# Do grocery stores in your area have interesting local/ethnic shelves not found in most places? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 12, 2014, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-grocery-stores-in-your-area-have-interesting-local-ethnic-shelves-not-found-in-most-places/695376 "2014-08-12T16:23:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2014, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-grocery-stores-in-your-area-have-interesting-local-ethnic-shelves-not-found-in-most-places/695376/21 "2014-08-12T23:42:42Z")
Most of the stores in my area have a general Hispanic section. But I’ve noticed that when I’m in Houston, many stores break this up into separate sections like Mexican, Colombian, Cuban, Salvadoran, Guatemalan, etc. ---
**Author:** ![XanderCrews](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/ee59a6/32.png) [@XanderCrews](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XanderCrews)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2014, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-grocery-stores-in-your-area-have-interesting-local-ethnic-shelves-not-found-in-most-places/695376/22 "2014-08-12T23:47:27Z")
The commissary carries a decent selection of Korean and German foods for the Soldiers that have been stationed there previously. ---
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2014, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-grocery-stores-in-your-area-have-interesting-local-ethnic-shelves-not-found-in-most-places/695376/23 "2014-08-13T00:03:26Z")
In my California hometown, there is a huge Korean Market-- at least twice the size of a regular supermarket. That’s not the unusual part. The unusual part is that we have a large Eastern European community, and the Korean market eventually had to start a Russian aisle. Kvass and kimchi for all! ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2014, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-grocery-stores-in-your-area-have-interesting-local-ethnic-shelves-not-found-in-most-places/695376/24 "2014-08-13T00:51:42Z")
In my suburban Dublin town there are Polish supermarkets, Russian/Eastern European supermarkets, African general stores and a couple of South Asian stores too. The main Irish supermarkets tend to have a Polish or Eastern European section too but I find the actual “ethnic” stores much cheaper than main supermarket chains. In Dublin City proper there are a lot of Chinese and Korean stores as well as plenty of the above mentioned type. ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2014, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-grocery-stores-in-your-area-have-interesting-local-ethnic-shelves-not-found-in-most-places/695376/25 "2014-08-13T01:20:03Z")
Wegmans in NY State has quite the international aisle. Jewish, Indian, Chinese, Japanese, German, Spanish, English…probably leaving a couple out. Other grocery stores also have ‘foreign’ foods now. There is a grocery store in the inner city just chock full of Spanish - Puerto Rican foods, cans/jars/boxes, and fresh produce I’ve never seen before. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2014, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-grocery-stores-in-your-area-have-interesting-local-ethnic-shelves-not-found-in-most-places/695376/26 "2014-08-13T02:04:40Z")
> [@salinqmind](#): > > There is a grocery store in the inner city just chock full of Spanish - Puerto Rican foods, cans/jars/boxes, and fresh produce I’ve never seen before. Now I’m curious. Which store are you talking about? ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2014, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-grocery-stores-in-your-area-have-interesting-local-ethnic-shelves-not-found-in-most-places/695376/27 "2014-08-13T02:12:26Z")
My local Kroger used to put Jesus candles in the Mexican section. When I first saw that, I was on the fence as to whether that was a wise move or not. They have since stopped. But it leaves me wondering: Did they stop because of complaints of racism? Or did they stop because they weren’t selling? ---
**Author:** ![Bridget\_Burke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7cd45c/32.png) [@Bridget\_Burke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bridget_Burke)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2014, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-grocery-stores-in-your-area-have-interesting-local-ethnic-shelves-not-found-in-most-places/695376/28 "2014-08-13T02:31:27Z")
One of the founders of the [Fiesta Marts](http://www.fiestamart.com/) worked for the US government in Latin America. Part of his job was distributing food aid–he discovered that people would refrain from taking their share of produce unless it had been piled high. He moved to Houston & opened a grocery store in a working-class Hispanic neighborhood. Now there are Fiestas in several Texas cities–in all sorts of neighborhoods. There are always “Latin” foods–broken down into Mexican, Central American, Caribbean, etc. Other sections vary to match the neighborhood–Houston’s pretty diverse. We have lots of “specialized” grocery stores, from tiny to the giant pan-Asian [Hong Kong Food Markets.](http://www.yelp.com/biz/hong-kong-food-market-houston) Phoenicia Speciality Foods is Middle Eastern at heart but branches out considerably; the Downtown location has a bar with food, drink & live music–in a former urban wasteland. Most “regular” stores have specialty isles–for newcomers & curious Texans… ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2014, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-grocery-stores-in-your-area-have-interesting-local-ethnic-shelves-not-found-in-most-places/695376/29 "2014-08-13T02:44:00Z")
