These are reviews of Davis Food Co-op from 2009 and 2010. For more current reviews, visit the entry.

2009-01-03 19:43:32   The Co-Op sponsored the 2008 Souper Bowl. Someone who knows more about it, please integrate into this page. —EdWins

2009-02-09 20:23:25   Has anyone heard of ReCork America? http://www.recorkamerica.com/ I know the Co-op has a lot of wine so I thought it would be cool if they started a cork recycling bin, or two. :) —gurglemeow

2009-03-12 14:30:17   It's a nice store and has a decent deli. It's definitely overrated, and overpriced as well. Nugget's better in my opinion. —film

  • There are some things that are cheaper at the Co-Op, and there are also things you can't get at Nugget. For example, they have a wider variety of locally baked breads (the Nugget baked breads are ok, but not like the Village Bakery's) and desserts. Fuji apples are 99c a pound right now (no sale), Nugget's fuji apples are more expensive. I would definitely go to Nugget for meat and fish. The veggies are generally more expensive at the Co-Op. Also, if you are biking from Central or West Davis, you don't have to bike over that overpass to get to the Co-Op. Pirate Booty is about 50c cheaper at the Co-Op. —KellyM
  • I think that some of the perceived difference is because the Co-Op doesn't use Loss Leaders as much. So while the price of some more memorable, frequently purchased items (milk, eggs, etc.) are higher at the Co-Op, I've found that some of the less memorable items, especially the types of things that the Co-Op specializes in, are usually cheaper or the same price. I also save a lot of money as I've learned to take advantage of the bulk foods aisle. —MatthewPearson

2009-03-17 15:31:32   I love their kefir. its the most delicious thing on earth. Get Nancy's blackberry kefir. I think its the best. Peach is nasty. There are some gritty kefirs(clover farms) that taste okay, but I bet they are healthier. Also, I got red peppers here for extremely cheap. Unless I recalled incorrectly, red peppers were about 4$ a pound at Safeway and only one dollar at the co-op. I am also starting to volunteer here. Yes things are expensive here, but its close to where I live.

Also, this place is good to get ingredients for baking here. I like getting the exact amount of things I need. —chand3123k

2009-04-23 18:58:30   I love my co-op. I trust the people who get elected to help make the decisions that make it run. I think it's a sign of its health that there's so much heated discussion around so many co-op issues. I do, however, have some suggestions that I've been wanting to make for some time. First, I think the co-op should bring back the 11% sale. Some of us who live on tight budgets really depended on that sale to buy nonperishables to stay within our budgets and still remain forward-spending co-op shoppers. The 7 on 7 sales are not a comparable substitute, and I'm surprised there hasn't been more community discussion about the disappearance of the sales around the renovation. Second, I think the co-op should rethink its superworker requirements for households of one. There's a big difference between households of one and households of two, and I think the co-op would attract more 'single' superworkers if they reduced the hours proportionately. Third, I think that the co-op does an exemplary job of helping build the health of our community, so I hope they'll continue concentrating on those issues best supporting our health - offering real food, local food, organic food, affordable food, and items for our minds and homes that help us thrive. Please keep focusing on that - not bringing into stock all the 'extras' that make the new store feel more like the kind of emporium for the bourgeoisie that I am trying to avoid (at Whole Foods, etc). P.S. - I really hate to say this, because I really do love my co-op, but even post-renovation, the deli sandwiches pale in comparison to Nugget's! I have a dream... that someday... I will be able to get a giant mess of a sandwich at the co-op for $6.99... made quickly (and perhaps even a little overdramatically)... by someone who graduated from sandwich school... —calvin2

2009-04-28 19:46:44   If anyone wants to know (and I know you do) the co-op has marmite! I couldn't believe it! —CarrieBishop

2009-05-13 23:23:37   grapefruits at safeway are 1.49 ea. at the co-op, they are 89 cents ea for the same size conventional ones. even with a non-member surcharge, its still cheaper than safeways' grapefruit. —chand3123k

