Saugatuck Spice Merchants

Stopped in today to see if maybe this would be a good local option for spices instead of ordering them online from The Spice House in Chicago. When my nephew and I walked in we were the only people there besides the lady behind the counter and never received any sort of greeting or asked if we needed any assistance. We wandered around the store for several minutes without any interaction from the employee.
After several minutes a gay couple walked in they were greeted warmly and the employee came over to assist them and chat them up. Next a single person walked in and received the same type of warm greeting and service that the couple had gotten (still not a single word to me or my nephew). I guess we must not looked like the type to spend money in this store and therefore didn’t deserve the time of day so we walked out without buying anything.
As we were leaving and opening the door to leave then the lady working there finally called out asking if we’d found what were looking for. By that point I was feeling totally unappreciated and said we’d just been looking. Realistically there were a couple blends I was interested in but due to the lack of interest in our needs I decided I would just get them from my usual spice store where they treat everybody the same and the prices are lower. I will not be returning here.

This is my mom and my first time visiting Saugatuck and the Spice Merchant was our first stop on Culver/​Butler. I’m so glad it was! They have loose leaf teas (for which I am a sucker) and a TON of spices — hard to FIND spices too! We ended up getting the Leaves of Provence tea (RIDICULOUSLY fragrant — hints of lavender. Ugh. I die) and Mexican Cinnamon Spice Chocolate. I’m excited to make hot chocolate with this in the winter. In addition they also have assorted grains, orzo and couscous in varying sizes, and dried pasta and oils. You end up roaming the store a couple times over because you surely missed something.
Simply put it was a wonderful experience for the senses. If we ever come back we’ll definitely be visiting again.

Passing by this store, you’ll immediately catch a whiff of the intoxicating aromas of spice; you have to go in just to check it out!
Chances are, you’ll meet a beautiful dog when you’re in there — such a gentle animal and doesn’t pester anyone… just wanders around and plops on the floor occasionally. If this turns out off, you may not be happy at all visiting Saugatuck as this is common practice. Dogs are very much welcome in most establishments.
Anywho…back to the spices… entering this store is like going on an exotic adventure. Hints of curry, cardamom, cloves, nutmeg, ginger, rosemary, habanero… this store has it all!
Definitely check out the coffee blends — the Indian Kari is AMAZING both hot and cold… deliciously spicy (not hot spicy, but flavorful) and it will delight the tastebuds!
The woman who kept checking in on us was very friendly and happy; there was one gal who looked quite bothered by customers asking for assistance… she may want to rethink her position in a retail environment.

I’d never been to a spice store before and I am so happy I did. What a great place to check out. The lay out is excellent and the variety is outstanding. They have great gift sets/​ideas and it’s truly an inspiring place for chefs and wanna be chefs like myself.

Store looked great. They sell $ 4 bags of spices, but have a 12 dollar minimum on credit card purchases. I found that less than convenient. Long lines, lousy service make for a bad experience.

Heck yes and hall-​e-​loo! They’ve moved! I’m not sure when the moved happened since i hadn’t been there in a while but when I visited again this weekend they moved just a few doors down into a larger space on the corner of Butler. Which means way more room for moving around and browsing. Since my last review docked them a star for the narrow aisles I’m gonna have to bump them up a star for addressing the space issue and moving to a far more awesome location. It was far more relaxing in there this time around without fear of bumping into someone. High fives!!!

Will preface in saying we did not buy anything. Not because we didn’t want to, but we just couldn’t wait.
What a VERY neat shop– every spice you could ever need and want. Really well decorated and smells amazing!
The 4 is because it’s a VERY tiny place and well, it’s super hard to maneuver when there are people in there with bags and bags of goods!

Knowledgable, helpful staff. Excellent selection. You can spend quite a while talking to the staff about which blend will work best with not only the dish in which you are using it but their knowledge and passion extends to talking about the whole meal and making sure it all works. They will let you taste just about everything and are extremely patient. This shop is in a class by itself. For pros and novices alike this shop has a lot to offer. Make sure you stop in when you’re in town. And be prepared to make some unplanned purchses…
I bbq’ed a pork loin using their coffee rub just last night and it was so well-​flavored without being overpowering. Instead of their recommended ‘just before cooking” application, I applied the rub 4 – 5 hours in advance, wrapped the meat up and let is work in. I also used some of the leftover rub with some apple juice, ketchup, and a touch of maple syrup to make a mop sauce for the low n slow cooking. Perfecto (if I do say so myself).

Beautiful little tiny spice store. Very busy and *crowded*. If you love to cook, head over here with your spice shopping list and enjoy. Patience is a must though, if there are more than 3 other people in the store when you arrive.
Would I recommend: Yes
Would I return: Yes — but I’d want to have a list of needs with me next time.

Very friendly service and a great selection of spices and teas. The owner was working and struck up a conversation with us, so we ended up hanging out and talking for a few minutes. All kinds of great stuff can be found for souvenirs, gifts, or just to add to your kitchen including plenty of low-​salt and salt-​free options.

This place is great, definitely worth checking out. I love the chicken seasoning blend, and the italian blend. I also get all my peppercorns here– the variety mix is my favorite. I also really like the soup mixes too. Just thrown in some meat and you’re done!

We stay at a friend’s place in Saugatuck at least twice a year, and we always go to Spice Merchants — and ALWAYS buy a ton of things!
The owner is the sweetest guy — very helpful and always has great options for you.
you can get everything here from basic salts and peppers to exotic curries to home-​blended meat rubs.
Personally, my favorite section is his area of loose tea leaves — great selction! The prices are defintely reasonable, and the décor is lovely — I only wish he had a bigger space! He’s such a popular location, and invariably you ens up sqiueezing past someone to get to some delicious smelling herb! But don’t let that stop you! If he’s packed, go to another shop for 10 minutes and then HEAD BACK OVER! :)

Love this place! A definite must for any visit to Saugatuck. They have an amazing assortment of single spices and herbs, blends, teas, rubs, salts, etc. It’s a great place to buy gift sets as well. The store itself is very cool — the jars and shelves are quite cool and the simple brown labels and bags are chic. They have a location in Ann Arbor now too!

This place was awesome. I think I could spend my whole paycheck here.
All the different homemade spice blends sounded so good and tempting. The many varieties of salt were a conundrum too. Thankfully, the staff (likely owner, I would say), was very helpful in picking out some great options. Now I have plenty of seasonings to finish off the summer with some fantastic meat rubbin’ barbeque.

I did not really expect to buy anything on a recent trip to Saugatuck — just browse the shops. But this place has terrific spices and accessories fro spices and well as wonderful teas. Came home with a whole bunch of stuff. They have a lot of spice and seasoning blends they make themselves — like about six kinds of curry powder, for example. Helpful service too.