Lakeshore Natural Foods

Grateful to have Lakeshore Natural Foods in my hood. The people (Eric, Anushka) who work there are knowledgeable about what supplements to take for allergies, canker sores, acne etc.
Sometimes the remedies offered are so simple, like — «buy an aloe vera plant and use fresh aloe vera on your face.» I have saved $$$$ in facial products by following that advice. Plus, drinking aloe vera (George’s brand) as an aid for my ailments has really helped me.
I have learned about «fillers» vs. «clean» products so now am always careful to read the ingredients when buying vitamins.
I have learned any descendents of ragweed, such as Chamomile and Barks/​Leaves such as Slippery Elm and Neem do not work for me. I have also learned what works for me is single ingredient preparations vs. preparations with 8+ ingredients.
Customer service is always terrific. Sometimes it is busy, but if you are patient, the cash register line will thin out and then you can ask questions.
Last year, they converted from their rewards program — the green punch card (if the entire card is punched, you get $ 5 off your purchase) to an online system, which tracks your purchases so you don’t have to remember to bring a physical card.
In addition to an impressive array of supplements and holistic remedies, this store has a number of tempting gluten free & vegan snacks, so be warned if you walk in there hungry. :)

We were looking for a specific obscure supplement. I called Whole Foods, Berkeley Bowl & The Food Mill and none of them had it. Then I called Lakeshore Natural Foods. They had exactly what I needed and at a competitive price compared to an online site. Very impressed! Highly recommended!

I am a person who does their best to support small business. As such, I’ve tried to shop here as opposed to Whole Foods (where I no longer shop). They do have a pretty good selection of wellness items, even carrying some things that Whole Foods doesn’t, such as a large collection of FES flower essences.
HOWEVER, I find the people that work here extremely unpleasant. Looking at the other reviews, I see this has been problematic for a number of people for years. The last time I came in with a friend, a very passively aggressive «polite» African-​American woman kept asking if we were ready, when my friend and I were very clearly having a discussion about the body brushes we were buying. It was like we were disturbing her by talking. Lady, you do realize that this store is not your house, yes? You do realize that when friends shop together they like to chat, or are you unfamiliar with the concept of girlfriends? My friend was quite unsettled by this woman’s behavior, but I remained calm and polite, silently vowing to never return.
Anyway, there are too many options these days to deal with these types of shenanigans and also giving someone your money at the same time. With this staff it’s always something, and it’s never good. I’m pretty close to just making all of my items or shopping for them online because of experiences like the last one.

Today I walked in on my lunch hour to purchase a few items. I walk straight to the man at the register and I say hello to ask a few questions. He does not even look at me and keeps doing whatever on his phone. I leave after I realize that he is purposely ignoring me. What a shame!

I went here a whole bunch of times when I lived in Piedmont. I would get some of those great natural chocolate chip cookies they would sell here, oh so yummy!

Great spot. Gotta get some tinctures, and these guys are your hookup.
I get some he shou wou, some cayenne extract, and some gotu kola. Pour 7 drops of each of those 3 into a small cup of water and BAM that’s like a firecracker of longevity expansion booming in your face. Wake up and good morning San Diego

Rude man behind the counter who didn’t even look up from checking the three items to answer my question. I asked for a product, they don’t have it. Hmmmmm… Methinks maybe suggest something else? Throw a girl a bone so she can spend some money in your store and so that local businesses like yours don’t go out of business and lose customers to Pharmaca. I will never go to your rundown tired little crappy store again. Will stick to Pharmaca and here’s why… Smiling friendly faces and helpful staff!

Good stuff but expensive. I paid $ 54 for something I found online for $ 33! That is pretty absurd if you ask me.
The customer service seemed pretty cool so I won’t give them 1 star :)

I have been in this place a few times and it has been good. A little pricey but whatever, they’re small.
I called today looking for a veggie spiralizer; the kitchen gadget for people eating raw to make pasta out of veggies with. The woman on the phone was so rude after I asked her! She said she had no idea what that was but that she was sure they didn’t carry that. When I tried to explain what it was, she hung up on me.
Not cool!

they’re always gracious there and I need my ginger for upset tummy days!!!

Nathan is the Bomb! He listened and guided us to the vitamins that we were looking for as well as guiding us to alternatives. Really an awesome experience. My partner actually feels better for the first time in a very long time.

I love this store. Whole Foods has discontinued a great many items that this store carries so they’ve become my regular vitamin shop.
In some ways I wish I had just discovered them first, I love shopping local. The staff here is knowledgeable and friendly and the seleciton is great.
I’ve been in the Natural Foods/​supplement biz for a long time (not currently but for some 15 years I was a buyer.) I don’t get the posts about the prices unless people are comparing natural supplements to Walgreens or Trader Joes types — that is not a fair comparison.
Natural supplements are more expensive but this store is no more expensive than any other for the same selection. And they will do special orders for you — unlike Whole Foods where if it’s not stocked in their distributor, you’re outta luck. The expertise here is great and you won’t find that for supplements at walgreens either.
So let’s not pile on this store for natural supplements being more expensive. Their prices are fair and are the going rate. And I’d rather shop for high quality items from a friendly, knowledgeable LOCAL biz than anywhere else.