The big supermarkets in Bangkok all have a Japanese section, as there are so many Japanese in Thailand. (Japan is the largest source of foreign direct investment in this country.) ---
**Author:** ![installLSC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/54ee81/32.png) [@installLSC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/installLSC)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2014, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-grocery-stores-in-your-area-have-interesting-local-ethnic-shelves-not-found-in-most-places/695376/30 "2014-08-13T02:52:17Z")
> [@Shakes](#): > > My local Kroger used to put Jesus candles in the Mexican section. > > When I first saw that, I was on the fence as to whether that was a wise move or not. They have since stopped. But it leaves me wondering: Did they stop because of complaints of racism? Or did they stop because they weren’t selling? I don’t see why it’s a problem. In eastern Washington, with huge Mexican populations, Mexican food sections are the default place for religious candles. Many smaller grocery stores stock multiple shelves of them. I’ve even seen candles for [very Catholic Church opposed folk saints like Santa Muerte.](http://jkachuba.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/IMG_0003.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![syncrolecyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f08c70/32.png) [@syncrolecyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/syncrolecyne)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2014, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-grocery-stores-in-your-area-have-interesting-local-ethnic-shelves-not-found-in-most-places/695376/31 "2014-08-13T02:55:21Z")
> [@Calatin](#): > > Near Waco, TX, there is a town that has a strong Czech heritage, and the stores typically have sections of Czech staples. > > If you are ever in West, TX, get a kolache. You’ll thank me later. Texas seems to have a Kolache belt through the center. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2014, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-grocery-stores-in-your-area-have-interesting-local-ethnic-shelves-not-found-in-most-places/695376/32 "2014-08-13T04:06:54Z")
Not a separate section, but the supermarket near my house is known for having many more US products than most in Panama City, so I see expatriates I know who live all over town shopping there. It’s known as the gringo supermarket.😉 ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2014, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-grocery-stores-in-your-area-have-interesting-local-ethnic-shelves-not-found-in-most-places/695376/33 "2014-08-13T04:26:46Z")
Like the OP, most mega marts around me have a Mexican (“ethnic”) aisle. One part of it will have Old El Paso, Pace Picante sauce and other stuff for making the taco filling you were raised on, the rest will have Jesus candles, corn tortillas and a bunch of stuff you can’t pronounce. It’s not quite the same as going to the Mexican store, but it’s nice if you just need some masa or some Goya brand something or other. From what I’ve heard, this isn’t common around the US, but Milwaukee does have a large Mexican population. One of our Piggy Wiggys is also practically a Mexican grocery store which is nice because it’s close to my house so I don’t have to drive to the south side to get good (and fresh) chorizo or find a better selection of dried peppers or just about anything else I need if I want to make Mexican food. ---
**Author:** ![grude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47774/32.png) [@grude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grude)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2014, 5:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-grocery-stores-in-your-area-have-interesting-local-ethnic-shelves-not-found-in-most-places/695376/34 "2014-08-13T05:32:03Z")
I have always been impressed by the Fiesta Mart chain in Texas, they have a specific isle for Japanese and even Caribbean food(ok they may not have an entire isle, but at least part of an isle). Hispanic food is taken for granted, want African cuisine ingredients? They have it, along with German and Russian. They even have seasonal displays with stuff like advent calender chocolates, hard to find in the USA. ---
**Author:** ![etv78](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d78d45/32.png) [@etv78](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/etv78)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2014, 5:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-grocery-stores-in-your-area-have-interesting-local-ethnic-shelves-not-found-in-most-places/695376/35 "2014-08-13T05:36:57Z")
Live near Boston, good sized kosher section. ---
