Big Apple Grocery Express

Sad to see this place close since I’ve shopped here for almost 20 years. What sucks even more is it will probably be turned into some overpriced techie condos.

I couldn’t be sadder that this place is closing! I came here every time I needed some random Asian ingredient. I will definitely be needing an Asian grocery store now): Their pre-​closing sales are great though. I bought some rather random items for quite cheap.

cheap beer is the only thing that saves this place.
i hardly ever find anything i go into this grocery store looking for and if i find it, it tends to be expired. some of the items are priced super cheap and some of the items are just horribly over priced.
the staff act like robots, no smiles, no hellos, just watch you like your stealing something and scan your items.
even before this place was about to close the shelves were pretty much always empty or just filled with items that seem completely out of place for a grocery store.
like i said before, the cheap beer is the only thing that keeps me walking in when i have to make a beer run.

When I moved to Nob Hill I was excited to see this store, but when I went in it was just so… lackluster. They had things I needed but everything looked old and the place was totally empty. Just… not great. I went a few times when I was passing by and needed something but for the most part I do not recommend this place.

I’m sorry to report I just heard Big Apple will close probably in January 2014
Here is the deal. I was talking with the manager of a nearby business who told me in passing Big Apple is closing. I was on my way there to shop last night and talked to the staff who confirm this.
If you have noticed the shelves have been getting bare it is because they only did a partial order. They will continue in business until the present stock has sold out, but some items like a favorite I got last night will not be be restocked.
When I asked them why — they simply said the business was not working for them and they had to close down…
If there is something there you want or need I’d grab it while you still can as they carry a lot of hard to find items which will probably not be restocked.
There is not definite closing date — rather they will close the store when the stock is sold off…
I’m going to miss them…

I love this place. I visit it daily for my produce and beer. They are friendly and it isn’t over priced. The selection of fruits and veggies is pretty basic, but they have a little of everything. One of the few grocery stores that doesn’t mind my dog in as well which is a huge plus for me.

Weird, but helpful, little neighborhood grocery store. Outstanding world wide spice selection — best I have seen anywhere. Great selection of nuts and dried fruit, including a wasabi covered peanut that is produced in the USA and doesn’t have green tea on it. Great selection of Asian and Mexican food. Small, but helpful, garden section, in addition to food.

This grocery store is somewhat limited and overpriced. It’s fine to go for a few things but I’d find it nearly impossible to do the bulk of my groceries there.

I’ve shopped at Big Apple for over 20 years now, from the very first days when I moved into the neighborhood. The number of grocery stores in the area have dwindled over the years. And I dislike plunking down so much of my paycheck at Whole Foods and Real Foods for their artisanal free-​range gentrified whatever. Big Apple is unpretentious and reasonably priced. The clerks are pleasant and efficient. I’m glad it’s there.

The good:
— Great selection of random shit, like asian drinks, cinnabon corn flakes, indian spices, and other packaged goodies.
— Vegetables and fruits are fresh and high-​quality.
The bad:
— The stores bears a huge-​ass sign that says Discount Store. This is not a discount store. In fact, I would say prices are way higher than your average grocery store, between 50c to $ 1 more per item.
— Meat selection is poor, which is sad because I happen to prefer getting my chicken breast where I get my squash.
The conclusion:
I live way too close to this place to ignore its presence. I’ll shop here often, but only because my other option is to buy from really small boutique shops or haul my ass to Safeway or TJ’s.

Are you searching for Asian ingredients and can’t make it to Japantown or Chinatown? What about that elusive food for your Mexican recipe? This rather nondescript store sits quietly on the corner and is stocked to the absolute *brim* with a wide range of strange and not-​so-​strange things. Sure, you can get more variety at a full-​on Asian market, or better organics at Whole Foods, but if you want a good variety at amazing prices without having to trek around to four stores, this place is awesome. I’ve stopped in a few times for two to four items, but the other day I decided to go through the Mexican section and was blown away by how much I was able to get (seriously, it’s been nearly impossible to find «Mexicorn», but Big Apple has it!)
I’ve even managed to find this weirdass canned «fried» fake meat. It looks kinda gross, but it actually tastes pretty great and adds more variety to the Yves, Tofurky and Lightlife on your shelves.
It won’t fully replace my regular grocery store preferences, but I think Big Apple is going to wind up becoming part of my staple grocery run from now on instead of the place I go for udon and pretzels.

This place is unassuming — at best — from the outside, so I never bothered to go in for a long time, but after 6 months in my neighborhood I finally got tired of shelling out for groceries at Whole Foods AKA Whole Paycheck (there aren’t really any Safeways w/​i walking distances assuming you’re buying — and thus carrying — more than like 2 bags’ worth of items). Plus at Whole Paycheck they have only weird organic brands (except for wine, Odwalla, and Ben&Jerry’s) so I am never 100% sure what I am purchasing.
I was skeptical too (these people could stand to invest in a new sign, for sure), but yall, Big Apple is the real deal! They have everything you would need. Instead of stopping at hardware store, Safeway, liquor store, flower store, etc. I can just hit up one place. Plus they take AMEX, which is increasingly rare for mom-​and-​pop places on Polk.
Big Apple features:
— full liquor selection
— huge Asian food selection (not my thing necessarily, but worth mentioning)
— big section of what I will call misc household items you maybe otherwise would have to go to like Bed Bath & Beyond for (eg big trash cans, kitchen appliances)
It sort of looks like it would have the selection of like a bodega but is much closer to a full fledged grocery store. You can’t get EVERYthing there (and for meat/​produce it is maybe worth it to go to Whole Paycheck), but it serves the vast majority of purposes. Parking is hard to find (although if you have a car, just go to Safeway…) but it has good bus accessibility on the 1, 19, 47, 49 so you can minimize the amount of walking you have to do lugging all your groceries.
Prices seem very reasonable /​comparable to other convenience stores /​grocery stores, from what I could tell.

