Better Thymes Natural Foods

We visit the store once a week to buy local and support a non corporate grocery store. They have everything we need plus awesome bulk items! Love the bulk Tahini and Tamari. The staff is hit or miss, so if you need to purchase a supplement… do some online research first. They carry premium stuff (e.g. Blue Bonnet supplements).remember your health and longevity are worth more than the few extra dollars you will spend for quality items.
Remember…it IS Front Royal. This town is a review in itself, so don’t expect a huge selection of items at this tiny store. But do expect a small oasis in this crappy fast food and Walmart loving town.

Awesome little store. Very pleasant and helpful staff. (which is not the norm for front royal in general) They are willing to obtain what you want if they don’t have it. But for organic food they have plenty. This store satisfies a niche that is sorely ignored in this area which loves its saltt fried fast food. I am glad better thymes is here and look forward to their continued expansion.

Man, I have been meaning to write this review for FOREVER I try to come here as often as my pocketbook allows because this place is great. I am big into natural body care and I will suggest to ANYONE that is just getting on the organic/​slow-​food/​natural train that bodycare is an easy first step. This store has it all, soap, shampoo, body wash, face cream, makeup, I am personally lovin’ the «african formula» shampoo and hair rinse because it smells GREAT and it works well and it’s healtheir than all the other SLS soaps out there.
Now, onto food products; I have bought premade quiches, cookies, tea, and other items and I think every single thing was fairly priced and good quality. There is a good selection of herb tea for everything from the flu to water weight to insomnia. If you are trying to kick your ambien habit, you might want to try some traditional medicinals.
SPEAKING of medicinals, they sell bulk herbs as well! Yes! Now if you know what you are doing herb wise this is an awesome place, they have a large variety of common herbs like chamomile, mint, and lemon balm, but they also have patchouli, valerian, and myrrh so you can make many home remedies.
The only NEGATIVE here is the same thing the other Unilocaler said, the younger female staff occasionally has some serious attitude going on, and I dont care HOW OLD you are or how you grew up or whatever, each and every customer deserves to be greeted and THANKED at minimum when entering and leaving the store. Rudeness from staff is not acceptable and if the younger kids don’t like their jobs maybe they should find different jobs. :)
If you are looking for natural goods in the Shenandoah Valley, this is a wonderful option!

We’ve been to this store several times now, and it seems to be hit or miss.
They carry some really awesome things that you can’t find anywhere else around here, like nutritional yeast in paper bags. B12 is light sensitive, so it’s important for it to be in something other than a plastic bin or bag, which is what the other local health food stores keep it in.
They also have some delicious vegan dumplings in the «prepared foods» section at the back of the store.
They even take EBT!
I really only have two issues with this store:
1. Out of date products: our first time here, we bought bulk sesame seeds and when we got them home and I tasted them, they were so stale I couldn’t get the taste out of my mouth for at least a half hour. It was horrible!
Last time we went, we bought 2 loaves of Rudi’s Country Morning White bread because it was on sale and when we got home, they were molded. I checked the bread at the store and there was no sell-​by date anywhere on either package, which I thought was weird. We live too far away to justify driving all the way back for a return, so we are just out the money. I contacted Rudi’s and they told me they ship all their bread frozen and the store is supposed to mark it with a sell-​by date when they put it on the shelf.
Make sure you check dates on everything. I have seen some way expired stuff in here.
2. Curt employees: I guess I should just say employee (singular). I’m pretty sure we’ve interacted with every employee by now. The owner is helpful and kind, and always smiles. There’s another older lady who is also very nice. The only employee we’ve had issues with is the younger girl that works there. She glares at us from the time we walk in the door and barely says a word while ringing up our stuff. Last time, I noticed a thing on the counter that said they had a «customer appreciation card» and I (in a friendly manner, trying to break the uncomfortable silence) asked «What’s a customer appreciation card?» and her response was «It actually tells you about it right there» and then moved an item that was sitting on top of the information so I could see it. After reading the info, I asked her how I could get one. She handed me an application without a single word.
She always has an attitude and the tension is very obvious. Since this is a store in front royal, I’m going to assume it’s either because we’re gay or because we have facial piercings. Either way, she needs to work on her poker face if she’s going to be in customer service. It honestly makes us not want to go back to the store.
It’s a cute store with some awesome stuff and mostly friendly people… worth checking out if you’re in the area.