Pike Market Place Prices
Aug 14th, 2009, 04:04 PM
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Pike Market Place Prices
How are the prices at Pike Market Place compare with a regular grocery store in the Seattle area? I am sure the produce and seafood is much fresher at the market, correct?
Aug 14th, 2009, 04:09 PM
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The Pike Place Market was a bargain place to shop in the 1930s and 1940s, but those days are long gone. The reason to shop there is for specialty food and nostalgia, but not to save money on grocery bills.
Why do you suppose produce and seafood are fresher at the Pike Place Market than at other grocery stores in Seattle?
HTTY
Why do you suppose produce and seafood are fresher at the Pike Place Market than at other grocery stores in Seattle?
HTTY
Aug 15th, 2009, 11:50 AM
#4
Actually I don't think one can generalize. Fish prices tend to be slightly higher than in main line supermarkets, more along the lines of Whole Foods, but there can be and are exceptions.
Produce at the "high stalls" (i.e. permanent merchant stands) in the main arcade will also (usually) be higher than in supermarkets, again with the Whole Paycheck exception; however prices at the "low stalls" - i.e. the metal benches farther to the north of the main arcade, as well as stalls on the other (east) side of the street, can be comparable or even less than supermarket prices.
Flowers are inevitably cheaper at the Pike market than in supermarkets or florists, and many of the specialty goods - honey, etc. are well-priced compared to Whole Foods or most of the various neighborhood farmers' markets now flourishing all over the region.
So it depends. Of course there are thousands of items sold in supermarkets that aren't available at the Pike Market, or else sold in small quantities for the Market-area residents, e.g., milk, canned goods, frozen foods, packaged foods, paper products etc.
As for freshness, maybe, maybe not. King Crab legs sold at the Pike Market come out of the same wholesalers' boxes as those sold at Safeway; ditto lemons and pomegranates. Veggies, flowers and other things sold at the low stalls tend to be fresher, but of course much more limited in variety. Seattle doesn't have a big fish market like (ex-) Fulton Street or Billingsgate, so while some of the merchants at the Pike Market may source some of their product directly from producers, the majority of products sold there come from the same supply chains that other retailers use.
Produce at the "high stalls" (i.e. permanent merchant stands) in the main arcade will also (usually) be higher than in supermarkets, again with the Whole Paycheck exception; however prices at the "low stalls" - i.e. the metal benches farther to the north of the main arcade, as well as stalls on the other (east) side of the street, can be comparable or even less than supermarket prices.
Flowers are inevitably cheaper at the Pike market than in supermarkets or florists, and many of the specialty goods - honey, etc. are well-priced compared to Whole Foods or most of the various neighborhood farmers' markets now flourishing all over the region.
So it depends. Of course there are thousands of items sold in supermarkets that aren't available at the Pike Market, or else sold in small quantities for the Market-area residents, e.g., milk, canned goods, frozen foods, packaged foods, paper products etc.
As for freshness, maybe, maybe not. King Crab legs sold at the Pike Market come out of the same wholesalers' boxes as those sold at Safeway; ditto lemons and pomegranates. Veggies, flowers and other things sold at the low stalls tend to be fresher, but of course much more limited in variety. Seattle doesn't have a big fish market like (ex-) Fulton Street or Billingsgate, so while some of the merchants at the Pike Market may source some of their product directly from producers, the majority of products sold there come from the same supply chains that other retailers use.
Aug 15th, 2009, 01:37 PM
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Thanks all of you for this information...I will just go to Pike Place Market and enjoy myself looking (and tasting) around and do my main groceries at a local store, that way I don't have to carry them around.
Aug 15th, 2009, 02:23 PM
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Some days Pike Place Market there is a farmer's market set up on tables in Pike Place. I believe the one next is tomorrow--August 16.
Today at the market there are craftsmen selling their wares in the area where, when I was a child, old women in babushkas sold eggs with bits of straw sticking to them and where, when it was in season, Mom would buy a shopping bag full of corn for $1.
Today at the market there are craftsmen selling their wares in the area where, when I was a child, old women in babushkas sold eggs with bits of straw sticking to them and where, when it was in season, Mom would buy a shopping bag full of corn for $1.
Aug 15th, 2009, 03:02 PM
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love Pike Place Market and found the prices to be reasonable..gorgeous flowers everywhere and surly fish mongers.
I've only been a couple of times so I guess I'm not the best barometer..great place to hang and have lunch and look at all the vendors stuff.
I love Seattle!
I've only been a couple of times so I guess I'm not the best barometer..great place to hang and have lunch and look at all the vendors stuff.
I love Seattle!
Aug 16th, 2009, 09:33 AM
#8
I agree with the statement there's no one answer to this question.
Seafood is more expensive than the grocery store.
As far as fruits and vegetables, there are two sections to the Market. The vendors that are their year-round and get their produce in the same way as grocery stores do (imported, etc.). THEN there's the seasonal local vendors, in the street and to the north end of the Market proper. They may not be cheap but you get the BEST and LOCAL cherries, berries, peaches, as is in season.
The very best bargains come from the small independent stands. The Asian folks who run all the flower stands (beautiful $5 bouquets) also sell their own garden items as they come into season. So you can get excellent value on something like fresh beets, carrots, basil, green beans (~$1 per bunch) but limited to the things they are actually growing themselves.
Wednesday is organic day and Friday is local farms day, so there are quite a few more vendors/booths that come and set up under white tents along the street. Again not necessarily cheaper than a grocery store but WAY better quality and taste.
Seafood is more expensive than the grocery store.
As far as fruits and vegetables, there are two sections to the Market. The vendors that are their year-round and get their produce in the same way as grocery stores do (imported, etc.). THEN there's the seasonal local vendors, in the street and to the north end of the Market proper. They may not be cheap but you get the BEST and LOCAL cherries, berries, peaches, as is in season.
The very best bargains come from the small independent stands. The Asian folks who run all the flower stands (beautiful $5 bouquets) also sell their own garden items as they come into season. So you can get excellent value on something like fresh beets, carrots, basil, green beans (~$1 per bunch) but limited to the things they are actually growing themselves.
Wednesday is organic day and Friday is local farms day, so there are quite a few more vendors/booths that come and set up under white tents along the street. Again not necessarily cheaper than a grocery store but WAY better quality and taste.
