Andronico’s Community Markets

I’ve been in this market many times, though I don’t live in Berkeley, and although I appreciate the items it carries and the availability of temporary parking, I must say that my experience there recently left a lot to be desired. I used the bathroom, which was really pretty gross for a market of this caliber (think wet stuff that wasn’t water all over the floor) – someone should clean it out regularly, probably at least a couple of times a day. Just going into the store was a bit depressing, with a homeless person seemingly camping right outside the entrance. I was just picking up a couple of snacks for the road – M&Ms were too expensive there, per ounce, at more than $ 1 per small bag, so I bought a small package of Droste chocolates, on sale, at $ 1.99 (better price per ounce, and I had a long trip ahead). Unfortunately, they were really stale – weird tasting for chocolate, so much so that I checked the expiration date, which turned out to be several months from now. I don’t know why they were so bad – maybe they’d sat on the shelf for a couple of years. I also picked up a small candy bar as a treat when I checked out, thinking it might be a couple of bucks. It was $ 3.99! When I expressed my surprise, the checker said, «This is Andronico’s – it’s expensive.» Okay, I get that, but still. All in all, not a pleasant experience. Clean the bathrooms, folks; lower your prices; update your stock; and try to do something about the people camping outside the entrance. I know it’s a tough problem, but still.

Es un supermercado mediano relativamente bien surtido. Lo mejor es la parte de panaderia, donde tienen unos panes tipo baguettes franceses muy comestibles (mucho mejor que Safeway que tienen mucha masa). También tienen pre-​pizza, de diversas variedades (cuidado con una que tiene jalapeños que parecen aceitunas verdes) y grosor intermedio tirando a grueso. Incluso hay prepizzas sin salsa, lo que me viene bien pensando en que las salsas de tomate en EEUU suelen ser muy concentradas, por lo que le puedo poner la mia (o dejarla como está).
Muchos se quejan de los precios, si comparamos con su competencia (Safeway, que está a una cuadra), tiene precios similares, salvo que uno tenga la tarjeta de cliente de Safeway que en ese caso hay una diferencia notable que si perjudica a Andronicos.
El único problema es que no tiene tanta variedad de productos, porque han optado por ofrecer las variedades mas «ecologicas» o «naturales» de los diversos productos, para quienes tienen este tipo de consumo esto no será un problema.
También se permite comer ahi, tiene una barra pasando las cajas, o unas mesas afuera, donde uno puede llevarse la comida que venden preparada. Esta opción es de excelente precio/​calidad.
Pese a la falta de variedad de productos, no puedo dejar de ponerle 5 estrellas, ya que mi esposa perdió el iPhone ahi, y a los 5 minutos fui a la caja donde me dijeron que vaya a una oficina, y ahi el guarda de seguridad me dió de manera instantanea el telefono, sin hacerme ninguna pregunta.
Por supuesto que lo recomiendo.

The employees are very friendly, but the prices of this store have always been expensive and seem to be rising.
I purchased some wine and dinner supplies here, but know from previous trips to Whole Foods, Safeway, and Berkeley Bowl that I paid at least 25% more than I should have.
The presentation of the store, given the prices being higher than Whole Foods, is also really lacking – you definitely want to get in and out.

I live about a block from Andronico’s and go often. I love this place. Yes it’s pricier than Safeway which is also nearby, but you get what you pay for. Delicious healthy and organic food, friendly and helpful staff. I’ve never had a bad experience here. Their hot food section is SO GOOD! I get hot soups a lot with some french bread. And now they have mini breakfast burritos… YUM! And the deli. consistently amazing! Yesterday my boyfriend and I got sandwiches made by Kay and they were the BOMB… some of the best sandwiches we’ve ever had! Grilled cheese with tomatoes and bacon on marbled rye, and grilled flank steak on a sourdough baguette. Thank you!

