Fresh Plus Grocery

I like Fresh Plus, although always call it Hyde Park Market in accordance with the mural, which must be true, as it’s spray painted onto a wall for the sake of the J-​man. This spot is basically an evolved Honey Farms, White Hen Pantry, or ⁷⁄₁₁ or whatever «ya’ll» have going on down here, but with the addition of organic products like milk, fruits and veggies, meats, and a solid selection of beer, wine, ice cream, and coconut water brands. Corner-​store prices on most things, more than HEB but not so much that you actually want to deal with HEB and driving to bother (insofar as you live in Hyde Park). Plus, Quack’s is right across the street to provide for a caffeine or pastry fix.

The fruit and veg here really are better than what you get anywhere else and I know I can get in and out in under 2 minutes if I need to. When I’m not in a rush it’s fun and easy to browse the isles for uncommon items. I also love the people who work there who are just plain real, friendly, pleasant people.

Fresh Plus is really good for what it is — a smaller, neighborhood grocery store. It’s my first choice when we need something for a recipe or dinner or just want to browse and see what’s fresh and at a decent price. I love being able to get some Chameleon cold brew coffee or Kosmic Kombucha on my way back from work and walk home. I MUCH prefer it to the Flag Store — the prices are much more reasonable and I’ve never purchased something only to get home and find it’s off. A few of the cashiers aren’t very friendly, but it doesn’t have the same corporate feel as HEB does (where we do our bulk shopping), so I don’t really mind. Their credit card machines seem to always have problems, but if you swipe enough times it will eventually work. And it’s close to Quack’s for a cookie or Dolce Vita for a chai. I love Hyde Park =)

The beauty of Fresh Plus is that in a world full of pretense and posing it is exactly what it purports to be: a neighborhood grocery store.
That means there’s probably always going to be parking available as many customers walk, take the bus or ride their bikes. It means the selection of almost everything is limited to three brands at the most. It means the produce is limited so don’t shop late in the day. It means neighbors and people you see often will be stocking the shelves and running the register. It means most prices will be better than the chain grocery stores but there won’t be mega-​sizes of anything since there isn’t enough room in the store. It means lots of people will stop and talk to each other as no one is in the mad rush they seem to be in in the super-​sized markets. It means the bulletin board will be full of lots of local event and activity notices.
Would I go across town to go here? Probably not. Would I make a detour of some several blocks to avoid HEB or similar even passing them by to get here? Yes, absolutely. I have many times.
All things being the same I’d much rather do business with the local store than any other. The fact that they’re pretty laid back and I don’t get assaulted by signs and promos and samples there makes it even nicer.
If you’re close, don’t think twice, just go.

This is a convenient place to stop by and pick up a few things after work or grab items you forgot to buy at HEB. No lines or crowds most of the time. It has gluten-​free and vegan food items. The prices are a little bit higher than the big box grocery stores, but that is the price for ease of access.
I have been at Quack’s and realized that we needed tylenol for the kids and just crossed the street to grab some with latte in hand. Needed a hostess gift on the way to a party. I was happy to find that the wine and beer selection was pretty decent.
Will come back to support this local shop.

Sometimes I feel like I live in a storybook neighborhood. Hyde Park is full of beautiful old houses, tall flowing trees, friendly cats, and this awesome little grocery store. While some things are overpriced and the entire place is staffed by depressed-​looking hipsters, coming here is always fun for me; maybe this just adds to its personal charm (the hipsters, not the prices, that is). It has the necessities plus some, and I must admit, a wonderful array of local coffees bagged for enjoyment at home!

How do I love thee, FreshyPlus? Let me count the ways:
I love your awesomely cool, throwback building mural and location three blocks from my Hyde Park apartment, a testament to neighborhood grocers before the dark days of megastores by the side of the interstate;
I love your constant discounts to clear out your about-​to-​go-​off produce, which I will walk home and turn immediately into dinner;
I love your surprisingly big and eclectic beer selection, saving me from the Flag Store’s $ 2-​extra-​per-​six-​pack markup;
I love your gang of freaks staff, weirdos who are too nice and genuine to call hipsters, but who nevertheless make interesting fashion and body art choices;
I love your collection of tear-​stained lost dog and cat posters, some so dated that the lost pets may have been found and since died of old age.
Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day, FreshyPlus?
I shall not, FreshyPlus, but not because thou art too lovely and too temperate.
Instead, it is because of your constant shortages of several things I want (like organic chicken), failure to have advertised items (I think the print/​online ad is really only meant for the other location), and that skeezy, homeless smackhead who harasses my wife every time she goes there.
Other than that, FreshyPlus, never doubt I love.

