Grocery Stores/Markets

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This afternoon I'm going to address another aspect of living in Asheville (or anywhere for that matter!), food!  Not food as in restaurants, a topic to be addressed in upcoming articles, but something much more basic - groceries.  Where to shop in Asheville?  Well, I'll leave that for you to decide but in this article I will give a brief overview of the main groceries stores/markets in Asheville.  To be clear, this is not an overview of all such retail, just the most prominent and well-known.

The most prominent supermarket chain in Asheville has to be Ingles.  This is perhaps to be expected as the founding family lives in Asheville and opened the first store here in 1963.  The Company Headquarters and Warehouse is located in nearby Black Mountain, NC.  A quick check of the Company's website showed 12 locations in Asheville.  The age of these stores can vary but most, especially the newest, provide an extensive stock of groceries as well as Bakery, Deli and Video Departments.

Another regional chain with representation in Asheville is BI-LO.  BI-LO is a similar grocery store chain concept but it is not nearly as prominent as Ingles; a quick check of the Company's website indicated only one store in Asheville.  This store is located at 801 Fairview Road.

Harris Teeter, perceived to be more upscale than either Ingles or BI-LO, is also represented in Asheville.  According to the Company website, this chain has only one store in Asheville at 1378 Hendersonville Road.  I live near this store and do shop it on occasion.  My impression is that while the store may have a more upscale aura, it does offer value in weekly specials, such as the "buy-one-get-one-free" specials.

Another chain (international) represented in Asheville is ALDI.  The Company website shows two locations in Asheville.  I am probably the least familiar with this chain even though one is located very near where I live.  I have only shopped it once and my impression was that of limited selection, relative to other grocery stores, but also some good buys.

I guess it goes without saying that we would have Wal-Mart.  Doesn't every city these days?  The Wal-Mart Super Centers also sell groceries.

In addition to these regional and international "mainstream" chains, Asheville has a good selection of what I'll call the "Whole Foods Market"-type of grocery store/market.  Although Asheville does not actually possess a Whole Foods Market (I'm pretty sure the closest to Asheville is to be found about 65 miles away in Greenville, SC) we do have several good choices in this organic and natural whole foods genre.  I'll overview those next.

The first I'll cover is in downtown Asheville and is called Greenlife Grocery.  According to to the Company website, there are only two locations, one in Asheville and another in Chattanooga, TN.  The Asheville store is located at 70 Merrimon Avenue and is very popular among those preferring this style of shopping.

Next is Earth Fare.  According to the Company website, the chain is found only in Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee.   This store is very similar to Whole Foods Market, to me in the same way a Sam's Club is similar to a Costco.  In fact, the first time I visited an Earth Fare I was amazed at the similarity.  This chain has two locations in Asheville, one proximate to downtown and one in the south.

Another of this genre is Fresh Market, which is, by the way, my mother's favorite.  According to the Company website, this chain has one store in Asheville.  This store is located at 944 Merrimon Avenue.

The last I'll cover today is the French Broad Food Coop.  This store is, relative to the other stores covered, fairly small but it does offer a good selection of products, including organic produce.  This store is centrally located in downtown Asheville and is easily accessible to locals and visitors.  The coop is located at 90 Biltmore Avenue.

This concludes my overview of the most prominent grocery stores/markets in Asheville.  My intent was not to make recommendations but rather to inform you, the reader, about the key players in this segment of the local economy.  I invite you to visit them all and decide for yourself where you'll shop while Living in Asheville, North Carolina.