2009-07-10 09:30:38   there is a green tea white chocolate ice cream of the ciao bella brand and its so delicious. —chand3123k

2009-08-15 21:46:23   I haven't shopped at the co-op for a few years now. I do remember very nice selection. Their selection of fresh meat at the deli is outstanding. Their bulk coffees are also great, and priced reasonably. They used to have the best beer selection in Davis back in the 1980s-early 90s. That has changed, and their selection is about average when it comes to this, and a bit on the pricey side. They still have a nice (also a bit pricey) selection of wines last time I checked. The building is about as ugly as a mud fence though. —Darren22

2009-08-26 11:57:33   Just a short response to Darren22 above...as a big fan of craft beer, I can't see any credence to the claim that "their selection is about average when it comes to this, and a bit on the pricey side". The Co-Op clearly has the best beer selection in town. They carry beers that you would otherwise have to drive to Berkeley or San Francisco to get. Beers from: The Bruery, Stone, Fantome, Mikeller, Nogne O, Russian River, Deschutes special releases, Oskar Blues, Rochefort, Cantillon, Victory, etc. I honestly can't think of a better beer-buying destination within 50 miles of Davis. —aforbes

2009-12-07 14:30:42   true the above comment: best beer selection in the greater sacramento area. the tea / spices selection is equally good. and those three items (beer / spices / tea) account for about 95% of my visits. the rest i get from more affordable markets (nugget / trader joe's), because i do not have the financial comfort to pay for them at the co-op, though i wish i did. the staff is almost always nice (except for those grumpy old men in the meat department) and my trips are usually quite pleasant, even while i wait a long time in line. it is also a damn good place to people watch. its a good place to support when you can. —leiris

  • I honestly love that grumpy old man in the meat department. It took a while, but he isn't so grumpy to me and gives me great recommendations on the types of meats to buy for certain situations and good tips on cooking methods. I haven't gone wrong with him yet. —SunjeetBaadkar
  • Keep spreading the love, and one day, maybe soon, that grumpy old man will take you by the elbow, lean close and, as you stroll together across the Co-op parking lot, in a voice as suddenly as chipper as Claude Rains' in "Casablanca," tell you, "Sunjeet, this could be the beginning of a beautiful friendship." —Sredni Vashtar

2010-02-22 15:55:27   I try to shop at co-op often. The food tastes fresh, and yummy almost all the time. Its a great place to go for organic food. Don't be throwen off by the hippies who work and shop there, b/c some people just shop there to get healthy food. Co-op also has a cosmetic center, and a selection of vitamins and cough drops you couldn't get anywhere else. When your at co-op you feel like family. —GiulianaWasHere

2010-02-26 11:26:12   Here's a huge and grateful tip of the floppy snapbrim cap to all the adroit Co-op cashiers and support supervisors who, despite the new improved checkstands, credit card swipers and cash registers, continue doing their jobs cheerfully and efficiently while making their on-the-job training look effortless. —BrianElsasser

2010-03-09 17:49:58   I shop at the COOP for certain items. I like buying my milk, eggs and asiago cheese here. They have a great selection of coffee beans and a grinder, which is great! It turns out to be less expensive than buying pre packaged coffee from other stores, 2-3 dollars cheaper! They have an amazing blend of tea called 'Stay Well' it's full of great things..I try to buy some every few weeks to boost my immune system! It's great if you have a cold too! The German Sausage is too die for! You can get two of them for about $3, not bad for the quality. I also buy my shampoo and conditioner her in bulk, 3.99/pd much cheaper than any decent shampoo/cond out there. PLUS, the sham/cond are mostly natural/oragnic instead of putting a ton of chemicals on your head! overall, I love shopping here! Some things are expensive but you can find good deals and items you wont be able to find in traditional stores. —TICKtacTOEtag

2010-03-09 20:06:32   This is my favorite grocery store in Davis. Unfortunately the meat is very expensive, so I have to shop elsewhere for that.