This place rocks. I go in here drunk at least every other week, and the staff are really nice about pretending I’m sober and chatting with me about random crap. They also have much cheaper beer than the flag store down the street (like, WAY cheaper), with a great selection to boot. I’ll admit that I’ve been ignored by a cashier once or twice (he was ringing me up but talking to other staff the entire time and barely made eye contact), but I’m going to pretend it’s because I was too beautiful and it hurt his eyes to look at me.
Also, they have Barbara’s Jalapeño Cheese Puffs, which are scientifically proven to be the best drunk munchie snack in existence.

I had a horrible experience. Bought 2 products that were expired. Talk to the manager and ask to replace the items and no answer. The supermarket is very expensive so I’m very disappointed!

I used to call it Fresh Minus but their produce is great these days ;)
For some reason I just love little neighborhood grocery stores! I believe it is a combination of slight claustrophobia in large crowds, having NO patience for waiting in line, and (being the hot shot/​mover & shaker that I am), I enjoy being «known» wherever I go !
You caught that sarcasm, right?
Seriously though, this is a long lived & long loved Hyde Park Icon. They have most everything one could need regarding grocery items, really good fresh deli & produce stuff, lots of vegetarian friendly frozen & canned/​packaged goods. There is an extensive selection of whole bean coffees & wine. Sometimes they introduce new local food items. I think I first tried a brand new smoked humus here, OMG so good! hmmm, what else?
The employees are delightful –warm & friendly.
You can use the bathroom adjoining Asti if you ask for the key.
They have my addiction chips-«Snapeas» & I can’t find them anywhere else– SERIOUSLY try them, they grow on you :)
You might get lucky and see those cute little girl scouts selling cookies outside or a local artist selling their wares.
It is pricier than HEB — but, as with anything in commerce, you get what you pay for.

When I first moved here and visited this area of Hyde Park, I was beyond excited to see this little neighborhood grocery. The first time I saw Fresh Plus, it reminded me of the groceries I went to as a small child with my grandmother. That said, it’s not exactly the grocery store of my youth. They have all of the things one may need but they also have a wide variety of specialty items. While it’s not exactly practical to do your everyday grocery shopping here, it makes sense to pop in for a half gallon of milk, I’ve done that twice now. It definitely beats going to the supermarket, fighting with parking and the dolts in the parking lot and then spending 30+ minutes to grab milk. Point is, this place is definitely a perk of living in Hyde Park.

The best little neighborhood grocery in ATX! I love the staff. Their beer and wine selection is great!

I live nearby and come in multiple times a week to pick dinner or breakfast items. The store itself doesn’t look too special, but the workers are extremely friendly (and if you’re a regular, will eventually get to know you), and there’s a decent selection of local products.

Need a potato or an onion STAT? This is your source. Both the staple produce and the check-​out stand are within 5 feet of the door. I have never practically shopped here and I heard a friend of mine calls this place «fresh minus» for whatever reason, but hey, sometimes I just need a potato RIGHT NOW and this is the maximally efficient way to make that happen.

Bah humbug. After living in Clarksville and shopping at Fresh Plus every single day, I was so excited to move close to the one in Hyde Park. My absolute favorite part of the store is MISSING. First, no Swedish Hill Bakery Bread for the sammy’s. I repeat, no Swedish Hill Bakery Bread for the sandwiches. The bread was seriously disappointing and mealy. Ick. The rest of the ingredients are the same and are just saying, «please put me on good bread, please.» Darn. Secondly, no prepared foods. Whhhhhy?
Still thankful to have a neighborhood grocery, although I rarely visit now :-/

YAY! This is where I can get sliced bleu cheese and Bawls. (Just not blue ba – naaaah, too obvious.)
This is the best neighborhood grocery I’ve ever seen. They have a lot of interesting things that other markets don’t carry as well as many goods from local farmers. The parking lot around it never seems SUPER busy, so you can grab groceries without an irritating Whole-Foods’-surface-lot-style game of «Bumper-​Prius.» Oh, and for us lazy folk, the selection of TV dinners is surprisingly good. They’ve got Amy’s, several ethnic brands, and all kinds of other favorites for when you’re feeling super lazy.
It’s a smaller market. You’re probably not going to find everything you ever wanted here. But for the basics (and Bawls! hooray for not having to order my Bawls from ThinkGeek!), this place can’t be beat.

