Dave’s Supermarket

I feel unsafe shopping here. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been whistled at, called at, or hit on in this store or right outside of it. I hate coming here because I know I will be so uncomfortable the whole time and leave upset. The prices here are also out of control. The store is dirty, the selection is incredibly limited, and the staff is all unfriendly teenagers. How they get away with charging what they do is beyond me.
It does sound like Daves is trying to improve by renovating and offering a wider variety of healthy, more upscale products. I’m hoping that this will help make this a better, safer place to shop.

I’m going to not mention the fact that my wallet was stolen out of my purse a few years ago. I blame that Cleveland Heights woman, not Daves. Dave’s manager and security were actually very helpful in the eventual return of my wallet (two weeks later when they found it behind some Nilla cookies)
What I am going to mention is that this is a great location for ethnic eats and cheap meats. Sure, maybe their produce isn’t great but you know what? it’s also cheaper than Giant Eagles, so there!

I hated this grocery store. If I can help it I’ll never go back. Everything was overpriced and most of the produce wasn’t worth buying it was so bad. I bought a bag of frozen chicken and found a big hole in the bag after I had brought it home. I couldn’t find hardly any wine. The list goes on and on and I’ve only been once. If I were you I’d go somewhere else.

Large selection of organic and healthy foods! Deli meat is delicious! Hummus made locally in cleveland, that is tasty! Local food selection!

This supermarket was clean, well-​stocked and organised. Staff was friendly and quick. What more could you want? :)

I like Dave’s. There, I said it.
They really have come a long way since I first started shopping here. Some of my favorite updates recently would be their produce selection. They really are starting to expand it, a little. The quality can be lacking, but it mostly depends on when you go. If you’re there later during some parts of the week, the worst produce will be left – but that makes sense, know doesn’t it? That’s why it’s important to learn how to shop at Dave’s. But I digress…
They have cheap spaghetti squash! Yes! They have Greek yogurt, an organics section with quinoa (finally, although expensive as hell), and their International selection has items I haven’t even found at Giant Eagle. They also have these little bubbly, zero calorie drinks I can’t find anywhere else. And lots of other items, like San Marzano tomatoes, etc.
It’s close, their selection is growing, it’s my neighborhood market and I love it!

This is the best Dave’s store I have been to. I tried to like the store that was near our old house in Lyndhurst but I just had so many bad experiences. The employees at this store were super helpful and the grocery selection was great. Even their produce looked tons better than I have seen at other locations.

What are you crazies talking about? Dave’s is as good as most other grocery stores and more reasonable. Is the produce as good as Giant Eagle? Yes! I have never seen a rotten cucumber or anything else, and I have been shopping there since it opened. They have a fairly good organic section including frozen, great wines, and a good selection of coffees. My only complaint would be breads but I go to the market. To all those who complain about the people outside or rotten produce… get a grip!

Good selection of stuff in a pinch. Pretty clean store. I dont buy produce here much, I go to the Market but deli stuff is good. Lines seem to take a while to checkout. They carry all GLBC beers and lots of others. They have a hippie secion in the front for all the fancy people. Its good for an INNER CITY store… if ya dont like it, move back to the burbs.

Cleveland has one of the lowest average incomes in the nation, some of the highest crime, and a shrinking population. Wise up. Stop expecting Beverly Hills.
The homeless and other of life’s drop outs are in Dave’s parking lot as well as on benches at West 117^th and Clifton. This is their city too. Cleveland is one of the fattest towns yet from the Unilocal reviews it is highly populated with nutritionists who note all the bad foods available yet brag over how much beer or coffee they drink with their grilled cheese and poutine followed by Jeni’s ice cream.
How can Dave’s ever satisfy those who have such contradictory values? Why blame Dave’s for having people in its lot or premises that scare the fearful? Rather applaud the only store to make the city its home. Of course it must sell products for those with differing tastes or tight budgets no matter who believes only what is on her list matters.
Dave’s does the perfect job of satisfying its widely diverse shoppers. Buy pig ears or granola here. I have never found the vegetables to be as bad as others report. The herbs and tropical produce are cheaper and more plentiful then elsewhere why pass them by for leaf lettuce and apples? I come here more than any other store and no one who has ever eaten at my table has complained over the poor quality of my food.
I look for what is good here. At Dave’s I can find meats that those of us who favor folk cooking want. This is the best place for the meats that chefs are beginning to use. Pork shoulders, briskets, smoked meats and, tho I am not a fan, offal pack the meat trays. I find here Orlando’s English muffins, Portuguese rolls, and fideo noodles not carried elsewhere. I attempt to spend my money where it does the most for my city and if it means having a cucumber with a soft spot, so be it.

I really, really, really, really, really wanted you to be great! REALLY — but when I grab for a cucumber and you’re brown and slimy … and then I pick up an apple, and it’s rotting? I’m out folks!
You’re so convenient, and have a rather good organic section, but I’m just continually disappointed in your produce. Plus that salad bar in the middle of the produce section just eeks me out.
After all this, there is a plus: Large Wine/​Beer Selection!

I love Dave’s. LOVE. Why? Because they are the only effing grocery store that dares go into the city of Cleveland. This one is in Ohio City, ok. But Dave’s is the only grocery store you see in Slavic Village, St. Clair Superior, Central, Collinwood.
So, even with its problems, of which I don’t see many (I’ve had bad experiences with produce from a lot of stores), it’s dedication to serving in low-​income neighborhoods rocks and they should be credited. People in Cleveland love to talk about what a problem food deserts are in the city, yet they drive to Rocky River for their groceries.
So Dave’s is my top grocery, because I don’t see a Heinen’s, Zagara’s, or Giant Eagle daring to set-​up shop in the city of Cleveland, do you?

just gotta say that because of a stand-​up clerk named Robert, an elderly homeless guy got a warm meal tonight.
classy folks work here! props.

