Bill’s Imported Foods

So many unique and hard-​to-​find foods, so many good things to say about this place. The Tirokomos family has built a great legacy here over the past 30+ years. Greek and more broadly Mediterranean groceries — spices, imported foods (e. g., olives), sweets, and more. But for me, it’s all about the cheese…
Feta from Greece (opa!), domestic, France, Bulgaria (the best, really) and now even from Hungary. Kesseri, Kefalotyri, and Mizithra too. If you’re making spanakopita or just looking to temper a Greek cheese jones you need to check this place out.
Parking can be a challenge, but it also serves as an excuse to get in a little exercise and explore the neighborhood. You will find the extra effort worth it, and if you’re nice to the Tirokomos’ and their help you might walk out with a sample Koulourakia or Kourabiedes (with a little powdered sugar on your shirt) too…

I honestly couldn’t believe that such a place existed. I haven’t been able to find a place to buy Argentine goods in Minneapolis since I’ve moved here. They have tapas para empanadas, dulce de leche, chorizo, yerba mate and more! All the good Argentine brands. Their other imported foods are certainly worth a look as well!

This place has the best hummus from The Athens Café. Of course everything is else is fantastic too. Plus everyone is so nice. I love this store

I’m a every other month customer and came it today to buy my normal lamb shank and feta for the Sunday joint roast. Went in today and bought a 11 lb shank which was marked at $ 6.99. I ended up having to debate with the proprietress when I came to checkout, and while the joint was $ 6.99 at the freezer, the price was not updated to $ 7.99. I didn’t want to contest the issue with many in the shop. I’m glad their business is going well, because this will be my last time coming in.

I didn’t think I would find any Argentinean product, but it surprised me. Bill has Yerba mate, alfajores, biscochos, dulce de batata, dulce de leche, budines, pepas, Maza para tartas, empanadas, sal parrillera, morcilla, chorizo, etc etc. And the prices are very reasonable. Great international grocery store!

I love Bill’s Imports. It’s my go to for olives, feta, dried beans, and bulk herbs. Very friendly staff and delicious, fresh almond cookies (behind the counter). Yum! Very happy that they now take credit cards.

This store has a great selection of imported foods. I especially enjoy Croatian brands like Podravka and Kraš. Also a great place to buy cheap spices and nuts.

By far the best source of Greek olives and cheese and other items in the Upper Midwest.
Great selection and the price points are more than reasonable. We have been using Bills now for at least 15 years as a supplier for our cross country ski resort, Maplelag, and we either pick up or have Speedee pick up and deliver.
Both Chris’s are always more than helpful and if in the Twin Cities, be sure to put Bills on your list of a store to pick up some wonderful items you will not find nowhere else.
And so clean and neat, it is just fun to browse the store for unique items for first time tries too!!! And my favorite Greek yogurt is here, a brand I cannot find at all in northern Minnesota.
Minnesota is lucky to have a store like Bills.

Love Bill’s. Ive been going here since I moved to tbe TCs 14 years ago. Cheapest olive bar and bulk feta in the cities. Also the best tasting! They also have a ridiculously well priced selection of olive oil (best selection in the cities) along with all sorts of vinegars and herbs. Nice frozen Greek specialties like Phyllo dough and baklava. lovely European chocolates (like the kind you buy for kids). My boyfriend who eats meat (I do not so can’t judge meat selection) and is from Colombia was excited to find some sort Argentinian chorizo that he hasnt seen here before. Friendly staff. Also a fun time.

SO MUCH AWESOME FETA! Review done.
Just kidding.
No, but really, if you want some awesome and slightly off-​beat food to change things up a little, check this place out!

Nahila pretty much listed everything they have here, which resulted in a well deserved rotd. I’m not much for bottled dressings, but they had a Greek creamy one that I loved. I first discovered their products at St. Mary’s Greek festival in Mpls. They are located in a heavily trafficked area, and they left University
St. Paul just in time.

Such a treasure! Stocked with everything, mostly Greek, you need to put together a middle eastern feast. This is one of the oldest ethnic stores in town.
The olive and cheese bars will make you question if you should go back to the grocery store ones. The other thing I like to buy here are pomegrenates — they are gynormous and much cheaper than area grocery stores. Try making the Persian salad with pomegrenate, walnuts and green olives sometime — it is soooo good.
The store has olive oil in all different sizes, and many frozen goodies that you can take home and bake. Frozen lahmajun — a thin crusty bread filled with a spicy beef filling — flopped for me, it did not turn out to be tasty at all, neither the bread nor the fllling.
The prices are very reasonable here, and the service is friendly, with a great attitude. Kiki the owner is always present, ready to chat and will definitely make you smile.

Please don’t ever buy spices from anywhere other than Bill’s. Or olives. Or feta. Just come here before you go to any mainstream grocery store — you’ll save yourself a ton of money.
Bill’s has an impressive selection of Middle Eastern and European food items — dried beans and fruits, large bags of spices, olive oils (so many choices!), meats, pita bread, etc., etc. All are at amazingly low prices compared to what you’d pay at a larger store, and it’s highly likely that you’ll find something intriguing that you’ve never tasted before. Do yourself a favor and experiment. At prices this low, you really don’t have anything to lose.
The fresh produce at Bill’s is a little dicey, so I’d skip this section, except for the 4 for $ 1 garlic bulbs. Also, this place doesn’t really offer anything in terms of Asian grocery items, but that’s what Nicollet Ave. is for, right? Definitely make a stop at the counter up front for amazingly low-​priced cheeses and olives (feta for $ 4 – 5 a pound, olives starting at $ 4/​pound). If you’re lucky, they’ll have samples of some of their baked goods waiting for you. While you’re checking out, pick up a few pieces of candy, a bag of pita bread, or some baklava for the road. And try to make the woman at the front smile, if she’s not busy scolding the other employees in that gruff, European, grandmotherly sort of way.

