Alan’s Market

Lucky to have this market in my neighborhood! The upgrades were well done and I can get all my fill-​in and breakfast products as well as good wines at competitive prices.

Great local market. Has an excellent beer and wine selection. Prices comparable to Ralph’s this close to the beach is a can’t miss. A neighborhood gem.

This is my favorite place in town. They have every beverage from A-​Z, a great local place.

Wow… what a transformation. David, the owner, really put his money where his mouth is. He promised a complete renovation along with and substantial UPGRADE to the quality of the products he sells, and he certainly did exactly that. Great job David. The places looks great, and I love seeing the healthier, quality products. Thank you. [see pics]

The place has been renovated and is amazing looking now! The produce looks fresh. All the items are organized. I’m very happy to see this market turned around.

Wow, this place just got a HUGE update. It went from dingy, run-​down dump to a slick, upscale store with a great beverage selection and lots of gourmet items. The butcher shop is gone — this is a good thing — and they have an array of easy-​grab freshly made snacks and meals. They also have a good selection of beach items and household goods. I’m a local and frequently shop here for groceries if I’m too lazy to drive. You could easily get everything you’d find in a Ralphs here. They also have a small section of Marmite-​y/​HP-​y British foods. The prices are reasonable too. There is one parking spot in the back as well as street parking.

The place has been redone. Prices are what can be expected in the beach markets. However, the place is clean, offers a variety of foods that will appeal to a larger base. And the awful things have been removed.

David is great to work with. He went out of his way to get in a rare bottle of Grand Marnier. He is helpful and polite. We are excited for their deli to open also.

This place used to be pretty dumpy and expensive. They even had the old no credit card or debit cards allowed with a purchase under $ 10 rule.
But I have lived down the street for a few years now and it’s very convenient if you want a quick snack or something.
Recently they have done a lot of construction, they are making some upgrades, they have many new products, it feels cleaner and nicer, they have a great selection of wine and hard alcohol and some good beer. It is definitely more expensive than you regular shopping mart but that is u strata fable considering they are a mom and pop.
They staff is very nice, the owner knows a bunch about wine and overall it’s a good spot to go for certain quick items. They definitely have a keen eye for good brands these days.

For a market, smack dab in the middle of white suburbia, this place attracts the most eclectic client base I’ve seen in recent memory. The first time I went in, I was greeted by the friendliest man in all of Southern California who was merely a customer and I rather enjoyed the rest of the experience as well which was based on the purchasing of gum. My second visit had an auspicious beginning as the owner or the man working behind the counter was grooving along to ‘We Got the Beat by the Go Go’s. I quickly grooved my neck in sync with his and the two of us instantly became what I thought would be boon companions. That was, until I purchased, a juice under the guise of a smoothie. The price came to $ 3.99 and with a very strange tax put my total at $ 4.04. I asked the owner if he had 4 pennies to apply to the difference. I was quickly accosted by this inebriated fool who was next in queue that spied my finances and had falsely calculated that I had $ 300 in cash on me which quickly placed me into extremely wealthy category of which I am NOT and gave me some diatribe about people like me haggling over four cents. I wasn’t haggling over four cents, I was merely asking if they, like most convenience stores, had a tray for spare change that could be borrowed or that change could be placed into, so that others could borrow from it. I’ve then asked the drunken buffoon if he would like all of the cash that I had in my pocket since I apparently had a limitless amount of money to just hand out for no reason. I then gave him the California handshake so that he would leave me alone and then the owner decided not to charge me the 4 cents and he and I parted on good terms. This place has more than magnificent surprises fan Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory and who knows what’s in store for my next visit, if there is in fact one.

I wouldn’t buy meat here but I would buy Manhattan Beach Creamery ice cream. Mm salted Carmel.

