The Natural Grocer — Restaurant in Newburyport

I used to love shopping here, there was a great selection of herbs, tea, the deli was great with options that are vegan or just that you can’t find anywhere else, similar to the baked goods: I however, have stopped shopping there quite a while ago, and so has my entire family and I will explain why. My parents sometimes used to let me use their credit card to go shopping for them when they were working long shifts at work ,caring for my grandmother in shifts with hospice while she was dying,and dealing with rental properties. Well, I went in once and when I got to the register the woman noticed the card wasn’t mine and told me she couldn’t run it through without Id of the owner. This is understandable because even if I called someone on the phone there is no way for her to know who she is actually talking to. I was not upset about this, I know this is general policy for most places if they don’t know the parties involved. The problem came when my dad went in to go shopping and the person behind the counter , who I only know is a woman said something very inappropriate to my dad pertaining to me. She recognized his name on the card, and said instead of that your daughter was in and wanted to buy groceries with it ( even that would have been fine) that ,”I know something bad about your daughter if you would like me to tell you.” At the time she was clueless to the fact that I was having a lot of very complicated personal and traumatic issues I was dealing with , and she insinuated something she may have thought suggested one thing, but because of what I was dealing with, my father thought she meant to share something very inappropriate and mortifying about me as it would have made sense to anyone who knew me. I don’t want to go into detail as to what had going on because it is extremely personal. Long story short my dad said no and left because he thought she meant to share something very sick. He was very upset because not only was it intpreted in a very nonprofessional way, he now was worried about me even more than usual. My entire family has spent large amounts of money over time as customers. Every time I drive by to be honest I get pretty upset because even though it was a long time ago, I still am deeply disappointed and sickened that someone would think an inappropriate statement like that was funny or amusing . I thought as well as my mom, dad, and brother , that it was not only very unprofessional, but also hurtful to my dad. If this person , who I only know was a middle aged woman, wanted to cause problems for me, she just assumed I was lying when I wasn’t, but could have worded things very differently. Insensitive, insulting condescending, sickening are some of the ways I interpret the intention . My mom actually ended up crying, she doesn’t need anymore stress. I just got angry and really every time I drive by I am mad because as much as I want to go shop, I would never give another penny to someone who tried making me look like a dirtbag at the expense and humiliation of my father. The health food store that opened in Amesbury is where I go now , they have great options , medicinal and skin care products , lots of food and drinks, tea and also the owner is always there and he is such a nice guy, always in a good mood and extremely knowledgeable accepting and helpful. I would recommend giving him some busines . I’m sure he would have the same credit card policy but something tells me he would have handled it in a much more professional manner. I want to emphasize I’m not angry I couldn’t use the card that is a policy any store would have , I am angry about the way she turned what happened into an excuse to make a perverse statement to my father with no insight into how it could be misinterpreted. Thanks for listening to me get this...

I love this place, I really do. I've been coming here for a long time now and i love EVERYTHING especially their prepared food. I won't deny they're a little on the pricey side but omg it's sooooo worth it. I literally drop HUNDREDS of dollars on this place every week because that's how good they cook and on occasion I'll spend just as much on supplements because I don't bother with my vitamin store because I come here so much. I only have 1 complaint because I've been bringing it up so much and nobody seems to care....

They don't display the ingredients of their prepared meals!!!

I have a major egg allergy and I've lost count how many times I've brought something home that I didn't know had eggs in it and sustained inflammation because of it. It bums me out because it would be soooo much easier if they just advertised their ingredients and instead I have to ask EVERY single time "what's in this? What's in that" and it makes me uncomfortable when I have a line of people behind me and I'm asking 1,000 questions when it can be just answered with a simple ingredient list ...they only say whether something is gluten free or vegan, but I don't need it to be gluten free or vegan specifically, just not carry eggs which by the way is ONE OF THE 5-7 MAJOR ALLERGENS including nuts, dairy, soy Another thing that would be nice is if they displayed the macro ingredients like how many calories/fat/protein/carbs are in each serving but that's no where near as important to me as the ingredients display so that's okay if it doesn't get done, it just would be nice is all because I'm trying to eat less while I'm on a diet and I know everything they make is healthy I just can't keep track of how much I eat. Again, it's not a deal breaker, just an honorable mention.

Everyone is so nice in there, I'm just hoping the owner or someone of authority sees this review and does something about it. I can't continue coming in here if I don't know what I'm buying. Its literally costing my health.

P.S. they also now have a sign up by the prepared meals that talks about their return policy which they never had before so it makes me wonder if other people have been having the same issue with not knowing whats in their foods and so theyve tried to "return" them....im telling you a simple ingredient list will help the customer know what to expect with what theyre buying, maybe even a simple 1 or 2 word taste description will help too....

Thanks for...

I’ve been a frequent customer for the past 6 months. I love their coffee, to-go breakfast items, and specialty finds. I do not however, like the man (curly grey hair + glasses + plaid button-up shirt) who rings my items. The first time I experienced this, I assumed perhaps he was having an off day. He was unfriendly and threw my credit card back on the counter, after he had rung it through. It was very unprofessional and left me disappointed. I didn’t say anything and decided to try again. I’ve been in a few times when he isn’t there, and the people are most wonderful. I was in today (9/10/19) and he was there. He was once again rude and unprofessional. I do not believe he is a good-fit for this establishment that otherwise...