Natural food and international grocery store with a deli counter. Open Mon-Sat 9:00am-9:00pm, Sun 9:00am-7:00pm.
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106 E 2nd St (at downtown), Bloomington, Indiana, USA, 47401
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Last update on 10 Oct 2013 by Guest
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4 Reviews
First Review by katjames
courtpline
Points +1180
Good vegan selection - Edit
International store with lots of vegan food scattered throughout. They have a great selection of local coffee and bulk foods and spices (my favorite section). They sell wine and beer too.
Read morePros: Locally owned, Hard to find items
Cons: Vegan food is pricey, No vegan grab & go pre-made food
Guest
allhess
Points +5643
Diversity - Edit
Sahara Mart is the place to find unique and novel items. They carry a little bit (and sometimes a lot!) of everything.
Read morePros: Lots of vegan options , Helpful staff, Hard to find items available
Guest
RunVeg
Points +151
Good for certain items, skip others - Edit
First, this is for the Sahara Mart on 3rd St. I've never been to the one on 2nd, but it's owned by the same people.
Read moreThe wine selection is huge, along with the beer selection. Just remember Indiana is stupid, and you can't buy alcohol on Sundays (plan accordingly!). Also lots of local Indiana wines to pick from.
The bulk section is also huge, with a ton of coffee selections, too. Now, here's where to be cautious. Some of the bulk stuff is just fine, they move a lot of it, and it's a great deal. Beans, for instance, and dal, and the more dried, shelf stable stuff. However, there have been some freshness issues with some of the bulk items. The fresher stuff, such as granola, can be a bit of an issue, or the flours. Just look carefully.
Produce: I personally proceed with caution at the produce. Some of it is really fresh and awesome, and sometimes it looks sort of old and flaccid. The apples are typically great, actually most of the fruit is good and at a good price. However, I don't tend to buy veggies here. I do recommend Bloomingfoods for veggies, although it's a bit more expensive. I personally love the olive bar, and I've never seen mold myself. I have always had great experiences with their olives.
There is a humongous selection of vinegars and oils, and I tend to spend a long time pouring over these and picking out just the perfect one. I love this part!
When I used to eat dairy, we found that their dairy wasn't the freshest in the world. Also, I had a molded soy yogurt from there. I guess I'm leaning towards the fact that stuff can be not so fresh there, and you just have to tread carefully. If you hit it just right, you can get great deals on things that are just over their date, but still good. I also have no problem getting packaged things here, as well.
Oh, the spices are amazing, and I don't buy my spices anywhere else. They're fresh and at a great price.
Skip: vegetables, dairy, some bulk
Don't miss: spices, some bulk, bulk coffee, wine and beer selection, cheese (if you eat it), great selection of ethnic food, vinegars and oils
Pros: spices, bulk coffee, wine, beer, vingegars, oils
Cons: some bulk bad, dairy , vegetables aren't freshest
Guest
katjames
Points +38
Friendly and helpful - Edit
I disagree with the post calling Sahara Mart sketchy and dirty. So far I have yet to find any grocery stores, natural or otherwise, that I would call truly "clean." All establishments that carry food have these problems.
Read moreThe advantage at Sahara Mart is that the owners really care about their customers. I do find out-of-date products but they are always happy to replace them. And as for food quality, I don't buy the bulk items (all open containers scare me), but I've never had anything rancid from the deli - something I can't say for Bloomingfoods. (I'm a regular customer at both stores.) Their deli has a wide rotation of increasingly inventive and flavorful items (though few dairy-free choices).
Sahara Mart also has a much better array of gluten-free/casein-free items, and a nice 10% discount on Tuesdays. They have a wide variety of international items and an extensive beer and wine section. A second store is in the works for the East side of town, a testament to their popularity.
Pros: good GFCF options, many vegetarian deli items, good value
Cons: no special orders, few vegan deli items
Guest
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