Friendly City Food Co-op — Restaurant in Harrisonburg

Great place horrible staff. The rumors about the employees being angry miserable people are unfortunately all true. I've spent so much money here and tried to get to know the staff but they clearly have no regard for their customers. Despite the awesome and high quality products the insufferable employees turn the somewhat easy task of grocery shopping absolutely unbearable. The girls at checkout are truly the worst of them. If I didn't know any better I would think there was some "who can inconvenience the most customers" competition...

In particular, this one girl (brown hair, youngish looking (probably 17/18)) who consistently works at checkout truly has it out to ruin days. Between her disgusting and condescending attitude and yearning to cause problems, the place should just fire her. I've heard similar experiences/complaints specifically about her from at least five or six other people (college students). It is really sad to see such a young girl filled with so much anger and spite. Lower your expectations as soon as you walk in or else you will be very disappointed. Unfortunately, will not be spending near as much money at this place. It's too bad that such a great community co-op has such angry and spiteful employees (although based on other reviews, maybe its just targeted towards college students...which is even weirder given the location). FYI they're beyond judgmental here so if you're not in the mood for judgements...AVOID

(I have been shopping her at least twice a week for two years now, this problem began a couple months ago...or whenever the specific checkout...

Always has an excellent selection of quality produce that is often hyper-local. A very well-stocked dry and bulk good selection can also be found here, though during the epidemic it is available in pre-measured containers. The dairy/dairy alternative case is stocked with local products as well as national brands and is a great place to find yogurt brands such as Siggi's and Liberté marked down as they near the best by date.

The cheese are is small but very thoughtfully stocked with more of the Sartori line than any other local retailer at a better price as well as local cheese. The freezer area isn't one that I shop often but there is a nice selection of natural and organic brands. The hot and cold bars are always very high quality, house-made selections.

There is also an entire aisle dedicated to healthcare products that has a lot of selection. A good bit of it is dedicated to hocus pocus like homeopathy as is normal for most stores of the type.

Friendly City probably has the best curated selection of beers in town and it certainly has the best selection of ciders around. Their wine selection is small but is very well stocked especially with fortified wines (sherry, Madeira, Port, etc) that are often overlooked in wine sections.

They have very good prices on pet food if you're interested in grain free. They have the best price on PetGuard wet cat food I've seen, even over online outlets once you add the shipping, as long as you order by the case.

I'm very excited for the expansion and do a lot of my...

This place has always felt like more than just a grocery store for me. It definitely has its own personality. Sure, it may only take up a small space, but it's dense with funky little things. My favorites include the bulk food bins (featuring treasures like wasabi peanuts and s'mores trail mix), locally-produced global spice blends, the discounted "ugly" produce, the kombucha fountain, and a teeny DIY pizza section that you could blink and miss. I find new items nearly every time I visit. I'm looking forward to a time when the Co-op can resume workshops and events, which range from an "Eggnog Bowl" to food tastings and cooking demos. But the absolute best part of the Co-op is the people who work there. It's been especially apparent in 2020. I am quite kooky, but every time I have put in an order for curbside delivery, the staff have been amazing in helping me work through what I want. I've had many wonderful short conversations in the checkout line about many zany subjects. I'm sure the cashiers would love to go home and sit in their pajamas instead of hear me talk about my cats for the 14th time. You rock, Friendly City...