The good:
Great store! Just opened last year, and I love having a natural foods store so close to where I live. It's a great size- not too big, not too small, and is laid out really well. It's really easy to navigate the store- you can get straight to things like the milk without having to meander through a bunch of other departments.
The produce is AMAZING! They absolutely have the best selection of organic produce of any store in the area. More than Whole Foods even- Whole Foods has got pretty good produce too, but about half of it is conventional. PCC's stuff is super fresh too, and they've got tons of local stuff when it's in season. And they give kids a free piece of fruit- the kids love it! And not just cheap fruit either- they give away raspberries even when they're super expensive!!
The deli/bakery is awesome- they even have Mighty O donuts! I love that they sell all sorts of natural but unhealthy stuff. So you can totally get your chocolate cookie fix without eating a bunch of artificial crap. The salads are great too- they've got your standard hippy stuff like kale and whatever, but stuff like steak salad too which is delicious. They've also got a good grab and go section which is great for when you're in a hurry.
They've got a good selection of grocery stuff, but the thing I love the most is this "Kid Picks" thing. Basically they do all of these taste tests with kids to see what products they like- and then they put these little tags on the shelf that say "kid approved" or something like that. They're super helpful if you've got picky kids like the ones I have to deal with- you can just look for the little kid pick logo and know that your kids will probably like it.
I have to rave about the service too- employees always look up and greet me (not like a forced greeting Wal-Mart style- but a genuine greeting) when I come in. One time I was talking to one of their produce guys, and asked him what the best oranges were. He said that they had four or five varieties that were pretty good- and started to actually give me a sample of each of them! I stopped him by the third orange, but he totally totally wanted to cut open anything I was curious about. I also asked him if he knew what ghee was, and he walked me over to it a couple of aisles down. It was really pricey, but the clerk asked me if I'd ever tried it before. I said no, and he goes, "Try it out, and let us know how you like it!"- and with that, he scribbled out the barcode and wrote "free" on it!!
I also really like what PCC does for the community. They buy farmland and preserve it for future generations instead of letting it turn into condos or Wal-Marts. They also really are into local stuff- way more than Whole Foods or other corporations.
The bad:
Their prices are higher than what you'd pay at like Fred Meyers (but they're cheaper than Whole Foods or Larrys). But I guess that kind of goes hand in hand with buying organic stuff. I'd definitely still hold on to your Costco membership for stuff like toilet paper though!
They also don't have any of the self checkout kiosk things. I love those at Fred Meyers because you can do it all yourself, but PCC has a standard express checkout instead.
They also don't carry Cafe Akroteri hummus, which sucks.
Anyway, all in all, definitely my favorite place to shop. I like supporting them too because they're local and member owned and not some corporation from Texas. They've been in Seattle forever- and I'm glad to see them expanding into the eastside.
more