I love this neighborhood market because of the most convenient location and plenty of healthy options. But unfortunately I bought quite a few rotten/moldy items from them. Rotten fruits/veggies, a moldy cookie. Please be aware and check everything you get. And hopefully they will get better, especially with their prices.
Daniel Orr
I really like Essene and have been willing to pay higher prices to support a small, local business, but unfortunately their already high prices recently entered orbit. Essene now charges about double as the Whole Foods (WF) five blocks away (not to mention Acme, Giant, or the locals farmers markets). Consider a few examples: Organic Red Peppers: WF $4.68/lb, Essene $8.99/lb, Shallots: WF $5.99/lb, Essene $10.99/lb, Flax Plus Cereal: WF $4.69, Essene: $7.99., etc. I really like Essene. I'd love to keep shopping here, but I can't understand or justify paying almost double.
Mary Patricia Simons
Love this store! Great produce…and can pick up a stalk or 2 of whatever as needed?In the middle of cooking, I’ve called ahead to see if they have a forgotten ingredient and run right over. VIP store in QV?
Elijah Cole
Probably some good stuff but the prices are literally twice that of Whole Foods, which isn’t exactly a budget grocery store either
Hannah Silvis
i come here a lot. i’m a big fan of many of their products and the employees are always nice, but in the two years i’ve been coming here SNAP/EBT has been “temporarily” out of service, which feels wrong to me. other small/niche health food stores like riverwards are willing and able to accept EBT.
Anisha Kingra
Everyone working here is kind, enthusiastic, and knowledgeable! Really great if you are in a bind and need some snacks, need a variety of vitamin options, or natural skin care products.
Suzanne Stein
This used to be amazing. Not anymore. They don’t do hot food, it used to be beautiful…the baked goods used to be great as well, lackluster now and not worth the calories. Selection is off on some stock and I got two bags of granola which were stale/rancid and tasteless. Which is awful because they are overpriced. As other reviewers stated they do not take EBT which is criminal. I suspect it’s because the business is failing and they have some clerical reason for making excuses and not taking EBT. It’s stingy and there is no excuse. Tge ownership may have changed and ruined this once vibrant place. I don’t know what happened but hopefully somebody will get it together and save this place from itself.
Josh Denny
Good selection of groceries but they need to start accepting EBT/SNAP/food stamps and better serve their community. They have had "temporarily not accepting" signs up for far too long. Get it together.
Lena S.
When checking out this store for the first time, I noticed that some of the dried fruit looked unnaturally bright. I checked the ingredients, and sure enough, both the kiwi and the papaya had artificial color. What? In a natural food store? I checked their website, and it says "Our foods are free of artificial ingredients (preservatives, colorings, chemicals)". I left the store never to return. Absolute b********
Alex Gleason
Still don’t accept EBT. Would literally go here for everything but can’t.
They don’t allow people getting financial help to use their EBT. Great decision. As much as I love them that’s just bad decision.
Nick B.
great place, the negative reviews are from people who clearly lack civility. they just come on here to vent their feelings they know they cant say out loud. ive been to many health food stores and essene has always been one of the most classic and reliable. have only ever had the most positive experiences here as a customer and will continue to.
Chris S.
Expensive and sell expired products! The asian guy saying he's the manager not even worthy of being a "manager". Wanted to ask him question but he's too busy being on the phone with his airpods in!! Who runs this store??! Definitely not coming back here.
Katie Knaub
I love this market but the reason I’m giving it three stars is because they are excluding people who have SNAP cards. You can’t use your access EBT food stamps there for the last like seven months and they keep saying it’s temporarily out of service and haven’t gotten it fixed. This is illegal and it’s really annoying because people who need to get healthy special diet food cannot unless they have a whole bunch of money
I love this neighborhood market because of the most convenient location and plenty of healthy options. But unfortunately I bought quite a few rotten/moldy items from them. Rotten fruits/veggies, a moldy cookie. Please be aware and check everything you get. And hopefully they will get better, especially with their prices.
I really like Essene and have been willing to pay higher prices to support a small, local business, but unfortunately their already high prices recently entered orbit. Essene now charges about double as the Whole Foods (WF) five blocks away (not to mention Acme, Giant, or the locals farmers markets). Consider a few examples: Organic Red Peppers: WF $4.68/lb, Essene $8.99/lb, Shallots: WF $5.99/lb, Essene $10.99/lb, Flax Plus Cereal: WF $4.69, Essene: $7.99., etc. I really like Essene. I'd love to keep shopping here, but I can't understand or justify paying almost double.
Love this store! Great produce…and can pick up a stalk or 2 of whatever as needed?In the middle of cooking, I’ve called ahead to see if they have a forgotten ingredient and run right over. VIP store in QV?
Probably some good stuff but the prices are literally twice that of Whole Foods, which isn’t exactly a budget grocery store either
i come here a lot. i’m a big fan of many of their products and the employees are always nice, but in the two years i’ve been coming here SNAP/EBT has been “temporarily” out of service, which feels wrong to me. other small/niche health food stores like riverwards are willing and able to accept EBT.
Everyone working here is kind, enthusiastic, and knowledgeable! Really great if you are in a bind and need some snacks, need a variety of vitamin options, or natural skin care products.
This used to be amazing. Not anymore. They don’t do hot food, it used to be beautiful…the baked goods used to be great as well, lackluster now and not worth the calories. Selection is off on some stock and I got two bags of granola which were stale/rancid and tasteless. Which is awful because they are overpriced. As other reviewers stated they do not take EBT which is criminal. I suspect it’s because the business is failing and they have some clerical reason for making excuses and not taking EBT. It’s stingy and there is no excuse. Tge ownership may have changed and ruined this once vibrant place. I don’t know what happened but hopefully somebody will get it together and save this place from itself.
Good selection of groceries but they need to start accepting EBT/SNAP/food stamps and better serve their community. They have had "temporarily not accepting" signs up for far too long. Get it together.
When checking out this store for the first time, I noticed that some of the dried fruit looked unnaturally bright. I checked the ingredients, and sure enough, both the kiwi and the papaya had artificial color. What? In a natural food store? I checked their website, and it says "Our foods are free of artificial ingredients (preservatives, colorings, chemicals)". I left the store never to return. Absolute b********
Still don’t accept EBT. Would literally go here for everything but can’t.
Restaurantji Recommends
I go here everyday. Love it! ???
They don’t allow people getting financial help to use their EBT. Great decision. As much as I love them that’s just bad decision.
great place, the negative reviews are from people who clearly lack civility. they just come on here to vent their feelings they know they cant say out loud. ive been to many health food stores and essene has always been one of the most classic and reliable. have only ever had the most positive experiences here as a customer and will continue to.
Expensive and sell expired products! The asian guy saying he's the manager not even worthy of being a "manager". Wanted to ask him question but he's too busy being on the phone with his airpods in!! Who runs this store??! Definitely not coming back here.
I love this market but the reason I’m giving it three stars is because they are excluding people who have SNAP cards. You can’t use your access EBT food stamps there for the last like seven months and they keep saying it’s temporarily out of service and haven’t gotten it fixed. This is illegal and it’s really annoying because people who need to get healthy special diet food cannot unless they have a whole bunch of money