Food Zone International Supermarket

This is the most magical place!
They have so many kinds of things!
They have all kinds of produce that you don’t normally see at grocery stores, they have all kinds of spices, they have a variety of specialty cook wear.
They have really good prices on meat!
We shop here usually once a week!

Awesome! I’m so glad I found this place. I’d searched for Asian markets in/​near Springfield before, and had come up pretty much empty handed. Food Zone International was EXACTLY what I was looking for. No, it’s not an Asian grocery store «only», they also have lots of Latin and Caribbean goods, too. Plus your «usual» staples like milk, eggs, butter, etc.
For restocking your Asian cooking pantry with staples, this is your place. While they don’t have as many varieties of certain shelf-​stable things (like curry paste, fish sauce, etc), they certainly have a healthy representation. An entire aisle is dedicated to Asian cooking, and includes dry noodles, curry and soup pastes, condiments, canned fruits and vegetables (rambutan, anyone?), tea, sweets, and more.
The produce department nearly made me cry. Not only did they have quite a bit of everything on hand– from green papaya to yucca root to your common apples and oranges– they even had some of the harder to find Asian greens, like morning glory leaves/​vines. Everything in produce was very reasonably priced, even had better prices than grocery chains on things like lemons and limes. I would love to see them get holy basil in on a regular rotation.
Back in the meat department, everything was already closed down for the day. Of course, in the freezers, they had whole fish and lots of interesting odds and ends. Sometime, I’ll try to go back to see what their meat counter offers. I did note that their beef prices are better than grocery store chains. Also back in that area, they have fresh packaged rice noodles and other quick cook Asian foods.
In the frozen foods section, I was bit disappointed in their Asian/​Thai/​Vietnamese offerings. It looked like it hadn’t been stocked in some time. I saw only a few meager packages of fish/​pork balls, one large durian, and some other random bags lying on shelves. There’s lots of stuff you can get frozen (meats, veggies, had to find fruits, ready-​made desserts) that you can get at other Asian grocers, which wasn’t here.
Their deli/​café looks interesting, but again, had closed down for the evening. Will check back again.
Checkout was a breeze, and I spent only $ 30 odd dollars on restocking some much needed cooking essentials. Food Zone will definitely be a part of my regular shopping trips from henceforth.

This is a very interesting grocery store. It is definitely more international than say stop & shop but it is by no means the Asian grocery I was looking for. However, they have very well priced and fresh produce. The prices seemed very reasonable and if you are looking for some Asian basics, such as noodles and various sauces then you are in luck. I snagged some yummy mango nectar and a big pack of fresh mint for mango mojitos. They also have some less common cuts of meat, so if you’re looking for something unusual and specific this is the store to hit. I’ll definitely be back to peruse the aisles again.

Chances are if you are cooking a new International recipe you can find that hard to find ingredient here. Asian, Central & South American, Caribbean, Thai, etc, etc.
I just stopped in recently on the search for ingredients to make Phở. Found everything that I needed and more. As I was walking around a gentleman came into the store pushing a cart full of hot bread (pan de agua) and handed me a loaf… which I accepted!
Since my cooking has a big Colombian influence this is where I go to find papas criollas, obleas, arequipe, etc. etc. Without this store I’d be driving to Hartford for these items.
You can find FuFu, recao, plantain leaves… it goes on and on.
Just a note, other items that are not necessarily ‘ethnic’ are probably at a higher cost. So… this isn’t your best option for Tide, Palmolive, etc. That’s not their specialty.
They have an aisle of cheap wine. Meat (although I’m picky about where I buy meat). Every noodle imaginable. All the root vegetables, yucca, etc. I have not tried it but they also have hot cooked Latin food and a few tables.
I try not to come here too often because if you love to cook foods from other cultures as I do… you can’t pop for just one item without spending $ 50 on the variety of interesting things to cook.

Very good store for International food products, Spanish and Asian predominantly. You have to watch your prices as similar items elsewhere cost less. If you are in search of exotic food items, chances are you will find it at Food Zone.

This weekend while the Springfield area we decided to stop in at the Food Zone after reading some of the reviews of other Unilocalers. When we walked into the store we were a little thrown off because of the immediately construction zone we saw when we entered.
Once we made it past the front doors we were quickly amazed at the selection of ethnic food items they had in this store. We ended up filling our cart with a ton of fresh fruit, cheeses, meats, desserts and spices.
Overall, the prices were reasonable and the quality was amazing. We did not expect that from the looks of the outside of the store. The only critique is that the staff was not that polite which was a shame because we really enjoyed shopping here. In the future we hope to try their prepared foods as well because it sounds as though they are delicious as well!

I walk to this grocery store from my house all of the time, and I’ve never feared for my safety. I think people who are intimidated by the location probably haven’t actually spent much time in this neighborhood. When I first checked out the Zone, I was expecting high prices and poor quality because of similar stores I had encountered in other cities. I was excited to find the opposite was true. The prices are really reasonable, especially on produce and ethnic items (and even some dairy). I also feel like the produce is just as fresh as any other grocery store in town; the freshness has more to do with when the shipment came in than the quality of the goods when they arrived. In general, the selection isn’t always the best (aside from ethnic items; they’ve got a great selection there!), but I’m generally able to come up with a decent substitute for whatever ingredient they’re missing. I also appreciate the fact that I never seem to encounter long lines at check out.

I like shopping here. If you need spices for latin America cooking, goat meat for Jamaican curry, herbs for Phở soup or jasmine rice you can find it here. I often linger in the Asian aisle browsing the chili pastes, soy sauces and curry pastes. In the produce area I buy cactus pads (they’re good) or wonder how to prepare yautia, casava or aloe. In the meat aisle I can buy inexpensive pork shoulder or tripe for menudo. The beverage lane has ginger beer, coconut soda and Coke made with real sugar in Mexico.

Not the most modern supermarket, but a good place to buy a variety of ethnic food items.

Don’t buy anything from this store yesterday 10÷2÷2011 I bought a gallon of whole milk dated 9÷20÷2011. Thats not the only thing I’ve gotten bread products that when I opened it was green.

This place is getting better and better. Cleaner, more variety, totally ethnic. Don’t be afraid of the neighborhood it’s in. It’s not even that bad.
Their cooked food looked pretty good too. Like legit homecooked looking food. CT has A Dong for intl stuff, MA has Food Zone in Springfield