**Author:** ![kiz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/7feea3/32.png) [@kiz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kiz)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2014, 11:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-grocery-stores-in-your-area-have-interesting-local-ethnic-shelves-not-found-in-most-places/695376/36 "2014-08-13T11:41:09Z")
I’ve seen more ethnic variety at our local Walmart than at any of the supermarkets around my way. They even have theirs arranged similar to what others have said, like all the supermarket brands (Goya, for example) in one area and all the “real stuff” in another. The Hispanic section is the largest, but there’s also a fairly large Caribbean section, a Middle Eastern/Indian section, and an Asian section which is usually untouched because everybody goes to the mega Asian market a couple of blocks away. All our local supermarkets have a British/Irish section. So do the convenience stores as well as what I call “Upscale Yuppie Gourmet Market”. If you go a couple of towns over the markets there won’t have them. ---
**Author:** ![anu-la1979](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/47e85d/32.png) [@anu-la1979](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anu-la1979)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2014, 12:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-grocery-stores-in-your-area-have-interesting-local-ethnic-shelves-not-found-in-most-places/695376/37 "2014-08-13T12:02:00Z")
> [@Saintly\_Loser](#): > > I lived in Astoria for years (and it’s still my favorite neighborhood in NYC). Let me guess – you’re talking about Trade Fair? > > I remember finding cans of iguana soup there, among other strange and wonderful things. > > Of course, if you wanted an amazing range of stuff from the Indian subcontinent, you’d have to go just a little ways to Jackson Heights. Ha yes! My husband and I lived on Newtown right next to Les Enfants Montessori. It was a great neighborhood, he had lived there for years and his/our landlord was really upset when we left. Going to Trade Fair made my life SO easy. Half their employees were on strike around when we left, though. The only reason we left the boroughs for Jersey is because neither one of us wanted to get a co-op. JC is quite nice but the neighborhood will probably never be as diverse as Astoria in terms of having everything within sneezing distance. We’re bounded by Hoboken at the bottom of the cliffs, which brings a level of convenience but not as much diversity. That said, we’ve always had a car (I grew up rural/suburban and can’t shake the habit) and we can just drive to Indian Town, K-Town, the Japanese market blahblah. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2014, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-grocery-stores-in-your-area-have-interesting-local-ethnic-shelves-not-found-in-most-places/695376/38 "2014-08-13T13:37:14Z")
Around DC it’s SOP for supermarkets to have a decent Hispanic, Asian, and Kosher section, usually at least a quarter of an aisle each, depending on the size of the store. Anything more exotic than that, there’s generally an ethnic grocery store right around the corner from the “American” supermarket. ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2014, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-grocery-stores-in-your-area-have-interesting-local-ethnic-shelves-not-found-in-most-places/695376/39 "2014-08-14T13:42:42Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Now I’m curious. Which store are you talking about? The name of the store? Nojaim’s. It’s in a poor neighborhood right within walking distance of downtown. It has all the usual grocery store items, but a huge selection of Goya products, too. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2014, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-grocery-stores-in-your-area-have-interesting-local-ethnic-shelves-not-found-in-most-places/695376/40 "2014-08-14T16:15:18Z")
> [@DCnDC](#): > > Around DC it’s SOP for supermarkets to have a decent Hispanic, Asian, and Kosher section, usually at least a quarter of an aisle each, depending on the size of the store. Anything more exotic than that, there’s generally an ethnic grocery store right around the corner from the “American” supermarket. Oddly enough here in Dallas and from what I recall in Houston, you have to pretty much be right in the center of a Jewish neighborhood if you want to find much in the way of Kosher stuff. But if you are, there’s a huge variety of kosher stuff available year round that other groceries don’t even think of carrying except maybe in the weeks surrounding Passover. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-grocery-stores-in-your-area-have-interesting-local-ethnic-shelves-not-found-in-most-places/695376.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-grocery-stores-in-your-area-have-interesting-local-ethnic-shelves-not-found-in-most-places/695376.md?page=3)