Natural Grocers

They may everything gluten free but their cashier was very rude: never acknowledged us at checkout: I will definitely rethink of shopping their again …

I’m a huge fan of eating organic — y’know, no chemicals on my food that will kill brain development or make my children have three heads or eleven fingers. Natural Grocers is amazing with the concept of *only* selling organic produce. The other stores I frequent (no name-​dropping here) may have organic products on occasion, but do not come close to 100% (of their produce) being organic.
***** MUST BRING YOUR OWN BAGS OR USE PROVIDED BOXES *****
There are a lot of gluten-​free options, non-​GMO and other things that are not organic, but still better than conventional items here. The prices are cheaper than other chains that claim to be «America’s healthiest (grocery) store» — around 20% less I’ve calculated.
Bottom line: if you live the organic food lifestyle, Natural Grocers is a place you must stop. Even for the on-​the-​fence foodies, the store has enough to keep you enticed. I like the other food store chains for specific items, but try to balance where my whole paycheck goes.

Used to love this store. Haven’t been but twice in the last month and the employees are all rude. I was limping and one was upset that I could walk as fast as him. Really rude. The cashier also didn’t even say a simple hi or anything. The workers are just bitter now. The employees used to be really good but now they stink.

Natural Grocers – the name says it all. This is a great place to get fresh, organic, healthy food, bulk foods, supplements, and personal care products. Caters to virtually all healthy dietary needs.

I actually like this place a lot better a couple years ago. I still come here for a few things, but they have greatly reduced their selection of many items. I mostly frequent the bulk spices, which are fantastically priced. You can get a large bag of bay leaves (approx. 50 leaves) for $ 5…can’t beat that. I also like their selection on some of the baking goods. They seem to have the best selection of things like sweeteners, cocoa powder, extracts, etc. Most other things I need I can find for cheaper and or a better selection of elsewhere.

Mostly organic/​paleo/​gluten-​free trendy, hipster where’s my Birkenstocks? Folks here are very friendly & laid back consistently helpful, knowledgeable courteous just a lovely place to shop, take your time cruise the goods… lots of bulk rather than bin options. No bags! But they have boxes & walking out with one is like the scarlet letter of non-​conformation haha I luv this place!

I was surprised at how much larger I’d expected it to be. Also being gluten free, has much variety and items you can’t find any where else in abq… like the gluten free french bread in the freezer.

Natural Grocers’ vitamin and supplement game is off the hook — it takes up over four aisles! Unfortunately, however, aisle space is a zero sum game, and they have no room left for a fresh meat counter — an ironic decision given that fresh pastured organ meat is probably the most nutritious and beneficial vitamin that humans can buy. A large selection of frozen meats softens the blow, but only slightly.
Pro tip: bring your own bag or you’ll have to use boxes a la Costco.

In the 505, grocery shopping can be an insanely difficult ordeal, but Natural Grocers plays a decent roll in our organic search endeavors. They have a limited but quality selection of veggies and fruits, and for the gluten-​free lot, this place is a haven. A while back we bought gluten-​free flour (oxymoron) and continue to substitute it for endless recipes. Vitamins galore. A huge selection of proteins for your favorite juices (yep, we juice). Awesome almond butter made on site. These people are nuts about nuts. Good frozen department. Delicious selection of non-​hydrogenated, no-​potato chips.
More than any other aspect of the shopping experience, I love the employees. I’ve never run into a rude or off-​setting person working the aisles or the register. And they don’t supply bags of any sort; if you have a big purchase, they’ll drop the goods in a cardboard box from one of their shipments. This can be an uneasy thing to grasp early on, but the benefits of this corporate decision are obvious from a planetary standpoint, and when you leave, you have that teensy tiny feeling that you actually make a difference by ditching the sack.
As you load the goods into your SUV.
For the 15 mile drive home.
Where you’ll most likely let some of your meal go to waste.
And remind yourself that you’re a gluttonous, but organic, carbon positive consumer.

Great selection of products and great prices. Wish they had a bigger selection of deli products and cold sodas.

Vitamin Cottage is a full-​service natural foods grocery store. They offer the usual food items (fresh, frozen, dairy, small selection of frozen meat, breads, cereals, canned goods, cleaning supplies, etc.) They also have rows and rows of nutritional supplements. Need L-​carnitine? Got it. Just read about PGX and would like to try it out? Buy it here.
They also have an excellent bulk spices/​herbs aisle. I purchased a pint-​sized bag of bay leaves that cost less than $ 2, and the amount inside could have refilled my McCormick spice bottle 4 times over.
The produce section isn’t as extensive as, say, Whole Foods, but I like the fact that every item is organic, so you don’t have to waste time reading labels to make sure that you don’t accidentally grab the conventionally-​grown grapes..
The prices are very good, too, far lower than the aforementioned Whole Foods. I shop here on a regular basis.

I haven’t been to the Vitamin Cottage too often, but they’ve always had what I was looking for — and more. Prices are what you would expect for a natural foods /​healthy lifestyle store. Basically, it’s like Wild Oats but smaller.
For me, the best reason to go to Vitamin Cottage is the selection of teas. They have an entire aisle of Celestial Seasonings teas, in more varieties than I even knew existed. There’s the usual suspects (Sleepytime, for example) along with more niche teas like the «Wellness Tea» line, which includes my new favorite: milk thistle (which they call «Detox A.M.» for some reason). There were also more new age-​ish teas in another aisle, rounding out the selection. Prices on these, and the other products I looked at, are very reasonable.
If you’re fed up with trying to find something healthy at the grocery store or places like Wal-​Mart (ugh), Vitamin Cottage is a MUCH better alternative. It also feels more mom-​and-​pop-​ish than Wild Oats or Whole Foods (although I like both of those stores as well). Somehow they manage to cram a nice variety of foods, supplements, body care products, etc. into this tiny store, and it all hangs together really well.
I got exactly the stuff I wanted without breaking my wallet, and without filling my body with chemicals — what more can you say about a natural foods store?