Our Review of Glen’s Garden Market

Glen’s Garden Market, a small grocery store featuring almost exclusively local food, opened last week in the site of the former “secret Safeway” on 20th Street NW. I attended their press night and stopped in for some groceries in order to let Cloture Club readers know whether it’s worth a trip. In summary- yes, it’s worth a visit, but given the prices, best as a source for key items and special treats.

First, the positives: the store is gorgeous, clean, easy to navigate, and has tables and seating. You’ll recognize some of the food brands and farm names from farmers markets around DC, such as Trickling Springs Creamery and SouperGirl. The appetizers and snacks at their press night were all fantastic, and turned me on the delicious combination of roasted turkey with pepper jelly, which I will definitely be imitating.

Glen’s has typical grocery offerings (including alcohol), as well as a prepared food case, deli case, sandwiches and even beer on tap. Envision a farmers market inside a store that is open every day; great for those of us in the surrounding neighborhoods who don’t love fighting the crowds at the Dupont Circle Farmers Market on Sunday mornings. And best, for health-conscious label-scanners, you can be sure that the food you’re buying won’t have scary chemicals, MSG, or high-fructose corn syrup.

However, the downside of selling high quality natural and local food is that you pay quite a premium. The grocery store products and pre-made food was priced in line with upscale food stores like Balduccis and Dean and Deluca, but I was not quite prepared for their prices on produce. Lettuce was $28 per pound, at which point it is more economical to drink champagne for breakfast than green smoothies. I pointed it out to my boyfriend joking that the lettuce better taste amazing if it’s 4 times the cost of organic lettuce at Whole Foods (which is roughly 4 times the cost of lettuce at a normal grocery store). He replied that lettuce doesn’t have a taste so this could not taste 4 times better, to which I had no good comeback. We decided that we would only spend $28 a pound on lettuce if it were covered in lobster meat, and moved on.

I try to buy chemical-free and high quality food, which I believe helps keep my healthy, so I am thrilled Glen’s opened in my neighborhood. I’ll likely shop there for products where freshness and production methods matter most to me (and where I’m willing to spend the extra money); free-range eggs, grass fed dairy and well-raised meat. But, unless I win the lottery any time soon, it won’t become my new go-to grocery store.