7 Unique Grocery Stores You Need To Visit Across The US

If you're not the type of person who likes to go to a local grocery store when you're traveling, then you're seriously missing out. Grocery stores can offer so much learning about a place, what makes it special, and how people like to cook, eat, and drink. Not only will you walk away with some interesting and delicious items, but you'll also have maybe learned a thing or two about the local community. There's always something new to try, whether it's a new type of beverage, baked goods, or even a type of meat you'd never heard of before. Then, some grocery stores were created with the intention of making the customer's experience entertaining, which breathes new life into the experience of going grocery shopping.

There are some really unique grocery stores across the world that are on many people's bucket lists. In fact, the concept of "grocery store tourism" is a thing, and often one of the most underrated parts of a traveler's experience. If this piques your curiosity, you're not alone. It can be super fun to add an interesting grocery shop to your travel itinerary. The good news is that there are plenty of homegrown, unique stores that are worth a visit, and you don't even need to leave the country. So, whether you want to take a road trip or simply experience something different, but don't want to get out your passport, here are some of the most unique grocery stores you can visit across the U.S.

Starting the list strong is one grocery store that is most known for its uniqueness. Jungle Jim's International Market is one of Ohio's must-visit stores. With two branches, one in Fairfield and one in Cincinnati, it's a leader in grocery store tourism. While Jungle Jim's is a grocery store with food, drink, pet food, and cleaning supplies, it's an almost theme-park-like store, with large animal figures, a waterfall, and even animatronic characters. The jungle theme means you'll find tree trunks and branches, and other jungle-like decor throughout the store. With the two locations spanning over 500,000 square feet combined, you'll need enough time and comfortable walking shoes to traverse the entirety of the store.

While it may be all about the experience at Jungle Jim's, you'd be remiss to think about not purchasing anything. It has so much to offer with specialty food products from over 70 countries, including from Africa, Asia, Europe, and beyond. With abundant produce, a packed deli, hot sauces, cheeses, and wines and beers, there's sure to be something for everyone. Plus, if you're looking for activities, there are guided "safari tours" through the store and scavenger hunts. It also hosts several festivals around the year for things like beer, wine, and pickles.

junglejims.com

(513) 674-6000

Location 1: 5440 Dixie Hwy, Fairfield, OH 45014

Location 2: 4450 Eastgate S Dr, Cincinnati, OH 45245

This chain of stores has an almost cult-like following and is often considered one of the best grocery stores in the U.S. Stew Leonard's has a whimsical blend of animatronics, characters in costume, and a petting zoo. Having started in Norwalk, Connecticut, as a milk delivery business in the 1920s, it opened as a dairy store in 1969 and sold only eight products: milk, eggs, butter, cream, orange juice, fruit punch, ice cream, and bread. Since then, it's expanded into everything you might need from a grocery store, and locations can be found in New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut. While Stew Leonard's has grown, it still offers a smaller range than mainstream shops. Everything there is handpicked, and that's what makes its following so loyal.

What makes it extra special is that it cares not just about customer satisfaction, but also about the employees. Stew Leonard's was voted a part of Fortune's "100 Best Companies to Work For in America" for 10 years in a row. The store has its own coffee and soft serve ice-cream bar, and if you spend over $100, you collect points on the Stew Leonard's app that can get you an ice cream cone or coffee for free. It offers its own range of freshly baked goods, bottled milk, and exquisite prepared foods. Don't miss the iconic animatronic Avocado Girls (or Chicas Aguacate) performance as you shop.

stewleonards.com

(800) 729-7839

Multiple locations 

This next store will cure your cherry pie, or frankly, anything cherry, cravings in a heartbeat. Cherry Republic offers any cherry product you can think of. Everything from cherry salsas, pies, bread, preserves, beverages, and sauces, as well as a dine-in option with a cherry-themed menu. With the flagship store located in Traverse City, Michigan, which is known as the "cherry capital of the world," this picturesque store is something out of a novel. Abundant in blossoming cherry orchards, Michigan produces around 75% of the nation's tart cherries. There's an annual cherry festival that takes place in Traverse City, but luckily, Cherry Republic holds down the cherry fort all year long.

