Z Z’s Produce

We went to Whole Paycheck to get Banana Leaves (i’d seen them in the produce section one) and were unsurprised when we discovered they only carry them on occasion. I was surprised that the produce woman sent me to ZZ’s — never heard of it. We drove up and I was sure I was the fool of a cruel bougie-​grocery-​store joke. Nope. ZZ’s is awesome, and proves that YOU CAN NOT JUDGE A BOOK BY ITS COVER.
This is the best spot we’ve found in the area for «ethnic» produce i.e. banana leaves, taro root, shiso, thai basil, fava beans, green almonds… I mean, the works! Not only that, they have a lot of chilies, onions, canned latin and middle eastern foods, and the only mission-​style sized tortillas i’ve seen outside of San Francisco. If you’re a serious cook you will absolutely love this place.
A COOKS MUST!

WARNING: Do not pay with credit card here. My fiancée hadn’t used her credit card for two months. Within a week after my fiancée used hers here (and nowhere else), she started getting random charges for fast food in San Bernardino, California.
As long as you have a decent eye for produce, this place has good prices, and some things they carry can hardly be found anywhere else in town.

I give ZZ’s 4 stars for the produce. They have a lot of stuff you don’t see elsewhere and it’s super cheap. By super cheap, I mean that I can feed my husband, my daughter and I for a week for $ 20. Are there blemish-​free oranges beautifully stacked in pyramids. Absolutely not. Are there cardboard boxes of oranges including some that are past their prime. Yes. But I have a little concern about the lack of health standards here. The back door is left open and thus there are friends of the furry variety moving in and out of the store. They place open bags of various grains on the shelf with no exterior container– just an open sack of rice and a scoop begging to be contaminated or consumed by furry pals. I’ve seen stuff in the refrigerator case past the sell by date. As other reviews have mentioned, there are plenty of fruit flies. My advice is stick to the produce and be selective.

Just went here an bought a huge sack of veggies for the week. 6 bananas, 2 heads of garlic, 2 eggplants, 2 avocados, 4 tomatoes, 1 red onion and a couple more things. The bag was so heavy, I couldn’t believe I got all these staples for less than $ 6!
There is no flash here, this is definitely more a fruit stand complete with bins that you dig through, than it is a polished grocery store. That being said, their selection is incredible! They had so many varieties of produce that I haven’t seen in the bigger chain stores. They had six, 6!!, types of eggplant! Amazing!

Take this place at face value and you’re good to go. It helps to not
be overly particular so turn a blind and benevolent eye to the flies, filthy floor and messiness. The onions in bulk are great, but only if you like buying 50lb. bags. Some people do. The ‘exotic’ fruits like Guavas are not as cheap as you think, but at least you can GET them here.
Avoid the tinned goods as many are dented and/​or bloated. I bought biscuits in packets and they were very stale. The tinned Coconut Milk had turned and tasted metallic.
What Z. Z’s has is the unusual and they ARE less than Whole Foods, Plum Market, Trader Joe’s and Co. Buy wisely here and you’ll save some money. Do the dollar-​for-​dollar comparison. Sometimes they DON’T come out ahead of Hiller’s Grocery in Arborland for basics like Roma Tomatoes and Carrots.
One day last month, we were offered a selection of watches from some enterprising folks in the parking lot who had them secreted ‘tres flasher-​chic along rows in an outer coat. Z Z’s attracts all manner of people. I always stop in if I’m driving by this stretch of Packard Road on the offchance of finding the elusive Guava.
Z Z’s is the type of place where I wouldn’t be surprised to find closed & shuttered one day for no apparent reason. It has that air about it. Right now, it’s cheap & cheerful.

a quote from Riki «I like to come to ZZ’s because I hate Plum Market and LOVE paying next to nothing for pounds of carrots, apples and oranges at this place»
Amen to that sister!

This is absolutely my favorite grocery store because there is absolutely no pretense. There is not much flooring or lighting either, but that’s part of the charm. It is on my way to almost anywhere, so I have no problem going there 2 – 3 times a week, which is sometimes needed because the produce can be pretty ripe. Regardless, I love going there. It has many rare and hard to find foreign foods, and hands down the best prices on everything they carry. Certain competitors have actually asked him to raise his prices. When money was tight, ZZ’s was the only place I could afford a weeks worth of groceries. (well there is one other place, but that’s a different review). ZZ’s is more than a store, its a community service. Please Support This Local Business

If you’re the type of shopper who gets grossed out by fruit flies (mostly only in the summer as Brad mentioned) or produce that isn’t looking it’s 100% best, you may want to avoid ZZ’s. Don’t come in here expecting Plum Market-​worthy displays of produce. I like to come to ZZ’s because I hate Plum Market and LOVE paying next to nothing for pounds of carrots, apples and oranges at this place. I enjoy using my fruit and vegetable juicer so cheap, most of the time flawed produce is perfect for me. Sometimes the owner kids me about when I’m going to bring him some fresh juice.
If you’re on any type of budget or just simply like to save money where you can, you can easily stock up on beans, canned sauces/​tomatoes/​olives/​evap. milk here and replenish your spice collection with pungent, fresh bags of cumin, coriander, etc. I’ve gotten great bottles of olive oil here along with greek sea salt, fresh figs, bags of limes for under a dollar. they also have coffee, tea and nuts. Great place to stop in and check out at least every few weeks.

A nice produce station near my house, Z Z’s Produce is a good find for those of us near the Carpenter/​Packard area. The fruit selection is outstanding, the vegetables and dried goods are priced fairly and often contain some nice surprises.
The only issues I found were both related to the inside of the store. First, in the summer time they seem to have fruit flies, which is a turn off when you’re hunting for produce. Second, the place is very cramped and aisle traffic jams are common.
If you hit this place at the right time of the year, it’s awesome, be just be aware of the few issues it has.

I’d driven by Z Z’s Produce before without stopping because it doesn’t look like much from the outside. The sign is faded, and it’s cluttered outside and inside.
However, they do have a pretty good selection of produce at good prices, ranging from the obvious like peppers and onions to more exotic produce for ethnic cooking. They also have dried goods, like tortillas and rice, and a variety of prepackaged ethnic foods. The ethnic fare is mostly Latin, but I also noticed some Indian food as well.
I got a really nice ripe (but not too ripe) avocado and found Café Bustelo on sale there for four and a half bucks per 12-​ounce can. Café Bustelo is a dark, espresso roast Mexican coffee that only a few places in the Ann Arbor area carry, so I was glad to find it in Z Z’s at a good price.