Tag Archives: Ken’s Market

Yes, we in north Seattle neighborhoods do even the most mundane tasks a little differently.  Buying our bread and cereal each week isn’t just a chore, its a way to participate in the community and support your local businesses.  I’m new to Greenlake, but I’ve been in North Seattle about a year now, and there were a few lessons I learned quickly about buying groceries in north Seattle:

• Find your local market and get everything you can from there.  For me, I found the soon-to-be-torn-down-to-become-part-of-Super-Fred-Meyer Greenwood Market.  Its small, but it has everything I need and the employees are friendly.  Now, shopping at a local market was actually a really tough change for me.  All through high school and college I worked as a grocery cashier for Kroger, who owns QFC and Fred Meyer.  I know the layout of those stores and I know how much I’m going to pay at the register.  Hell, I even remember some of the produce codes (which makes the U-Scan really easy).  In comparison, Greenwood Market is a lot more expensive.  They don’t mean to be, but they can’t get the discounts that the huge chain stores can get.  So, in this case, you have to suck it up and start paying more for your food.
• Buy organic.  We’re a really health-conscious pocket of the state right here.  We’re generally a very active population, we watch what we eat, and we don’t want to hurt our environment.  So, after moving to Phinney Ridge, I began to buy organic milk, yogurt, and anything else I could get my hands on.  I can’t necessarily feel the difference in my new organic lifestyle, and not everything I buy is organic, but I do feel like I’m saving myself from health problems down the road and doing what’s right for the planet.  I’m even buying the “Bio-bag” trash bags now that are 100% biodegradable. 
• On that note, bring your own grocery bags.  At our local markets, it IS expected.  And if you don’t have your own bag with you, but you’re only buying a few items, carry them out.  Most markets will give you a .05cent discount for bringing your own bags, but that’s beside the point.  If you’re seen walking out of a non-chain grocery store with plastic bags, you will likely get a dirty look or two.
• Use the bulk bins!  They’re great!  I found that at Greenwood Market, the same hemp granola that I purchase off the shelf gets carried at a slightly lower price in their bulk bin.  So now I pay less for the same product. 
• Don’t lane hop like you would at Freddie’s.  You know what I’m talking about.  You get in one checkout lane, and the other looks like it’ll move faster, so you move over, but you dart back, because everyone around you is so miserable that you are that ancy to leave.  When you have your local market, make grocery shopping a social experience.  If you’re in that big of a hurry, you shouldn’t have come to the store. 
• For the little things that you forgot on your grocery trip, find an even closer, smaller market to pick up what you need.  Ken’s Market on Greenwood Ave is a great example for people that live within a few blocks.  There’s also a little market on Latona in Greenlake.  These places are great for the one thing you forgot. 

 Don’t forget, when you support your neighborhood businesses, you support your neighbors!