PROS
* The bakery and deli items are very good. I just go there for the bakery and deli items.
* There is always parking available.
CONS
* The merchandise in the store is mostly overpriced. You can go down the street to Safeway and get much of the same items for nearly half the price.
* Avoid the Peet’s Coffee inside the store. I think the bakery staff work the Peet’s counter and I don’t think they’ve been trained well enough to make good coffee drinks. I’ve gotten lattes there a few times and they are usually pretty bad. I think they burn the coffee or something.

Andronico’s has always been a bit overpriced but they have much better produce than Safeway. They also make decent sandwiches, have pretty good deli meats and cheeses. Great alcohol selection, both hard stuff and wines/​beer.

I love shopping there because for me it is one place stop for all the grocery needs. Great quality produce. Superb fish and meats. There are many artisan cheeses, I could find nowhere else. This is the place to buy artisan bread late at night.

Their selection is very good and the people are super friendly. The prices are slightly higher than elsewhere. But the quality of meat, deli and produce is consistently high and reliable. And the selection of beers, and gluten free items is very good. We’ve been going every week for 5 years, 2 – 3 times per weeks.

Andronicos is a good market as it should be. It is in the world-​famous Gourmet Ghetto after all. The market is not mind blowing, but a diverse array of products are up for sale. They have a large bakery section and a microwave in the back.
I went here for some lunch. My meal consisted of a cherry limeade Cascade Ice and a Nanwhich. The Nanwhich was a frozen tika masala chicken in naan bread. At around three dollars, it was way cheaper than eating out.
Try this Andronicos for a quick bite.

Came here again after a few years. Bought a frozen meal only to realize it was months after its «best by» date. Never again.

I checked in and couldn’t use my voucher because it shows the expiration is in 2013.
I checked in and received the voucher today.
Ridiculous.
The variety in the store is great and so is the customer service. This review is solely for the inaccurate and expired coupon.

Pricey but have a very good selection of organic and artisanal foods.
Watch out for the parking restrictions at the Shattuck store. We went yesterday, arrived at 2.15pm. Our little boy was hungry so we nipped across to the crêpe place and grabbed lunch. We returned to Andronico’s to shop 50 minutes later and a parking guy was writing a ticket. I approached him and asked him what he was doing and he said we walked off the lot and did not go into the store. I explained that we went to get a bite to eat first and he shrugged his shoulders and suggested we take it up with the store manager. There is nothing on the signs in the parking lot that mentions walking off the lot. It does say there’s 90 minute parking provided you shop at Andronico’s. The real kicker was that on the ticket the guy BACKDATED the time, writing that we had parked at 1.00pm (rather than 2.15pm when we arrived). In my book, that’s fraud. We took the matter up with a manager at the store who was great. Very helpful. Apparently the private parking company only get paid on the tickets they issue. The manager initially was not going to annul the ticket as he stated we did walk off, but when I pointed out that the parking guy had basically acted fraudulently, the manager said there had been issues before and that it wasn’t an ideal situation… So there you go. Beware.

I can’t deny, this Andronico’s is crazy expensive. The same packages of food are found for a fraction of the price around town (i.e The La Quercia Prosciutto is $ 10 here and $ 7 at «Whole Paycheck».) But we still frequent it because:
* OPEN LATE til 11pm every night, even Sunday
* It’s CONVENIENT and within walking distance of lots of great places
* Large, easy to navigate PARKING LOT.
* GREAT selection of PROGRESSIVE & ALTERNATIVE Packaged foods and products: Organic, Gluten-​free, Dairy-​free, Grass-​fed, Nut-​free, Paleo, Vegan, whatever your flavor.
* They have been selling 2 brands of RAW MILK for ages. Kudos to that.
* They carry 2 brands of RAW ALMOND MILK (no chemicals/​binders/​preservatives). Living Apothecary and Marin Living Foods in the refrigerated section.
* The big corporate grocery store one block away is full of disgusting non-​food (especially meat and produce)
* They offer a student/​educator DISCOUNT and send frequent coupons in the mail
* Their CUSTOMER SERVICE is Excellent
* The check-​out EMPLOYEES and butchers are genuinely friendly and helpful
* They have a decent selection of very overpriced organic PRODUCE staples
Sure, if I have the time, planning and a car on my side, I will visit any one of the four fantastic and preferred grocery stores located on Ashby or Gilman. Or definitely get better organic produce from farmer’s markets and Hopkins St. But I’m still incredibly grateful to have Andronico’s and its fantastic high-​end selection of foods and products at my doorstep, til 11pm, every day of the week.

