't squishy; luscious grapefruits; cilantro that looks alive rather than half rotted; fair-trade organic bananas that are ripe and not either green or rotten. Amazing!

Below is a price comparison between items I purchased last week at Fiesta Farms and the same items this week at Whole Foods; net difference in price was that Fiesta Farms total was $2.62 cheaper. The quality can't even be compared. Adios, Fiesta Farms; that's $200 / week for ~50 weeks / year that you've lost by refusing to address your nasty produce problem - of course, my $10,000 probably doesn't mean much to you, but given that I'm spending $10K / year on food, I want it to be the best food I can get.

Item / Fiesta Farms price / Whole Foods price Camino 80% chocolate $3.33 $4.99 Liberte organic 2.5% plain yogurt $5.69 $4.99 Tropicana premium OJ $5.49 $4.29 Grapefruit juice $4.99 not organic $4.69 365 brand organic grapefruit /kg $4.39 not organic $4.39 organic frozen fruit bag mixed berries $5.99 $5.39 fresh cilantro bunch $1.99 not organic $2.50 organic red kale bunch $2.99 not organic $2.99 organic bananas / kg $1.74 not organic $2.19 organic / fair trade baby potatoes / kg $3.28 not organic $6.60 organic Rolling Meadow grassfed milk $5.99 $5.69 other skim milk $5.49 Lactantia not organic $5.99 organic onions / kg $4.39 not organic ...

I have been shopping here for over twenty years but recently two events have cause me to reflect and makes some serious changes including one decision that was both personal and business related...one occasion i had only 15-20 items in the cart and i did not notice i was in the express lane and the cashier said abruptly/rudely "next time you do this i will not be cashing you out and you can cash out somehwere else" i thought wow. Maybe if you said to me sir are you aware you are in the express line? I had never spent less than 200-300 dollars a visit so i actually did not know i had chosen this line! A second occasion i was returning sone returnable yogurt jars (recyclable deposit on the jars) the cashier said (i had soaked and washed the jars) "i will not accept these they are dirty" i look at her incredulously and said "thats water in there they were cleaned" she made a fuss and a manager actually came over and said the jars are fine. After these two expereinces I reflected and thought well maybe because its the weekend I do not where my CEO suit i dress down in sweat pants/yoga pants that this was the cause. As a CEO of a business that actually spends $10,000 a year at Fiesta that these experiences left anfreat deal to be desired! I will not longer make personal or business purchases at this store! My wife and i did most of our shopping here easily $1000 a month. This is past now. Maybe a manager sees this and realizes (i have all my business and personal receipts for the past 18 months) we spent $36,000 here- its out the door due to your lack of a customer servixe approach! Bye bye found a much...

Based on the reviews I was expecting a better than Whole Foods or Ambrosia experience . Organic section is very small for produce. It's basically like any other grocery store .nothing special..tbh I was disappointed when I walked in, as I am expecting it to be something else based on reviews. Most groceries can be found at any other grocery store (of the same brand ). Produce wasn't that fresh..No Frills quality at best. Loblaw is way fresher . I only shop at higher end supermarkets therefore I would know. Stick with ambrosia or whole foods for produce that is fresh and firm and not wrinkled or dented, soft and spoiled . The tomatoes I got from this store won't last more than a day . They do have a large frozen seafood section and nice Australian wagyu beef and lots and lots of deli meats , lots of which are sustainably grown as well as raw pasture raised meats and bacon etc which is nice...however produce really disappointed me. I eat a lot of lentil or bean pasta and this store had the best priced one so far .despite my disappointment based on reviews ,.I will visit it again if I am in the area as they so have lots of cool pastas etc that I consume....