Three or four stars? Are you kidding me? We stopped in for a couple of waters the other day and decided to look through the market. As we approached the meat counter in the back, it smelled sour and ‘off’. Upon closer inspection, we could see the mold growing on the slab bacon. Dark greenish-​black patches of fuzzy mold. I almost vomited. A few trays over in the same case they had rotting red meat of some sort. Right next to that they had chicken that appeared dried out with a layer of brown crust as skin. The worst part? A man working there hustled over — I was hoping to tell us that they were not selling anything from behind the counter due to refrigeration issues. No. He was more than happy to sell us rotting, spoiled meat and poultry. How does this place get away with this? The entire market should be closed for such blatant and gruesome health code violations.

I live across the street and find Alan’s to be very convenient. Like any small convenience store, the selection is small and the prices high but I love going there because the cashiers are very friendly. The prices are also much better than the convenience store at the Oakwood or the much-​overpriced Marina Market.
Also, they have a great price on Tito’s Vodka. Alan’s usually has it priced lower than Ralphs.

It is cool to see this place in the TV show Californication. As far as the market goes, this place is pretty much like a mini supermarket. It has everything from canned goods, to a meat department, to beer and spirits, produce, and all the other little essentials that one could want. Since I live near by, if I need something while I’m cooking, this place is super convenient to go to pick up a few items. The guys that work here are all super friendly. The prices are a little more than the supermarket, but are well with the convenience.
PS. You have to have a minimum of a $ 5 purchase to use a credit card

Great quick shop stop. Has almost anything you go to the supermarket for. Great liquor and wine selection.

I live across the street from Alan’s market, so I stop in all the time. Some of the items are a little pricey, but no more than other convenience stores. And it is convenient to be able to run across the street for beer, or eggs, or whatever else I may have run out of. They also have an English section with Heinz Baked Beans for less money than they sell them at the only other store I’ve been able to find them. Big score there. ;-) The guys that work there are all really friendly and even though I’m not sure they always understand what I’m saying, they’re as helpful as can be.
Also, if you watch Californication, you’ll see Alan’s market in one of the episodes. Fun fun!

My favourite market in all of LA. I’ve been using Alans since I first started visiting the Venice area in 2005. It’s a little bigger and therefore better stocked than the other markets in the area, which means you don’t need to travel all the way to the Ralphs on Lincoln to get your groceries.
The butcher counter located in store is a nice touch. There’s nothing quite like having the meat freshly cut in front of you. Alans is well stocked in general, I can’t think of any groceries you would need that you can’t get in Alans. It really is a junior version of a super market.
Alans can be borderline pricey, but no more so than any other market in the area. We are talking Venice afterall.
The staff here are so genuinely friendly, you are are made to feel welcome the moment you walk through the door. I must have visited Alans 30 times and never have I come across «rotting meat» or «sex pest drug pushing staff» as was suggested in another review. All my experiences in Alans have been wonderful.

Not quite a mini mart, not big enough to be a supermarket, but some weird compromise. It’s got beer and snacks (although I could not find regular ol’ candy, and I really wanted some Sour Straws) and cigarettes, but also fresh produce, a pet food section, cooking implements, decent champagne, frozen foods (when stocking a small amount, why waste space on frozen artichoke hearts?), and a deli/​cheeses counter. No Slurpees/​Icees/​Slush Puppies, but there is a shelf of Hostess snacks, as well as a selection of imported British snacks and staples (Marmite, Flake bars, jars of chutney) near the counter. I thought the prices were high, when I looked at the cookies (how many mini marts carry Newman’s Own?) and cereals, but I wouldn’t really expect otherwise in this sort of a store.

This used to be the best market in town, with a fresh deli and good service… but that was over ten years ago. Now, it is almost intolerable to set foot in this store. The meat department reeks of rotten meat and the sweet guy who works in it refuses to throw away the old merchandise, but instead makes chorizo out of anything going bad. The worst part, though, is the checkout men, especially one. What a PERVERT. He tried has tried to kiss me and recently waved a baggie of cocaine under my nose as I purchased a toothbrush. This place needs to A. Fire that guy 2. Get new meat 3. Remodel and 4. Get new merchandise and 5. Get their deli back. The end.