If we’re going to have grocery talk ^[1] around here, then I think it’s important to mention the new grocery store in my neck of the woods (First Hill ^[2], the best neighborhood in Seattle), M Street Grocery ^[3].

When I first moved to First Hill way back in the mid-90s, our grocery options were limited. The Harvard Market QFC was still in the process of being built and on my way to classes at SCCC every morning I’d pass by it. From time to time I’d ask for a progress report. Apparently so did everyone else in the area because one day a worker exclaimed, “Boy, you people are crazy about supermarkets here!” We had another grocery store down at 9th & Madison (I’ve completely forgotten the name now, anyone remember?) that was probably very nice at one point but by the mid-90s was starting to struggle. I remember that they had a lot of exotic meats (I swear I saw lion there once, which was a little odd–who in Seattle eats lions?) and very excellent produce but the limited footprint of the building made it a real challenge to be flexible about stocking product.

The M Street Grocery is located next to where that old store used to be, at the bottom floor of a brand new building. The store isn’t very big, but it is big enough to stock a wide variety of products and the space is used very efficiently, allowing them to have a whole lot of stuff on hand without making the customer feel claustrophobic. There’s an excellent deli with an excellent salad bar and all the usual items you’d expect to see in a grocery store. Their smaller size prevents them from carrying everything QFC does, but I was pleasantly surprised to see on hand all kinds of nifty products that QFC doesn’t have–unique brands of water, gourmet items and a seriously awesome array of baked goods. Their produce, meat and cheese all looked fresh and wholesome and their prices were competitive. I don’t know that M Street Grocery would be worth a trip for someone who lived crosstown, but if you live in the First Hill area, you should definitely check them out. They’ve been open only a week or so, so stop in while it’s still got that “new car” feeling.