Market Research: Super A Foods

Food Comma headquarters recently relocated to Eagle Rock, and as such, I’m on the hunt for a new local grocery store. Granted, the Vons is a mere three blocks away, but for various reasons, I’ve decided to try to check out as many of the markets in the neighborhood as possible. Consider this the first installment of a regular feature called Market Research.


Clockwise from top left: time to shop, the Asian aisle, groovy font, econo-size menudo

Super A Foods, which bills itself as a family-owned-and-operated full-service grocery store, is a regional chain with 13 locations in the greater LA metro area. The Eagle Rock outlet is a total throwback to the supermarkets of my youth, with its 1970s color palette (think brown, orange, avocado green), groovy fonts, and seagull and sailboat décor.

I like seeing how different stores cater to the local demographic. There doesn’t seem to be a huge demand for organic produce among Super A's patrons; on the other hand, you can find a good selection of Mexican cheese and crema.



I never saw cactus fruit at the Los Feliz Albertson’s.


Cactus fruit, Bosc pears, mangoes

Super A also offers bulk lard, if that’s what you're into.



I picked up just a few items for the rest of the week’s meals: a ribeye steak, some ground turkey, bacon, a bag of Mexican sandwich rolls, a grapefruit, a lime, a few roma tomatoes, romaine lettuce, watercress, and a frozen pizza and ramen noodles for the inevitable lazy nights when I don’t feel like cooking. The damage came to $31.84.



Of course, that excludes the bottle of Maker’s Mark for $18.99, which I spotted just as I was leaving. And for a deal like that, I’ll definitely go back to Super A.