I call this place the Fountain of Youth because they literally sell every healthy thing you could ever want or need. I am from the midwest, where stores like this (and vegan restaurants and weekly farmer’s markets) simply do not exist. Californians are truly spoiled.
Need a good vitamins? Paraben-​free soap? Blue algae powder? Pea protein? They’ve got it. Any types of obscure flour, artificial sweetener, more tea than China… it’s all here. Vegan/​dairy/​gluten/​soy/​sugar free… you name it, they have it.
I feel like a kid in a candy store. Each time I go in, I buy one new type of vegan protein bar or cookie as a treat. Because I am a huge nerd.
They also give you a punch card to earn money off a purchase. I swear I have spent half my annual income here and have yet to earn anything, but I keep hoping.
Love love love it!

Can you add some pep in your step? I love going to local shops because typically you get better customer service (retail: Nordstroms & Costco rule in customer service!) but here it was as if they were doing me a favor by ringing me up. That’s ridiculous. They do have some items here that are hard to find and yes the price is marked up. I rather go to The Food Mill and get better service for the price.

This store should change its name. There’s barely any actual food here. It’s primarily a supplement shop, and they do that really well — with lots of things you can’t even find at Whole Foods.
But. It’s not really a grocery store. There’s some bulk stuff, lots of natural beauty and cleaning items, a decently packed freezer section with that g-​d Ezekeil bread, Kombucha, organic meats and other mass produced health store items, but unless you want to live on Quorn patties, it’s still not actually a foods shop.
Still.useful for supplements if you don’t mind paying the markup, and for stopping in for a Kombucha and a Lara bar.

Unfortunately, the drapes don’t match curtains. The name of this joint alone implies easy going, cool with a touch of bohemian vibe, however, the folks here are slightly pretentious and ill-​informed about their products, which concerns me. For example, I frequent this place on the weekends to re-​stock and replenish my roasted seaweed addiction. Not one driven to extremes (okay, sometimes, depending upon the sitch), I typically purchase one dozen individual boxes of their seaweed wraps. So why did I visit this weekend and, at a leisurely pace, decided to wander around the store and lo and behold, I discovered LNF offers a 10-​pack of roasted seaweed at a 30% discount of my usual purchase?
That’s not natural at all! Nor was the salesperson’s response when I mentioned the lack of helpfulness in saving a customer money, guaranteeing a return. Oh well, principle trumps price. Houston is out!

This store is great because it has so much and is well organized. I love the detailed overhead aisle indicators. Make sure you look at both the front one and the one further back there is so much.
There’s stuff for joint, bones, muscle health, skin care, sleep, digestive care and much more I can’t list it all here. Go check this place out if you are looking for anything natural health care wise. They will order something for you if it’s not in stock. What a great place to have in the neighborhood.
With the high ceilings, friendly and knowledgeable staff and so many offerings for health care, I could spend hours in here.
I will definitely shop here again.

I feel the need to add my 2 cents mainly to get the average up…
I love this place! I started going here when I started taking amino acids (for all the chronic dieters, read «The Diet Cure» — it will change your life and help you lose weight with less stress) and going gluten-​free. While Whole Foods gave me more gluten-​free options (well, frozen/​refrigerated ones), Lakeshore had better desserts. I also found every single vitamin/​supplement/​amino acid I have ever needed here. I echo all the good things written about the staff — they’re really nice and take the time to help you out (they also hook you up if you have one of the little green frequent shopper cards). I’m a fan and will keep going here — like to support local businesses and I love the gluten-​free treats!

The people who work need to know more about the products they sell as well as where they are EXACTLY. «Mmmmm somewhere over there» while waving your index finger across the two of three isles in the store DOES NOT help.
They are pricey too.

I have a love/​hate relationship with Lakeshore Natural Foods. I love them because they have every natural supplement/​vitamin/​salve/​tincture/​etc. that I could ever need or want.
They have an awesome selection of gluten-​free goodies like cinnamon donuts. DONUTS. I almost rubbed one out right in front of the freezer case when I saw those things! They also carry a modest assortment of bread, pre-​made meals, soups, cereals, pizzas, cookies… the list goes on. And although they take up a pretty small piece of real estate on Lakeshore Avenue, they have managed to maximize their space very nicely — household products, bulk foods, supplements, cosmetics… they have an incredibly wide selection of goods.
I was in today stocking up on gluten-​free junk food and probiotics, and the cashier mentioned that they are really trying to focus more on gluten-​free products now that Trader Joes has set up shop across the street.
Anyhoo, LNF will always have my business for most products over Trader Joes. They’re good people with a good business, and I want to see them stay for a long long time.
Oh, I almost forgot about the «hate» part of my love/​hate relationship with them. This is the kind of place where I «run in for a moment» to buy a bottle of vitamins… and crawl out 30 minutes later with $ 200 worth of stuff.