Palace of Choicest Groceries

Whenever I’m out of town visiting family or friends, I brag about the great grocery store in Eugene. It’s called Market of Choice, and it’s an Oregon-based chain, with about 4 locations in town, one is about 2 miles from us. I love it because they have bulk foods and great produce, but they also sell generic-brand basics for things where it’s OK to get the El Cheapo. They also have a great butcher counter, a sizeable deli and full bakery.

Last year, we started hearing about how they were going to tear down the cavernous old Rite-Aid, and re-build that section of the shopping center, with a new building for Rite-Aid and a huge new state-of-the-art Market of Choice. While that was in progress, they permanently messed up the parking lot, sadly. I know people that stopped going to MOC because the parking is so bad – the spaces and aisles are too tight for sure.

But, they had the grand opening of the store right before Christmas, and it was beyond our wildest dreams. It is truly like a palace. (I suspect they were going for an award in interior architecture? Did you know that a grocery store could have decor?) The butcher counter doubled, no tripled, in length. The deli is now a food court/coffee shop, and there’s the bakery, the wine cellar, and the cheese shop all nestled in amongst them. The bulk foods selection grew, too. It was a little overwhelming at first, and I am still working on re-learning where all my staples are located.

Who knew that grocery shopping could be such a high-class experience?