Westridge Midtown Market

Skip the big crowd at the big chain. Head to Westridge!
This is a good store. They have most of what you could need. The seafood and meat are better at the other Westridge, but this one carries enough good stuff for any meal. The staff are extremely friendly and helpful without being invasive. The quality of the products is great and they carry most of the same brands as the major store but in addition they have with more local, organic, hippy stuff which is great!
I am super happy to report that they now accept American Express! No need to go to vons anymore!
The only slight negative is the produce. Great selection, but they don’t seem to last as long at home as the same items from the big chain. Hence the 4 stars. May have to do with refrigeration at the store? Not sure what the issue is, but if you shop smart you can avoid this.

I like it I hate it I like it I hate it the prices go down the prices go up… that one thing you go back for is never restocked yet they are sold out. You can get 40 different kinds of bottled water here… And paid $ 10 for a container of broccoli salad. You can also pay $ 11 for 4 barbecued pork ribs. Paying that price I don’t expect to get an inedible dried out end piece. In the cold Deli area you can get day old dried out Fried Chicken sold as cold chicken. Some of these pieces of chicken are completely like wood. The bulk bins are always down to the bottom with a few stray pieces of the thing you came to get. Not to mention $ 11 granola. You can also get a bunch of IgA products for super cheap. I’m liking this store less and less. And the wine prices are outrageous. It’s getting to the point where I’d rather drive further and stock up then shop and settle here. Disgruntled Shopper out of your store and I get everything I came to get. Everyone’s happy. It’s been real, real disappointing.

The deli in this place is absolutely amazing. Coming from a very small town all the employees remind me of home. Thank you Westridge! Best burgers and custom breakfast sandwiches in town. Go get a Tri-​Tip with their seasoning with Zinfandel. It’s a huge hit in my house. 5 stars for the overall experience.

My favorite place to grocery shop in Ojai. I have always loved the smaller downtown location for convenience, wine, local produce and the butcher. The Midtown location is an expanded view of the former, providing a complete deli counter and thoroughly stocked market. If price point is important I suggest shopping their sales-​flyers available in print or on their FB page. All their employees are kind, helpful and pleasant.

It’s amazing how one employee, in this case a manager, can affect your entire opinion of a store…
We are new to Ojai, just having purchased a home there. We saw this market and it looked homey and welcoming. We went inside and one employee was nicer than the next! We ordered a sandwich from the deli counter and then I asked to use the restroom. The employee sent me to the restroom, but I arrived to find that it was out of order. When I went back to the counter to share this, the employee was so kind to get her manager to okay my using another bathroom upstairs. The employee even escorted me there!
Well, I’m about to open the door to this other restroom when this woman screams at me, «MA’AM! YOU’RE NOT ALLOWED UP THERE!» I responded back, politely, «It’s okay. The deli manager said I could use the facilities since your public restroom is out of order.» «I DON’T CARE! You can’t use that restroom!,» the woman said. I replied, «Can I speak to your manager?» She says, «I AM the manager.» I asked her name and she said, «Melissa,» or something starting with the letter «M.» She continues, «We have a safe upstairs, so you’re not allowed up there.» «But I just need to use the restroom,» I said, also processing that this woman almost just called me a thief, too.
Seriously, I have NEVER been spoken to like that in a store, much less by a MANAGER. I will NEVER go back to this store as a result. There is a lovely Von’s there which will be my go-​to market. And I will tell the 100-​plus family members who are going to the Ojai Valley Inn this 4^th of July to boycott this market as well.
You just can’t be rude to customers like that. There was no reason for it. It unsettled me for the rest of the day. Why take that kind of abuse when grocery shopping is supposed to be a pleasant experience?
Bye-​bye, Westridge!

The Dirty Truth:
I live right next door to this place and I’m there almost everyday. Sometimes more than once. It used to be Star and there was carpet and and shit was a mess, but now the floors are fixed and the produce section is amazing! Way better stuff and everything is presented nice. They are making updates all the time to make it better and I can’t wait to see what they do next. The meat is a little expensive, but they have great sales. Their beer and wine and now spirits section is really nice and well labeled. The guys and girls up at the front are super friendly and great to see. The only room I see for improvement is to create a sense of urgency in the Deli section to get customers taken care of faster. Other than that, great job and plus that dude from How I Met Your Mother, Jason shops there and makes people go «Hey, is that Jason Segel?» and then you say «Yup» because it is…
The Stats:
Ambiance: Very Clean Feeling!
Food: Duh…
Service: Awesome, Deli Could Use Some Life
Cost: Depends… Great Sales!

Their weekly ad is easy to read and the sale prices are very good. The everyday prices of items, at least to me, are very expensive. I drive to Ventura everyday (where I am originally from) and will continue to shop at Ralphs because the prices are just better. That said, the layout of the store, is pleasing and the staff are very friendly.
What really amazed me was the food at the deli!!! The quinoa tabouli salad was so good! We tried the hamburgers, due to this weeks ad had them on sale for 3.99 For the regular price it is still an awesome deal! They are HUGE!!! Beef tastes great, is so large, did I mention that? And you pick your cheese, bread and toppings. The brioche bun is perfect and the toppings are not something that is skimped. The bacon is thick cut, and I didn’t get ONE piece it was stacked on my burger. Still blown away at what you get for the price.

I really like this place! Cute little shop with everything you can imagine. Lots of organic and natural food options, great deli. Can’t get much better.

This is the answer to those of us who are tired of not being able to get what we need at the local Von’s and then some.
Westridge Market Midtown has it all and what it doesn’t have, if you need it, they’ll bend over backwards to get it for you. They aren’t done with their organization as yet so it may be a bit of a challenge to find what you are looking for but if you take your time and stroll along the shelves you see some very unique and interesting products that you’ve probably not seen anywhere else like this. Sure maybe if you are going specifically to a specialty store you’ll find these items. But you’d have to go to a pretty big handful of those stores along with a standard grocery store, and a farmers market to find what this place has to offer. I don’t know about you, but I don’t have the time or patience for that. While Westridge Market’s prices aren’t as low as the major chain stores, if you are looking for a big variety of fresh produce, a butcher who will give you actual service, and everything under one roof, this is where you want to shop.
The only draw back that I can see other than the slightly higher prices on some items is that if you have to turn left leaving the parking lot, there is no light and with all the traffic on Ojai Ave you may have to wait a while to get across. But in typical Ojai fashion, drivers are courteous and someone will stop to help you get across traffic.

I like the Westridge market on the other end of town so I was happy to see Westridge in this location too (though sad to see Star Market go). They’ve taken out the carpeted floors here, and are remodeling a lot of the store. The produce section is really attractive now and I’m excited to see the bakery and deli/​meat section as it’s being installed and updated. I love that I can get my favorite commercially made cake here — the «Big Chocolate Cake» made by Sweet Street in Pennsylvania. They also carry their Red Velvet cake in addition to the bakery items that Westridge bakes themselves. Last weekend my in-​laws were in town and we tried several of their bakery items including their bread pudding and lemon chiffon cake. I haven’t had anything disappointing here yet! I love their lemon bars and want to try their blueberry cobbler bars next.
Besides food, this store carries a small selection of household items like cleaning products and small automotive or fix it things. They also have some camping supplies, but mostly I’d just come here for their food.