Grocery shopping options are abundant in Los Angeles. There are run-of-the-mill mega-chains like Ralphs and Vons. Then you have 99 Ranch, Super King, Vallarta, Erewhon, Mitsuwa, and hundreds of other independent markets, large and small, to serve the city’s diverse and hungry inhabitants.
Vanessa Anderson, a personal chef and self-proclaimed “grocery goblin,” has taken on the ambitious task of visiting all of them — and documenting that journey on her TikTok.
She says that to her, LA’s countless small markets aren’t just places to find new foods — they’re “anthropological treasure troves” that can help you better understand your community.
“It's the people, it's the products that are on the shelves — and the products that aren't, what's getting purchased,” she says. “Oftentimes in grocery stores, you'll have newspapers, community bulletin boards. There's a lot you can do at a store other than just food-shop.”
Here are a few stores that she likes to frequent:
Super A Foods, multiple locations
@grocery_goblin help! i have far surpassed my daily popsicle quotient. should I be making a google maps list of these spots?! time will tell… #grocerygoblin #grocerystore #superagrocery #losangeles #groceryshopping ♬ original sound - vanessa
Anderson says the Glassell Park location of this family-owned chain is her go-to.
“It's my local grocery store, I think it's really important to shop locally. But it was one of the first places I ever set foot into when I moved to Los Angeles. And there's something really comforting, I think, about grocery stores that adopt this design element of having residential facades in the store … it makes you feel like you're in an outdoor marketplace a little bit.”
She recommends snagging some of their Tres Leches cake and the grilled chicken they serve in the parking lot on the weekends.
Tehran Market, Santa Monica
@grocery_goblin Good evening goblins, i am eating ash reshteh by the beach like god intended. Tehran Market in Santa Monica is a swirly labne dream #grocerystore #grocerygoblin #losangeles #groceries #persiangrocery ♬ original sound - vanessa
This small but well-stocked market serves a wide variety of Persian specialties.
They also do an incredible barbecue on the weekends in their parking lot, which I highly recommend checking out. … But they're open throughout the week as well, so you can stock up on nuts and honeys and dried fruit and spices, and they have an excellent prepared food section. They also stock Sanam Baklava, which is my favorite.”
Marukai Market, multiple locations
@grocery_goblin Greetings my sweet sweet goblins today we are at #marukai in #losangeles buying #umeboshi ♬ Jonny (Reprise) - Faye Webster
Anderson says the selection in this colorful Japanese chain store is “excellent” — and so are the “beautiful handwritten signs” hung throughout the market.