Seriously, WHAT do they do to their produce? It’s always bruised and/​or moldy and it goes bad quickly. It’s just downright awful.
Loss of another star for not keeping their ice cream in check. More often than not, I get ice cream that has been melted and re-​frozen into that gritty ice cream. Plus, I dare you to try to find the flavor you’re looking for without having to dive into the freezer head first. Then again, on a warm summer day dive away!
And yet, I find myself here again. Mostly every week. It’s so convenient; odds are if you’re in Ohio City you can walk here. Their frozen goods, dairy and regular cereal-​type items are standard. They have beer and wine with Sunday sales. Generally, their staff is pretty nice and will indulge you in a friendly chat at the register.
If/​when you go, just know the following things: pick your produce carefully. Drive slowly through the parking lot. Do not buy the ice cream. Last but not least, DO engage the staff and relish in how convenient the location is!

So I just half-​moved to Ohio City after half-​living for a year in Parma. Long story short I live half in Columbus and half in Cleveland due to grad school. Anyway, I wish I would have half-​lived in this neighborhood the whole time!
I finally decided to venture into Dave’s today, and am happy I did! You should note, I have yet to go to the West Side Market — please don’t judge.
Anyway, some of the prices are too pricey but a lot of them are very reasonable! The produce all looked great and was competitive with Giant Eagle on price.
I guess the thing that tipped the scales from a 3 to a 4 star for me was that I found a «tostonera» in the Goya aisle! My fiancé and I were just recently fretting over how to make really good fried plantains, like we had in several Puerto Rican restaurants. The tonstonera is basically a plaintain squasher which (hopefully) does just that!
So I added another gadget to the kitchen, and had a good ol’ time at Dave’s.

I always like supporting the local business. This is a small, privately-​owned grocery store. They have a surprisingly good selection. I was impressed with their selection of organic and natural foods, especially in the frozen section. The parking lot is small. There are some spooky MF’s hanging out in the parking lot. Not sure why. Instead of doing a clean up in aisle 6, how about doing a clean up in the parking lot? All in, this is why I call it, «Creepy Dave’s.» And how could I forget about the homeless dude peeing in the parking lot in broad daylight. Again, spooky MFs in the parking lot…

+1 for location/​proximity to where I live (less than a 5 minute drive).
–2 for an overcrowded, claustrophobic parking lot where I feel like I am going to hit a person or car/​GET hit by a person or car every time I am there.
+3 for mostly everything you need.
–1 for those few «gourmet» items you might not find here.
+1 for mostly good prices and for it being a little less hectic than going to the West Side Market.
–3 for the guilt you feel over NOT going to the West Side Market when you so easily could have.
+2 for the organic section.
–5 for the clusterfuck of a deli counter.
+4 for the music they play (not kidding! I love it!).
–4 for the homeless, smelly guys singing along with you.
+2 for the usually competent, adequately friendly cashiers.
–5 for not being able to take your cart to your car, and, if you’re there alone, having to decide between leaving your stuff with «a guy» while you drive the car around (dodging 3 families in the process), or tipping said guy to help you bring it to your car.
+6 for the time I schlepped out to Whole Foods (an experience I detest; more on that later) and they were out of corn syrup and I drove right over to Dave’s, and there it was, as it should be, in all its sickly-​sweet glory.
I hate to say it, but if I need to do a shopping trip that’s bigger than two bags’ worth, or if I am looking for something special, OR if I want to get my deli meat without a written permit and 20 extra minutes of standing «in line,» I am probably going to go to Giant Eagle. Sorry Dave’s.

My sister, visiting her inlaws in Ohio City, called to ask me if there was a methadone clinic near Dave’s. I was confused. I asked why.
She explained that it seemed like there were a lot of strung-​out, homeless people wandering about Dave’s. Ah, how to explain to someone not from Cleveland who has only seen the gentrified streets of Ohio City lined with trees and restored houses? Me, I expect nothing less from Dave’s. To me it was odd she was asking.
Hey. It is in Ohio City. It has groceries. They let you park there after 9pm so you don’t have to pay to park. What else do you want in an urban grocery store?

By the time we decided to do a cookout and make a list of things we needed to buy when we were at West Side Market, all of the bakery stalls were out of hamburger buns.
Thankfully, Dave’s is just down the street (and in route towards my friends’ house) so we popped in for some last minute items. When we reached the bakery section, we found they were too out of rolls! I popped my head around the bakery case and noticed they had some freshly baked rolls sitting on a tray. All we had to do was ask and they bagged them up for us. Sweet!
We also picked up some semi-​soft cheeses and crackers, (yes, more cheese) to snack on while we prepared dinner. We bought a spreadable gorgonzola and a 4-​pepper chevre which were both awesome. The gorgonzola was my favorite of the two and I could have eaten the whole container by myself.
Yay for carbs and cheese.

Let’s all punch the meat!!!
UPDATE: I went to Dave’s yesterday to buy a few things. As I walked through the meat aisle, I noticed a brother punching the hams and muttering about which one he would buy.
He was literally PUNCHING the big hams as hard as a man can punch.
I love my neighborhood.