You can find eight Cherry Republic stores across Michigan, so even if you can't make it to Traverse City, you'll still get your cherry fix in Ann Arbor, Glen Arbor, Holland, and more. And while there are several branches, each one has a distinct charm about it, and you will feel like you're shopping in a quaint, small town, boutique grocery store, or barn house farm shop, depending on the location. It's worth making the trip out just to visit a Cherry Republic store at least once in your life. And don't forget to take some of the famous chocolate-covered cherries home with you.

cherryrepublic.com

(800) 206-6949

Multiple locations 

A grocery store should be your go-to place to buy all your kitchen and household needs, but not every store can carry all the international products we're looking for. Often, we have to stop by numerous specialty food stores to find cultural foods or rare ingredients. This next store solves this problem. Your DeKalb Farmers Market in Decatur, Georgia, is truly a one-stop shop, and it's unlikely that there's an ingredient that you can't find there. This store is an international food giant in the U.S. with 140,000 square feet of space.

Here, you'll find all kinds of produce and things like rare cheeses, various poultry, rabbit, goat, quail, and food products from all over the world. There's even signage in multiple languages because of how many communities this store serves in the larger Atlanta area. Having opened in the 1970s, this store has close to 50 years of supplying hard-to-find goods, and at affordable prices. Not only will shoppers marvel at ingredients they might never have heard of, but the friendly staff is around to explain ingredients to you and even give you instructions on how to cook them. You'll need enough time and comfortable walking shoes to make it around the store, but it's well worth a visit.

dekalbfarmersmarket.com

(404) 377-6400

3000 E Ponce de Leon Ave, Decatur, GA 30030, United States

Anyone who has visited Amish country knows how unique their food is, and Shady Maple Farm Market takes this uniqueness to another level. Located in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, this traditional grocery store has a huge selection of Amish-style baked goods and grocery items you can't find anywhere else across the U.S. It's a central store that sells products made by the local Amish/Mennonite community. You'll find things like red beet eggs, locally brewed sodas, strawberry bread, blueberry milk, kangaroo meat, camel meat, and more. Everything there is truly local, coming from within a 10-mile radius.

This store gets its name from its origin story. It started out in 1962 as a roadside stall, under the shade of maple trees. Now, this store boasts 130,000 square feet. There's also a replica of the original stall and even some fake maple trees to set the scene for you as you enter the store. Then once inside, you're transported to what may seem like a different time, as you can buy produce by the "bushel" or the "peck." The best thing about this store is that almost all the produce you get there is seasonal. Since the farmers around it supply it with the produce they harvest. The store is full of rural charm, and you'll find everything you could think of there, plus some other items you'd never have thought of, too.

shady-maple.com/farm-market

(800) 238-7363

Multiple locations

There are so many unique stores that make up the character of New York City, but one that's almost synonymous with the city's Jewish food culture is Zabar's. This store is an NYC institution and has become quite the tourist destination, and has been featured in films like "You've Got Mail," and TV shows such as "Seinfeld" and "How I Met Your Mother." It's also on our list of the best gourmet grocery stores in NYC. This four-generation-owned family grocery store specializes in its own roasted coffee blends, artisanal cheese, smoked fish, and traditional Jewish baked goods and deli foods.

Zabar's has been running since 1934, and is still going strong, having built a loyal customer base that spans generations, which is no small feat, with all the competition that has sprung up around the city since its opening. This means it has strived to maintain the good quality its known for. Even if you're just walking in the city, you may still catch a glimpse of someone carrying Zabar's signature tote bag. This is often a good reminder to get yourself to the Upper West Side for some bagels, coffee, or black and white cookies. Once you've filled up on all your food and beverage needs, head upstairs to the homewares floor to enter a whole different world of useful and quality gadgets.

zabars.com

(212) 787-2000

2245 Broadway (at 80th Street), New York, NY 10024

You may have a favorite Asian supermarket in your neighborhood or city, but if you've never been to the Uwajimaya Asian Market in Seattle, then you may not have even imagined what was possible. More than just a grocery store, Uwajimaya has become a tourist destination and has a huge variety of exciting products from all over Asia, as well as impressive live fish tanks, a cooking school, and a hot deli counter with daily innovative menus. Its food hall has been voted one of the must-visit food halls in the U.S., and is stocked with delicious prepared foods like sushi, takoyaki balls, and poke bowls, and an endless array of desserts too!

This store also holds a lot of fascinating history. Founded in 1928 in Tacoma by Fujimatsu Moriguchi, a Japanese man who started by selling fish cakes and other Japanese foods out of the back of his truck. He then opened the store with his wife, but had to close the shop when his family was sent to an internment camp during World War II in 1941. In 1945, after the end of the war, the family moved to Seattle, where they opened up Uwajimaya again, and since then have been going strong, expanding beyond just Japanese products, passing down operations through three generations of family. 

uwajimaya.com

(206) 624-6248

600 5th Ave S, Seattle, WA 98104