It is understandable that they sell expensive organic meat, and I'm glad that they do. But if they would also sell more affordable meat, they would get more of my business. Going to Safeway for meat and the Co-Op for everything else takes a lot of time, and so I end up doing most of my shopping at Safeway because I can get everything all at once. —twblalock

"2010-03-20 11:08:59"   Hey, I've heard tell of how the coop wants to maybe boycott stuff coming from Israel. Seein' as how America got humiliated over there by them when our Vice President went for a visit and the gov't told him they was gonna build even more houses on land that they taken from the Palestinians...well, it's up to individual Americans and small stores to say that ain't right. Can't be insultin' our vice president like that. Especially after all he could do back was show up late for dinner with their head man. He should'a got on a plane and flew on home after that kinda treatment. But anyways if our gov't can't step up to the plate, well don't buy that Israeli stuff, even if the boycott don't go through and the coop don't cooperate against it. Send 'em a message on the internet: tell 'em you didn't buy their stuff at the Davis Food Coop. —DickLiddle

• Dick, if you want information about the boycott proposal, and how it is now not going onto the Spring 2010 ballot, perhaps you should look at the Large Page about it

  • My friends and I are going to boycott the Israeli products at the coop, thankyou just the same. —DickLiddle

2010-05-31 06:52:23   When I was in Davis this past week, I stopped by and picked up some more "obscure" Japanese beer to take home with me back to Colorado. Good beer selection ! —BradCuppy

2010-07-17 21:43:34   I love the Co-op! Yes, it's expensive. But it's a dream come true for someone with caliac disease! —nataliesadler

2010-07-22 11:12:59   This is the best place to find bulk hard-to-find grains, spices, and herbs. You end up saving a lot of money by only buying what you need. —Bobalice

2010-08-06 15:18:51   Some produce is on the pricier sides, but I've found really great deals on sustainably produced dairy, eggs, dry goods and meat here. Some of my favorite — the frozen meat section (discounted because of being frozen and close to the fresh sell-by date), bulk (i can spend a ridiculous amount of time in this section), and cheese. I like how they try to carry as much local products as possible (yay Vega eggs and Clover milk!). —AmberMa

2010-08-15 17:07:50   Random Rant:

Many places in Davis sell old-style Coke in glass bottles, but the Co-Op is the only store that I have found that has no bottle-openers around for you to open the coke. I used to buy my cokes in the glass bottle, then go find one of their cork-screws they sold that had a bottle opener and use that to open my bottle, but then the Co-Op sold out of those and never re-stocked. After that, I used the can opener which had a bottle-opener on its side, but they sold out of that too and never bothered to re-stock. So today I tried to ask if they had a bottle-opener in the store, and was told they had one in the deli. When I went to the deli, they said they had one but weren't sure where it was so I was out of luck.

Even the tiny little Crepe stand in the Silo has a bottle opener for people who buy Cokes or Jarritos, what gives? —ColinDoyle

  • I'm very sorry that you got such poor service. We're surprised that we're down to one bottle opener at the cash registers, but it is there this morning. Cashiers are supposed to be aware that we keep one or more magnetically attached to the poles next to the cash registers (especially the one between regs. 1&2 and 3). We like having them at/past the registers, so that it's clear that you pay and then open your drink. Again, apologies for the confusion, but that's where you can find the opener in the future. —DougWalter
    • Oh, thank you! I guess I was wrong in thinking that the Davis Food Co-Op doesn't have bottle openers. Good to know. Next time I'll check the poles. Thanks again for the reply. :) —ColinDoyle

2010-09-12 00:59:20   The only thing i buy from here is peanut butter...yes its because of the awesome machine that entertains my inner 5 year old self. —hkaeley

2010-12-19 19:51:59   The DFC is the first co-op I've ever encountered, and I absolutely love it. Although it's a little pricey, especially for a college student, I do regularly get items like produce, milk, and eggs here. It's sad that they've been struggling since Trader Joe's came around. —Michellaneous

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