New Triple A Market

Awesome grocery store. Good selection.

This is hands-​down my favourite place to get groceries on the Drive.
As someone with a dancing plethora of food sensitivities, I can become rather indignant when I am being charged extra for foods marketed as being free of wheat, soy, and dairy. I sometimes also find the crowd of people declaring «Oh, Manuka honey, so reasonably priced!» at Whole Foods while they pay hundreds of dollars for groceries you could buy for half the price at somewhere like Triple A quite exhausting.
At Triple A, you can waltz right in because it’s rarely busy, and go exploring on the shelves in the back right corner for all of your heart’s desires. Hemp hearts, steel-​cut oats, chia seeds, quinoa, bee pollen, and a vast assortment of delicious Asian foods that are hard to find at stores like Super-​Valu.
They also have an exciting selection of frozen meats, including kangaroo and buffalo burgers. Also, if you check out the coolers on the far right-​hand side of the store, you’ll find all sorts of cheese for excellent prices.
Their organic produce is very reasonably priced, and they usually have a good local selection as well.
If you live anywhere near Commercial Drive, or even if you don’t, I highly recommend checking this place out!

A great little spot to pick up some very attractive produce.
There’s definitely no shortage of small, family run grocers on the Drive, but this one is in my regular rotation for two reasons: 1. It’s Bestie’s absolute favourite and we do a lot of grocery shopping together, and 2. Their produce is some of the most beautiful! Seriously, take a walk by the front on any given day and you’ll see a plethora of gorgeous greens. Local kale, chard, butter lettuce, you name it, it’s there in all its leafy glory. They also have a good fruit selection, usually, so don’t miss that.
The dry goods are often quite pricey, I find, but no pricier than any other small store. I tend to shop around to find the best prices (easy when there are four stores in a two block radius!) So sometimes I buy random bits and pieces here, and sometimes I don’t.
I’d recommend it as somewhere to keep an eye out for, they’ve got great veggies, and some decent deals now and again.

Looking for an affordable place to buy quality groceries on Commercial Drive? You’ve got your pick: Donald’s, Norman’s, Dollar Grocer, Santa Barbara, and that place run by the Indian family (whose name escapes me). Yet somehow, unexpectedly, I always find myself coming back to New Triple A Market.
«Who?» you ask.
Well, yeah, exactly. It’s one of those places whose names you’ll never remember, but if I point it out to you, you’ll know exactly who I’m referring to.
Ready?
It’s that family-​run grocer on the east side of Commercial just a few doors north of E 1^st (on the same block as Norman’s), conveniently located next to Liberty Wine Merchants. It’s that place that doesn’t look nearly as nice as Norman’s, so you don’t shop there. But it’s your loss!
Sure, I may shop here the most because it’s a 5 minute walk away from where I live, and yet, it’s even easier on my wallet.
While it’s not as attractive as Norman’s nor as hip as Donald’s, there’s something about this ramshackle grocer that warms my cockles. They’ve got a good selection of fruit, veggies, canned goods, dry goods (spices, beans, nuts, pasta), and other random non-​perishables. I think random is the key word here; the stock changes around and one day you’ll notice a new display of bulk pre-​bagged nuts and boxes of middle eastern dates, or this alluring display of locally-​grown organic Swiss chard plus colourful Hungarian peppers. And as of a few months ago, they even installed a freezer full of mystery seafood, although I typically stray from that.
I shop here for my veggies, predominantly, and canned/​dry goods. The staff are kind and the prices are just as good as anywhere else, but you don’t have to fight the crowds. And sometimes it’s worth shopping at the weird place just for that.