VP Discount Health and Food Mart
8001 Beverly Boulevard, Los Angeles, California 90048
It doesn’t seem right to label VP Discount as a grocery. It’s a store for those who want to buy natural and organic products, especially health supplements, at rock-bottom prices.
The shop is small and is divided into two almost equal sections — the nutritional supplements and the food stuff. When you enter, you see the produce, which appear to consist mostly of organic apples, bananas and blueberries in the very late stages of ripeness. (It could be that I just come at the wrong time every time.) They carry:
- organic beans and grains – Bob’s Red Mill
- organic chocolates
- organic eggs, milk and yogurt
- organic pasta
From what I gather, it’s their wide selection of nutritional supplements that attracts customers. The staffers are very knowledgeable and the prices are the lowest I’ve seen anywhere. I come for Ginkgold and MaxiSorb. Regular price for Maxi-Sorb is $27.50, but in April of 2009, VP was selling it at $23.39 plus tax.
Ginkgold 60 mg (75 tablets) was $17.59 plus tax.
Service is almost always bad at checkout. It seems they hire part-timers who are either aspiring Hollywood types intent on proving they’re not mere cashiers or really crunchy folk who take pleasure in insinuating that their vegan lifestyles are superior. The ironic thing is when they’re short of hands, the Latino backroom workers man the till, and they do a better job of being polite and efficient.
But I still strongly recommend people to drop by VP Discount and check it out. Their prices are astoundingly low and they carry up-and-coming natural food brands that haven’t yet found placement in more well-established stores.
For better service and a cleaner, less cramped shopping experience, visit Erewhon Natural Foods about five blocks east across the street. There’s also a Vitamin Shoppe two blocks east on Fairfax.
Three and a half stars out of five for VP Discount. Phone number: (323) 658-6506
UPDATE: Closed a few years after this post.