Vashon Market IGA

New owners, local people. Not upscale but my oh my, their in house smoked meats. Fabulous.
Thanks.
You guys are great.
Oh, for the poster down below, it is the «guy store». Used to be all the single guy «characters» on the island shopped there. Now, that is changing. Even stood in a line the other day.
Actually besides the liquor department a surprisingly decent wine section. All the usual boxes and jugs but some fairly decent mid level wines as well.
Personally, still not a fan of their meat department but produce has been upgraded quite a bit.

Great Staff, open to new products. New local owner has cleaned up and organized the previous market and the produce is excellent. Staff is open to special orders.
Low key and lots of parking.
They could do some weekly sampling, for feature products.
Have not tried the smoked meats, but they have the basics for a great home cooked meal. They are working on sea food however, many choices for frozen fare.
Handy deli with good priced cheeses. N

It’s the OTHER grocery store on Vashon; the one you probably don’t go to if you’re visiting for the weekend. It’s beauty is that it doesn’t try to compete with the mighty Thriftway. This is truly a local place. It’s cheaper and has plenty of brands
Once you walk in it could be 1965; it certainly doesn’t look like it’s had a renovation in that long and it has that slightly off old grocery store smell. The customers on whole also look like they’ve been shopping there since the 60’s which to me is a good sign.. The deli items are all good and they have lots of pre-​made items like the excellent bbq and pulled pork. Their liquor is far cheaper than the liquor store in town.
I’ve only recently moved to town and the staff couldn’t be friendlier. For one thing they’re less busy than their bigger rivals so they have time to chat, but they’re also just plain nice.

Of the two major grocery stores on Vashon Island this is the more mid/​lower range/​class store. It has cheaper goods and more big brand names rather than focusing heavily on organic or small brands. They do have a small bulk foods section, a nice looking fresh meat department and a small bakery section. Their meat selection included some lamb, and both ground bison and bison steaks that looked very nice.
They had smoked meat that were smoked in-​house and I bought and tried their smoked turkey bites. They were delicious! Smoked and nicely dried (not all greasy like some smoked meats I’ve had).
This store is sort of old and not very pretty, but it gets the job done. The staff were friendly and polite during my visit and the parking lot was easy to get in and out of. Since this store is a block or two away from the main drag, I got a little lost the first time I tried to re-​find it (after just having glimpsed it while banking nearby the day before).

What’s not to like. Really nice people work here and helpful too. Always quiet with a handful of locals. Of course the selection is limited and it’s time for me to head to Thriftway!

Grim. We call it the «Low Self-​Esteem Market». I hear you can bring in your restraining order and get half– off a rack of tall boys.
On the bright side, there are NEVER yuppies there.

Looking up at the rating bar, I feel conflicted as I write this.
Sure the old Chestnut of judging a store by it’s produce section immediately sinks this place like the Titanic but… everyone is so nice (except the Deli staff, usually). Sure living here my whole life and getting to know most of them colors my judgment but the staff is sincerely helpful to everyone .
Also nobody could go to this store and feel under dressed, and when a woman needs her Pillsbury mix and other products rife with the aroma of crass consumerism and in a dirty t-​shirt –this is where she must go!
When a moody elderly patron who has been asked not to open the cut watermelon wrapper and to stop squeezing the Charmin– this is where they must go!
When a child wants cheap, Chinese-​manufactured toys, and wants to break them as quickly, and get lost like the expensive ones , this is where they must go!
And to anyone who wants a temporary tattoo, sticky gummy hand, Little Debbie’s snacks or an ambiguous brand of baby lotion this… is where they MUST go.
Just stay away from everything in the Deli that is not fried or a whole cake.
Now seeing as this is the better of three IGA’s I have been to in my wanderings, and I have become aware of how to read the nutrition bar on the back of a product I’d go here.
Something can be said of a shopper that goes in knowing what they want, cuts their losses and makes an informed decision based on what they can see and what they know about luke-​warm deli «fruit salad» made of whip topping, gelatin and doom.
I’d not go here for everything but I wouldn’t want something in it’s place for anything.

There are two groceries on Vashon Island — one upscale, one not.
This one has a Dollar Aisle where I get my microwave popcorn.
I once got a moldy strawberry shortcake in a plastic cup. Yum!
One would expect a substantial price differential between the two supermarkets — this is just not the case. Malt liquor and Ho-ho’s are no cheaper here than at the Thriftway.