Expensive. Their sale would be regular price at other markets. Some stuff weren’t too overly priced. Not too crowded. The market’s not very big but they have a wide selection of stuff.

Bottom line: Super pricy. I only go here to purchase things that I can’t get anywhere else, like Sumo Oranges. There is a good selection of local produce, beers and wines. I want to compare Andronico’s to Whole Foods, but Whole Foods has a huge selection of prepared food and to-​go meals that Andronico’s is missing.
Another complaint is there is often only one cashier working the register when I come during the mornings, which leads to a long wait. For general grocery shopping, definitely walk the extra 2 blocks to go to Safeway, unless you are looking for specialty products.

They have cool local products, but are such steep prices that necessary? I don’t think so. This place makes whole foods seem like a Safeway. Hah.

I’ve been frequenting Andronico’s on Shattuck and Cedar for twenty-​four years. It is pricey but they have a good selection of organic produce, although there are places with a bigger selection (Whole Food) and cheaper prices (Safeway’s O brand). I have found that this store has the best choice for hard to find organic, vegan and vegetarian options. I have not found this to be true for the other Andronico’s store in Berkeley; it is not as well stocked as this one.
I have also found the people working at this Anronico’s store to be cordial and helpful and, at least in the past, they were really good about taking suggestions for items to start carrying. I’ve also had a few items over the years that were not fresh when I opened them — even though they were within their expiration date. Both Berkeley stores have been nice about replacing the soured or old item with a fresh one when I’d bring the item and the receipt.
I find myself going here about once a week, even with other options out there because of the convenient location and their selection. Also there is plenty of parking here and a Wells Fargo ATM inside.

Asked 3 people to help find Tahini sauce 1 had an attitude and ignored me, the other 2 sent me to an aisle that did not have product. :(

$ 10 teeny chocolate bars, $ 8 for a little tray of MASHED POTATOES, limited hot-​food items, everything is so expensive… It makes me want turn around and shop elsewhere… I only come here for necessities… Most items seem to be twice the price of Berkeley bowl…

I like this Andronicos better than the Solano location.
It is larger with more selections.
Great and tempting selection of pastries, deli items, hot foods and salads.
Great selection of sauces, condiments, flours, baking supplies, greeting cards,
holiday cards and wrapping paper, kitchen knick knacks, breads, gourmet items.
I did find a particular bbq sauce that I’ve only found at Rainbow Grocery in SF.
It makes really good sauce for grilled tofu (and probably meats).
I also had to get Guittard chocolate chips (not to be confused with the far inferior
Ghiradelhi chips). I still have this insane idea that I am going to be baking
Christmas cookies.
It is a little strange that I still find myself going in back in time when the Co-​op
store was there when I was at CAL. Lots of memories of shopping here with my college roomies.
It is expensive to shop here and I admit it was easier to shop here during this holiday week that it was to fight the crowds at 4^th Street or Trader Joe’s.

So damn expensive. Although the times I’ve been there its never been outrageously packed, even around the holidays. They do carry fresh and organic produce. But its just so expensive. When I want to shop without the crowd, I’ll probably shop at Andronicco’s. But one wonders, where’s everybody? At Safeway or Trader Joe’s, that’s where.
Oh but I do love that they carry Strauss dairy products in bottles. Although I was highly annoyed that they would not honor my Unilocal check-​in offer, well, it was expired but that’s not my fault. And you know what else, there’s some snoot-​ville folk walking around here. Move dammit! The aisles are big enough for two carts!