Is not Clarksville what Hyde Park strives to be? This I assume to be true, as there is almost an identical sort of environment. There are good houses; local shops selling goods such as an assortment of cheese, sugar-​laden baked goods, and gelato run amuck; and well… it is just a nice place. AND it has an outpost of Fresh Plus Grocery.
This fine establishment offers a little of everything, in a small package. Not necessarily super local, but it does the job. They have dry goods, produce, a meat market, and just about everything you need. Conventional AND natural is what they strive for. Conventional AND natural is what they achieve.
It is a go-​to joint in this neighborhood, and the long-​standing tradition and tenure of FPG really drives the point home that Austin truly is a neighborhood-​centric sort of town!
Can you dig it? Let’s hope so. Give me your thoughts.

Right next to Asti & across the street from Quack’s is the cutest, local grocery store in Hyde Park aka my hood. I seriously came in here only looking for some decent priced wine for the night (the kind that doesn’t leave you a headache the next morning). They have spectacular priced wine! I may be a wino but I do possess tastebuds and can be kind of a snob at times. I found a cab for $ 5.99 & a Malbec that turned out to be $ 7.99 when I was expecting it to be $ 9.99. After being impressed by the wine selection for such a tiny place, I proceeded to explore the rest of the store.
Even though I love my Central Market and HEB, they can get a bit crowded at the times when I want to go. This is not the case for this place. They have a pretty big parking lot, and when I’ve gone they only have one checker (no need for more). I seriously walked up and down every aisle because they have so many interesting things that I was not expecting. I think my favorite part was the fact that they had ready made random things packaged by the deli.
There are a lot of products that are gluten free and the more healthy option. Organic dairy products and eggs from local farms! For example they had waffles in the freezer section that were whole wheat and gluten free. Didn’t expect that. Lots of household products and pretty much anything you might need to make a dinner some evening and don’t feel like messing with the mad rush of the larger grocery stores nearby. I was also very shocked that they sold packaged chicken breasts and other meats for very good prices. They even offered this brand called Alba that I buy from HEB/​Central Market. They cram a lot of options in this tiny awesome store. Such as, «green» cleaning products. Lovely!
I am not a huge grocery shopper, I don’t buy weeks worth of food at a time. More like one or 2 meals at a time, so this place suits me. Why? Well I don’t have to wander all over a huge store looking for one single thing (if I don’t know where to find it), its not crowded ever, AND I can walk there which is a huge plus for me because I actually like to walk anywhere and everywhere I can. So go local, and go here if you’re in the area!

In today’s world of superstores and megamarts, I’m thankful for the existence of a neighbourhood grocery store such as Fresh Plus.
It’s a place my young son can walk to by himself to buy a cold bottled iced tea in the middle of a sweltering summer afternoon. It’s a short distance from home. It’s small enough so he doesn’t feel overwhelmed. It’s relatively uncrowded so he can browse without being jostled. It has helpful staff who are always willing to assist with a stubborn bottle cap.
For less than two dollars, my son receives a little exercise, a dose of confidence, some self-​reliance, a lesson in math and a deposit in the bank of childhood memories. And a cold drink. What a deal.

The best part of Fresh Plus on Duval and 43^rd is the music.
I love chilling in the cheese section listening to Johnny Cash.
I love choosing cereal while listening to funny 80s throw-​backs.
I love the organic dairy products and the eggs from small local farms.
I like the hours.
I like using my Go Local card for good discounts.
I like that I can purchase a third of a pound of nicely-​priced, fresh sandwich meat or cheese for lunch.
Fresh Plus is fantastic.
I’ll probably see you there soon.