New Kid on the Block - Glen's

There's a new kid on the block - Glen.   Glen just happens to be a grocery store (full name: Glen's Garden Market)- something my area of Dupont circle has been missing since the "Secret Safeway" shut down a few years back.  As the name entails, Glen's is no ordinary grocery store, but rather a boutique market offering local produce, meats, cheeses, and other kitchen staples. Glen's also has a full bar (beer, wine, and coffee) and deli with prepared foods and sandwiches made to order.

I first heard about Glen's only a few weeks before the store was scheduled to open, and was immediately excited.   Not only would this place offer local produce all day every day, it would also have a selection of items one usually cannot find at the weekly farmer's marker.  Almost all items sold would be local, supporting the small farms and businesses that sometimes struggle for lack of distribution channels.  In addition, the construction of the market itself was environmentally focused, showing the store's commitment to sustainability.  This place sounded like a dream market to me!

On opening day I waited patiently with my neighbors for the doors to open.  Once inside, I made a beeline for the bar to get some coffee, however, I was discouraged to hear that the coffee bar did not offer any non-dairy milk.  I guess I can understand this, since I have never heard of a Virginia soy milk producer, but I do think this will be a blow to the coffee side of the market, since there are a ton of different other coffee shops in the area that do have non-dairy options.

I proceeded to make my rounds through the store.  The produce section was much smaller than I anticipated, but I figured this may have been a result of the season (still early spring).  There was a decent selection of prepared dishes (both sides and mains) and sandwiches, although I noticed only one vegetarian sandwich on the menu.  While not a meat-eater myself, I will note that Glen's makes all their deli meats, sausages, and hot dogs in-house, which is awesome for all you carnivores out there.  Some veg-friendly items that I was happy to see:  vegan and vegetarian pastas, soups from Souper Girl, drinks from Capital Kombucha, and tofu from Twin Oaks.

While the prepared foods are a draw for many, what really impressed me about Glen's Garden Market were the "grocery" items.  There were shelves filled with baking products, coffee, chocolate, snacks, spices, sauces, etc.  And all from local producers! This is great for those of us who try our best to eat local, because a lot of these types of items are harder (or impossible) to find in farmer's markets alone.  Overall, I think Glen's has some room for improvement (as with any new store) but I am certain I will be making frequent stops there in the future.