Love Bill’s Imported foods! Wonderful selection of Feta cheese and olives at reasonable prices. They also have a large selection of bulk spices, dried goods and olive oil.
Not much in the way of fresh produce but they have a few things and some specialty items like fresh dates on occasion.
I always pick up some pitas and they have a great selection of sweet baked treats. Get some Baklava and don’t forget to tell the sweet lady who works thee to have a wonderful day.

I’ve always passed by this place and thought what a weird looking place with a weird looking name (I don’t think there’s a Bill, by the way). A friend recommended this place, and now I shop here all the time!
Bill’s is a mid-​size market with tons of Mediterranean products from so many countries. I believe it’s a family owned place, at least it has that feel. Just to name some of the products: dried fruits, nuts, teas, spices, snacks, instant meals, pickles, rice, breads, olive oil, juices, sauces, dozens of cheeses, olives, meats, frozen products, jams, chocolate bars, pastas, candies, Nutella, deli hummus, and fresh desserts. I have even found some things that were South Asian (masalas, curry pastes, dals, besan, teas, etc.).
Most of the store’s products come from another country or are products reflective of a specific country’s food. The prices are pretty reasonable, especially their olives and feta cheese. I love seeing so many of the products I used to see/​consume when I lived in Turkey, so I also go here to get my Turkey fix.
Check it out, cute place with good groceries and eats. Staff are helpful and polite. I definitely take advantage and always sample their many cheeses :). This place is easy to get to by public transit (21 or 4). The main cashier/​store manager (I think she also might be the owner) is also one of the reasons I go back. She is one of the sweetest ladies I’ve met and is very maternal. I recently found out she is from Kalamata, Greece («Yes, like the olive.») Definitely going to chat with her more :).
Note: The brown paper bags they back your groceries in don’t have handles, so I’d recommend bringing your own recyclable bag for easier transport of all your goodies :).

Doesn’t look like much from the outside. I must have been past this place dozens of times and never noticed it. I got a tip to go here for Argentine products and they weren’t lying. There’s a whole aisle of good imported stuff, mate, Argentine salsas, spices, baking needs, sweets, etc. I used to have to order online or wait for my next trip to Chicago to get a lot of this stuff. The overall theme of the place is Greek/​Mediterranean imports, so I’m very curious as to how they threw Argentina into the mix, but it definitely floats my boat. Now if they only had Quilmes…

So much feta. Blocks of them. Makes me want to use them like Legos and build a fort or a castle big enough to climb into and live in. When I get hungry in the night I’ll just reach out and scoop away some of the wall and eat it. Don’t even need to wake up for that.
They also have a ton of those Greek walnut cookies that so easily give you coke nose because of the powdered sugar. So good. So so good.
Here is what I purchased on my first trip:
1 package of potato wraps (like a big square tortilla/​lefse kinda thing
1 decent looking tomato
1 jar of spicy giardiniera
Not sure why I told you that level of detail, but I suppose that after telling you of my feta house sleep eating desires I owed it to you.

Love this place!
Nothing fancy here, just reminds you of a small market in NYC. Great Greek food such as a nice variety of olives, feta cheese, and gyro meat. The pita bread is delicious here too and you won’t beat the prices!
This is my go-​to place if I want to make gyros. They do not take credit cards though so bring your checkbook or cash. Parking can be tricky too but if you just are going to run in and out, you can park at the superamerica on the West side.

Whenever I need black olives I end up here. I am a fan of oven roasted Moroccan or Greek black olives and here I can find them by the pound at a very acceptable price (I’d say about $ 5). Also to buy there capers, curry paste and dried spices (they sell them in bulks at reasonable prices).
Also, I always get some of these $ 0.99 microwavable pouches of Bulghur, pilaf and similar which are super convenient and super cheap for lunch at work: tear open, microwave for 2 minutes and enjoy. Pretty good and satisfying!
My BF always gets some of those small salami (cacciatorini). Some are good some taste like Genoa salami, which I don’t like at all, but that is my taste I guess.
Next purchase in the small appliances department at home is going to be a slicer so I can come here and purchase all my favorite hams and slice them right before eating!
Also good choice of juices and cookies more tuned to south European tastes
One of the place to go to to hunt for Mediterranean and ethnic ingredients.
NOTE: no credit card accepted!

Wow. This place is awesome. Truly, certainly awesome. I have a tendency to over use the word «awesome,» but this time it’s very fitting.
The prices on everything are incredible. The other day I was at Cub Foods and I needed tahini. I was amazed they had some, but it was $ 7.50 for 12 oz. At Bill’s they have a variety of tahini and a large mayo-​sized jar (24ish oz, perhaps?) is $ 6.99. Much better deal! Not that I have a reason for a vat of tahini…
I wanted to peruse the aisles and look at every single item but my parking spot would not allow. I also feel shady if I stand around in a store for hours on end. Tends to freak out the people working there.
I ended up buying pita (so fresh that the bag was steamed up), village feta (stinky, delectable goodness), jumbo kalamata olives (the smaller varieties were sold out!), sumac, and some hummus. Each item I purchased is absolutely yummy.
I can’t wait to go back and look at all of the things I missed! Maybe I can toss out some of my Greek speaking skillz too, as I was far too shy this time!
Go there if: you need a Mediterranean ingredient of ANY sort, you need a middle/​near east ingredient (they are quite stocked), or you want cheap spices or tea.