James Sierra Gateway Markets

If you need a deer or any other animal processed, these guys set the bar. I have taken in 7 deer to be processed and they have never failed to performed. Great packaging, great staff, & a great meat department. I have taken deer to Bishop and Bakersfield to be processed and have had a horrible experience at each. There is no other place I will go.

This nice mountain store goes out of their way to be helpful and polite. I have had several deer processed at other lockers in Nor Cal that can compare and to this Meat locker. They have by far surpassed my expectations in quality and processing. We have always shopped here over the last 5 years to stick out camps and they have never disappointed.
I would highly recommend for you to support and shop at this store for all your needs while in Kern.

Got the best personal experience ever!!! I bought some fruit for my hike and the check out person washed it for me! Wow! Kernville is a special place but also very polite! Thank you!!!

What a cool surprise! Loved the beer cave!
Reasonable prices on food and camping gear. A very interesting variety of products. Friendly employees. Thanks!

Great general store with a surprisingly large selection. If you’re in town for Citra from KRBC, this place is directly across the street, and is absolutely where you should grab a quick breakfast.

This market rules! It’s got everything you’ll ever need to camp, fish, and cook! They make sandwiches, Mexican food, and to go breakfasts. They have a butcher shop, a beer cellar, lots of coffee (mocha, iced coffees, even pumpkin spice cappuccino). They even sell tents, hiking boots, air mattresses, etc.

I’ve never reviewed a grocery store before but this one deserves kudos. We were at the river for the weekend and stopped by for drinks and groceries. The staff was extremely friendly and the price of the food was surprisingly very inexpensive. The bought some of their home-​made (store-​made?) sausage which made for a great breakfast. Overall, I’m very impressed with this grocery store. Check ‘em out when you’re in the area.

The grocery store is fantastic with a large selection of groceries, produce, ice cream, beverages and hot cooked meals. There’s also a general store with dispensed drinks, hot coffee of varies flavors, and great customer service. Thank you for providing a great rest stop and a place for supplies.

We ate BBQ for two days… well, in fact, I ate BBQ on day one and on day two I meet the bountiful side dishes which I bypassed on day one in favor of the meat!
Corn would have completed the trifecta, therefore, I couldn’t give them a 5.

I love this place. Everything you need at affordable prices.

Been going here since I was a kid… They have the best meat counter, and the best bacon ever!!! Always enjoy stopping by when I’m in town !!

You have to try out there fresh sub sandwiches! They are the best iv’e ever had. they have ham, turkey, roast beef. They pack the sub with generous amounts of your choice of meat and fresh veggies. 5 inch sub or 10 inch. Go for the 10 inch because you will want some more! Beats subway restaurants thats for sure

Insane store. So unexpected and wonderfull. Best place to shop in Kernville. Very reasonable.

Stopped in here 2x during my trip the the Kern. Found everything I was looking for. I was surprised they even carried organic food. Nice selection of liquor and beer. I took a walk by the meat dept. because of the reviews I read on here. I had brought steaks up with me, but next time I will pick them up here and save them the 4 hour ride in a cooler because their selection looked quite stellar for a small town grocer!
The staff is extremely helpful and friendly. I can’t imagine they won’t have what you forgot at home. We went in to get a 6 pack of Sierra Nevada (in stock and very cold, thank you!) and happened to mention we needed some of those long forks to cook marshmallows with. One of the girls who was heading for the door leaving for the night heard us, turned around and said they were in sporting goods and she would get them for us. Wow! What just happened? Was that the thing my granddad talked about called… What was it? Oh, yeah. Customer service! A+++ from me.
FYI: Gas prices weren’t much more than at home either.

Love it here. You can find anything that you want– beers, mosquito coils, fishing gear, excellent meats to grill– which comes incredibly helpful when you haven’t packed appropriately for your camping/​white-​water rafting trip. Everyone in the store was super friendly and nice, which I didn’t except.
Highly recommend.

Best place to pick up supplies while camping on the Kern River! I love their selection of meats, esp their chicken asada! Inner tubes, sunscreen, hats, fishing gear, firewood, charcoil, ice, etc etc. Whatever you need, they have it!
Plus, the staff members are super nice too! YAY to James Market!

This is also a must-​stop place for all your grocery needs for a trip on the Kern. Smallish grocery store with the stuff you need, but also some sporting goods that you may have forgotten.
This store usually gets packed near the weekends, so come early, or else be prepared to face the crowds. The checkers seem a little on the not so friendly side, almost as bad as going to Walmart. But I can’t blame them either.
I thought it was annoying that my wife asked to use the restroom, but the lady hesitated and told her they were out of order. Yeah right! Seems they didn’t want us to use them. That checker upset me, so we avoided her line the rest of the trip. She looked like she was in a bad mood every time we saw her after that. Oh well…
Whatever you need, ice, booze, gas, any food you forgot to pack, the James Store will have it 99.9% of the time.

I wish I had James’ Market in LA! they have the best meat market. The sausages are amazing! The locals praise this place too. Awesome service and nice people. they have everything. I will be back for more!

Friendly People… good prices and Yummy Fried chicken!!!
will be coming back here next time I go camping at Kern River.
Definately a good place to get all the items you forgot to pack for your camping trip. they have everything!!!

I was only in Kernville a couple of days camping, but we stopped in James’ Market at least 3 times. It was quite busy inside (lots of people there for the Memorial’s Day weekend), but we always found a parking spot with no problem. Not a good place to stop for a potty break unless you don’t mind porta-​potties. Otherwise, perfectly good place to stop for everything else! They have groceries, produce, camping equipment, a meat counter, tourist-​y gifts, etc. Perfect for picking up those last minute items you forgot to bring on your trip. I expected to see high prices, but they were actually quite reasonable. The employees were very friendly and helpful — not at all ruffled by the large crowd of customers running about in the store. Great store! :)