Spectacular and impressive selection of fancy, gourmet crème sodas, root beers, ginger ales, etc. Labels like Virgils, Stewarts, Boylan, and even found a huckleberry soda? As well, some great Maine labels… All sell for $ 1.6-$ 1.90/ bottle.
Score for work!

Big Apple is an adequate local/​neighborhood grocery store, but insufficient when it comes to having a meat/​seafood section (if that’s your thing). However, it has just about everything else – literally – with an awesome Asian food aisle! When I say this, it doesn’t have all that you can imagine; it’s mostly geared toward Southeast Asian foods, not so much Northeast or Far East. It does have a little Indian food, but not much.
Prices seem a bit cheaper than Cala Foods aka Expensive Foods and even less than Whole Paycheck, but if you want fresh produce, Whole Paycheck is your best option. The selections are pretty good too, given that Expensive Foods hardly has a good selection for anything.
I usually always get my Asian-​food needs from this store since they carry more, I guess, ‘unique’ or uncommon Asian foods? I actually find this funny because there are A LOT of Asians in San Francisco especially this neighborhood, and it’d make sense to have an Asian food aisle in every grocery store with anything you can imagine.
I also love looking at the plants! It’s not often I see stores that sells plants, so that’s a really nice treat. In fact I may have bought a plant a while ago, but it didn’t survive due to my lack of knowledge of how to take care a plant. I guess you don’t just water and let it sit near the window for the sun come in?
Do look/​inspect food well, a lot of foods have expired and I don’t think they take note/​inventory very often. It’s as if they just leave food out until it sells.
The people who work here seem pretty nice and friendly, never had a problem with them.

Down the street from my house, I find myself at Big Apple a couple times a week. I wish I was lying. It’s just so easy to head here when you have to buy one or two items at a time. Family-​owned, the store is really well stocked and has almost everything you need. There have been a couple of times where I find myself in need of something they don’t have, and end up heading to Cala or driving to Trader Joe’s. I also don’t tend to buy my produce here, unless I’m desperate. I think that everything generally costs the same as Cala, although don’t quote me on that.
Quite honestly the proximity is the main thing that has me heading here time and time again over other stores.

Been here a couple times. I used to go by here almost every day when I would walk home from school… Sigh, good times. Me nd my friends love (d) this place.
They’re a local, family owned grocery store with a wide selection of products! They also have this one tiny section where there are selections of homemade products where you could just eat cold or heat up nd eat. Some are pretty good nd others I’d pass on. I believe my favorite was their tapioca/​rice pudding, i forget which one.

I could kick myself for not shopping this store years ago. They have a good selection of groceries including the best chicken, hands down (even better than Trader Joe’s) that’s plump, fresh and cheap and ready for frying.
Groceries, storage containers, plates and saucers, a huge selection of Asian food including these yummy mango pudding cups, picnic supplies, you name it.
Feels good to shop there and they have stuff you won’t find elsewhere plus everyday staples like milk, vegetables, fruit and bread.

Big Apple is someplace my family frequented for years. I miss it, and I stopped in yesterday to pick up some groceries and shop to kill time.
As in years back, the selection of home cleaning and house keeping items are excellent. Many and varied plastic and storage items. An unusually well stocked kitchen supply area. And the Asian foods aisle is, as others say, pretty amazing.
In the past I noticed issues with produce quality — not this visit. It all looked very good and, with the exception of grapes, was priced fairly.
Milk was outrageously expensive, but other staples, like good quality breads (but not gourmet), were fairly priced. So pricing is a funky mixture — they’ve picked a few staple items that fast-​shoppers grab (milk/​cereal) and upped the price, then offered excellent pricing on other items.
The last time I was there I picked up a few Ovaltines for less than Cala prices. That was a pleasant surprise.
I disagree that the store is in any way unclean. It used to be a bit dusty — but yesterday’s visit showed an older store being kept very clean and clear of dust, the shelves well stocked in every section.
I LOVE Big Apple for the kitchen goods, cleaning supplies, most staples (not including milk/​cereal) and Asian foods. Lighting is good, aisles are wide and the family who run the place are friendly.

I grew up on Big Apple. Back in the day they used to deliver. I don’t know if this is still the case. Through college, I lived on their huge variety of chocolates and coffee and outfitted myself for Raves and underground parties in their extensive fake flower selection along with other strange accoutrements. My apartment was alive and thriving with their potted plants and they’re the only place I’ve found my favorite salad dressing ever (Hi Honey, I’m Home… a honey mustard dressing) in SF, if not Northern California.
They have everything from the regular standards to a huge Asian foods section to fresh produce to household cleaners, tupperware, fake and living potted plants, and pretty much everything else you’d want in a mom and pop market, including old-​school check out lanes and the original carts from their inception (one can only guess…).
This is the place where memories have been made for me. And food has been purchased. And candy has been consumed while shopping late-​night for food. The family who owns BA is friendly and accomodating– they’ve ordered stuff for me before that they didn’t have in stock. A neighborhood institution. Polk wouldn’t be the same without them.

In my opinion, Big Apple Grocery Express is very strange. It looks somewhat low-​quality from outside and in most aisles but they still carry some good products. They also have a really cute little plant section where you can buy a baby cactus or other easy-​to-​care-​for living creature.
The best thing about this store is that you can hop right on the 1 bus around the corner if you don’t feel like walking your groceries up the hill…