Watkins-Health Products

Lavender oil is supposed to ward off bed bugs. Watkins sells it for $ 11.99. They also have pine tar soap which is awesome for exzema sufferers.

There’s a great energy at Watkins Health. I am a frequent customer and I’ve introduced many of my friends to Watkins. I always try something new on the menu and usually stay to chat awhile, the employees really know their stuff. The store smells healthy and the drinks are filling enough to replace meals. They have a huge selection of vegan products, herbs, oils, teas just everything. Convenient. Fresh. Healthy. 2 Thumbs Up

Bottom line: They keep me in herbs and supplements for decent prices. The Morningstore stuff is not reasonably priced.
I live a block away, so it’s not impossible for me to stop by to see if they have something. They often do not, or need to check, because they do not know what they have.
Also, sometimes it is hard to figure out what is going on with the line in the back. Because people are looking for products, and also interacting with cashiers, and it’s really crowded, and people are feeling fussy.

As a drinker of herbal teas and a relatively new comer to the city, I’ve been making a long drawn out trip to Brooklyn for my herbal needs. However I stumbled upon Watkins and I will be using then for my herbal needs. The dry herbs that I requested were in stock and reasonably priced bought the same amount of the same herbs and paid approximately $ 24 dollars less than the apothecary in Brooklyn. The offer many clean and natural products from soaps and nuts, to tinctures and frozen vegan foods. I also purchased a live juice if orange, ginger, and lemon and the juicer asked my preference to the taste of the juice which gets extra points for quality customer service in my book. These clientele sends to be from all walks of life and the employees are warm and cordial. So if you are in need of natural products check Watkins out! And before I forget when I inquired about a certain herb the gentlemen offered to order it for me.

Pros:
1. Good store hours.
2. Nice to have a health food store in Harlem.
3. GREAT variety of mock-​meat. (A lot of the same products are used at nearby Uptown Juice Bar to make their dishes).
4. GREAT juice bar. They make a good variety of smoothies and juice blends.
5. Good food for on the go such as veggie patties, Jamaican patties, etc. Not a lot to choose from like a restaurant, but what they have is good.
6. Overall knowledgable employees (I think they are the owners).
7. Overall friendly, patient staff.
8. So-​so variety of products on shelves (when they are in stock, that is). They have a lot of vitamins, supplements, probiotics, cleansing formulas, vegetarian meat, cookies/​snack products, milk alternatives, sugar alternatives, some baking products, egg replacers, nuts, sometimes yogurt, soy cheese, teas, protein powders, and more.
9. A few ready-​made desserts such as carrot cake, pecan praline cake, chocolate cake, and banana bread. (Evaluate the carrot cake cake and banana bread though. Sometimes they don’t look so fresh).
Cons:
1. Product availability. On many occasions I have come in for products and they have been out of stock. It’s best to call ahead of time. Also if they don’t have the product you need, sometimes their other location on 116^th St may have it. in stock. However, you would have to call there or go in person to confirm. Also, it would help if they had more variety, not like a Whole Foods megastore, but just more offerings would be nice so we wouldn’t have to travel out of the way to get to a Whole Foods.
2. Prices. Their prices are not reasonable on some products. Currently their frozen food products by Morningstar Farm are higher than they cost at nearby Pathmark, Associated, Target, and Fine Fare stores. This discourages people from making healthy choices when prices are too high. They really need to re-​evaluate their price structure and make adjustments to keep people from shopping elsewhere for these same products.
3. Customer service. Once in a blue moon you will get someone on the phone who can be rude and/​or unhelpful. Also sometimes it’s been chaotic just to get a simple answer because they are having trouble transferring a call from the front to the back of the store or vice versa and you end up never getting your answer. Lastly, sometimes the employees just don’t know their products and it would be helpful if they did.
The verdict: I come here regularly and will continue to do so for most of my needs because of it’s convenient location.

I’ve been to both Watkins locations on 116^th and here on 125^th and while I prefer the 116^th location because it offers more hot food and a larger selection of produce and groceries, the 125^th street location is also lovely.
I originally stopped in for a hot snack but they only had 2 egg rolls to chose from (one may have been vegan), so I just got some cake and went to Uptown Juice Bar for hot food. I like that they carry Red Mango vegan baked goods instead of Vegan Treats, which has nearly dominated the NYC market. I went with the red velvet cake this time, which was moist and delicious, and perfectly sweet. I think I prefer it to the pecan cake, which I had last time.
I also picked up some French Onion tofutti cream cheese, which is less common than the plain variety and, in my opinion, has MUCH more flavor. They also had some ridiculously cheap grapeseed oil so I grabbed a bottle of that. Next time, I’ll stock up on some teas, as Watkins has a pretty extensive collection.