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Old 10-10-2015, 11:19 AM
 
1,068 posts, read 1,426,710 times
Reputation: 1205

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On my way up to Washington in search of a healthy lunch I stopped by Eugene, OR and ran into this gem Sundance Natural Foods Eugene, Oregon. A family-run organic foods store with reasonable prices, a great selection of bulk foods, unique fruits and veggies and a great variety of local things like pastries, desserts and so on. Loved it!

Is there a similar store in Seattle metro? There's gotta be! So far my internet search was unsuccessful.

I stopped by the PCC Market in Kirkland yesterday and it was very underwhelming. Limited selection and prices are way high- higher than Whole Foods! For instance, I buy Vital farms eggs (hens are roaming around freely instead of being caged and having a limited space which is like being in a freaking prison- to me it's worth the extra $) and it's about 6.50$ a carton in Whole Foods. The same carton was over 8$ in PCC! Not going there again.

I like WF but was hoping to find a local co-op kind of sore and support the local business. Any other options out there?
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Old 10-10-2015, 01:54 PM
 
Location: Nashville
3,533 posts, read 5,792,325 times
Reputation: 4707
First of all we don't have an East Bay area, so please get your geography/regional classifications correct. We have an "Eastside" , which is East of Lake Washington, since there is no Bay here.

I know SUndance very well , as I lived in Eugene for over 5 years It would be hard to find something of that caliber anywhere in the state of Washington, although the Bellingham Co-op is fairly decent, but even that is not as good. I miss the hot bar at Sundance, do they still have that? Washington lacks the multitiude of hippies of Oregon to make for the truly authentic co-ops I had living in Oregon. Also, Oregon has much better growing climate and the temperatures are usually warmer throughout the year, except for Winter. But the growing season is undoubtedly longer and you will see local produce over 6-7 months of the year, unlike Washingotn, where it is more like 2-3 months of the year.

PCC utterly sucks and I am boycotting PCC because of how crappy they treat their customers. I can write you a whole essay about how their snotty, hipster, arrogant dayshift manager treated me like crap when trying to return a defective item. He mocked me and humiliated me in front of all his staff and customers , when I got upset that he couldn't return an item and then proceeded to ignore more until I made a scene at his store. I spent $1000s at the Green Lake PCC store and many people knew me there and saw I was a good customer. When I proceeded to go up to checkout register and out loud told them about how horrible he treated me and demanded regional/HQ number to complain, he came rushing to the register and then apologize and returned my items. I guess once he saw I was going to make a case out of the issue, he put his ego in check. I ended up complaining to their regional headquarters office and I don't shop there anymore. I've only received good treatment at Whole Foods (for most part) and the Central Co-op. If customers have problem with a product, they usually have no problem exchanging or returning. PCC, has gotten so full of itself, that it thinks of itself as Seattle's only health food store.

The only real co-op in the Seattle metro area that can even come close to matching Sundance in Eugene, would be Central Co-op in Capitol Hill on Madison St. It is a pretty good co-op and has a lot of stuff in a tight space. Unlike Sundance, they do sell free-range meats and other good stuff.

Also, another great health food store, although a bit pricey, is Marlene's in Federal Way. If you ever get the chance to go to the South Sound, Marlene's is better than most of the stores in the Seattle area and sells stuff like Raw Milk and has a pretty large selection. Marlene's, I think is one of the oldest health food stores in the Sound as well.
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Old 10-10-2015, 02:33 PM
 
Location: Independent Republic of Ballard
8,061 posts, read 8,287,033 times
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The PCC price is for non-members - with the member discount, the price is probably close to WF's. I've never lived close enough to a PCC store to justify becoming a member, so don't shop there.

For more affordable prices, try Trader Joe's.
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Old 10-10-2015, 04:26 PM
 
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
44,104 posts, read 80,155,784 times
Reputation: 56923
Aside from the desserts, the best is actually in Sequim WA, Sunny Farms. While it's not all natural/organic there is also Central Market in Poulsbo. We stop at both when in those areas. Closer, though, try Metropolitan Markets, with 6 stores in the area, another one coming here to Sammamish in 2017. We like them better than either Whole Foods or PCC. We already do have a TJs here and get some things regularly, but they are limited in products.

https://metropolitan-market.com/home.php
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Old 10-10-2015, 05:09 PM
 
Location: Nashville
3,533 posts, read 5,792,325 times
Reputation: 4707
Why does Trader Joe's count as a health food store, considering that only like 10% of the products they carry are organic? I am not impressed with TJ's and never have been. Trader Joe's is not a health food store, but rather an over-hyped import store that carries mostly overpriced junk food. Just because they repackage a lot of the products with their brand name, doesn't make it any better.
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Old 10-10-2015, 07:50 PM
 
1,068 posts, read 1,426,710 times
Reputation: 1205
My apologies for calling the Eastside names, that was not my intent

The East Bay of the Bay Area must be on my mind because I just drove through it and got ripped off several times during my very short time there so it's still giving me a heartburn. Thank goodness I don't live there. I don't know how so many people put up with all the, ahem, stress (I wish I could use a stronger word) there... But I digress.

Thank you, Rotse and Hemlock, for the suggestions- very useful posts. I will check out all of the places you mentioned.

The hotbar at Sundance is alive and thriving, it was a nice break from the Burger Kings and the like on the highway. I laughed at the "hippie" part - very true. I noticed that I was the only "boring" person in that store, almost felt a little out of place What a lovely town Eugene is! I hope there'll be a reason for me to go back there and visit.
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