Aj’s Fine Foods

We’re were very hesitant to rate this grocer, because we just don’t get the concept and hate to give places low reviews. Yes, this place is beautiful. If reviews were only based on looks, then Aj’s would get five stars. However, there is nothing really special about what’s on their shelves (There are a few exceptions, which we’ll discuss below). It’s all foods, meats, and veggies that you can get at other stores for a fraction of the price. Why would you want to shop at another store for staples and then come here for a few items that are expensive because of the stores overhead?
Anyway, we were impressed with their bakery and their wine selection. The baked goods are beautiful. Unfortunately, I’m not a huge fan of sweets, so I didn’t buy anything to try. Now their wine section was cool. They had a very nice selection and a small room off to the side for tastings, which was a really fun concept. However, why not just go to a baker or a liquor store for these things and avoid the overhead of the other items sold in the store?
We think that the most popular part of the grocer is the attached restaurant. They serve something new every day. This looks like a great place to try a daily meal on their outside porch. The BBQ smell permeated the entire store and was amazing. Unfortunately, we’d just finished lunch at another place, so we couldn’t try their food.
Overall, we’re going to give Aj’s 3.5 stars and round down. Again, the place is beautiful, it’s just not a place that we’ll visit often, if ever again.

This store never disappoints me. Every time I have asked for a product that the store does not carry, they manage to get it for me.
Thanks Rex for getting me the sparkling smart water. You made my day!
I’m always willing to pay a little more to get the kind of customer service AJ’s provides.
Thanks again.

Wow! A bit pricey but the market offers an outstanding selection of high quality products. The staff is extremely helpful and knowledgeable. The cashier noticed what I purchased, offered a suggestion and returned quickly with a replacement item.

I really love the staff at this location. They are so courteous and helpful. The florist department is extremely talented and so happy to accommodate your needs. I love that! I find the pastry department to be a bit slow, but they are kind and the coffee and treats are worth the wait. The grill is fabulous if you like burgers.

I’ve always come to this AJ’s as its closest to where I live. I BBQ a a lot and have always bought my Baby Back Ribs, Pork Shoulder and steak from this AJ’s without a problem. That was when FELIX was the Manager of the Meat Department. Ever since Felix left for another AJ’s this meat department has gone to hell! They are supposed to remove the membrane from the back of the ribs. This is the SECOND time within a month they’ve NOT! Even when I remind them to, they say «yes we have» and then you take the ribs out to BBQ and the membrane is still on! I will NOT set foot in this AJ’s ever again! I’ll go out of my way to another AJ’s (on Lincoln) or Whole Foods!

Hands down one of the nicest grocery stores in the valley. I’ve only been a couple times now but am eager to return!
The produce is beautifully displayed and looks very fresh and the meat counter had just about everything you would need!
I was looking for a specific bottle of wine and found the staff to be extremely knowledgeable. Although they didn’t carry the specific bottle I was looking for, they suggested an alternative which tasted wonderful. I’m eager to try the coffee bar and pre-​made food during my next visit!

I’ve become a quick regular of AJ’s. While the prices are a bit too high for me to do my everyday grocery shopping here, I’ve found myself gravitating toward their bakery/​coffee area in the mornings to grab a tasty pastry and a coffee before work. (The prices in this area are very manageable, actually).
Service across the board has been top notch. I haven’t met or witnessed an employee yet who wasn’t eager to help, even eager to go out of their way to help. This is a TREMENDOUS upside to the typical grocery shopping experience. People here take their jobs seriously and, from a customer’s perspective, it’s noticed.
I like to take my coffee and pastry and relax for a few minutes out front by the waterfall. Between the interplay of the birds and the sound of the trickling water, it’s a very enjoyable morning experience.
I give AJ’s a four star review instead of five because of the relatively high prices and because I ordered a pizza here that was a surprising letdown. But really — the experience itself is worth a visit, so please don’t let the small one star detraction turn you away. If you haven’t been, you should definitely stop by sometime.
*** In defense of this establishment, I should have known that any business with the words «Purveyor of Fine Foods» in the title would be a bit more costly than most. It shouldn’t have come as a surprise. What DID come as a (pleasant) surprise was how manageable even those «higher» prices were, and how extensive and varied their selection is!
Thanks, AJ’s, for providing such an excellent level of service and fun food options. I’ll continue to show up. :)

AJ’s is great for a top meat and seafood selection. I also love their ready to heat chicken Parm in the meat case. Just add sauce, heat for 20 mins and you are good to go!
Great produce selection as well if you are looking for something other than the basics you can find at Safeway etc…
I’m back and forth in their pastries, i have had some that are excellent and some that are not good at all. The canoillis seem quite hard and stale and the cream puffs are bland and seem stale as well. Of course both is these really need to be made fresh daily and I’m not sure that is the case.
My favorite item is their chicken curry salad from the deli! It’s fantastic, if you haven’t tried it yet, you should!

I love going to the grocery store more than anyone my age should love going, and AJs is a fun one to visit if I’m looking for some unique (and often highly overpriced) items. They have some different products that I haven’t found in other high end grocery stores in the area.
This one is clean, and the people here are so so nice. This one lady compliments me every time I come in haha. Only complaint is sometimes they don’t have enough people behind each counter, I’ve stood and waited at the dessert counter to be helped for so long I’ve had to go find someone more than once. But not bad!
Also the prepared food here is good. I went here the other day and they had pasta night, looked really good but I didn’t get any this time! Their pizza by the slice is pretty good. That can be hit or miss for me, but it’s usually pretty good from AJs! I like this location quite a bit, lucky that I live nearby!

Autumn is the absolute BEST! I’ve just recently become an AJ’s coffee addict and I can honestly say I will never go back to Starbucks. Autumn memorized my order after my third visit and now every morning when I walk in, I hear her say «Good morning! Small iced Carmel macchiato with an extra shot today?» It’s the little things like that, that truly make someone’s day. She knows what she’s doing and she’s does a superb job. If it wasn’t for her i would probably still be drinking burnt Starbucks coffee. With that being said, thank you Autumn for being so awesome. You truly make my morning… every morning!

Try the grill outside at lunch time til 3pm awesome food prices and service! I recommend the burgers and teriyaki chicken sandwich

You get what you pay for. Great staff This aj’s quality is A++ clean floors clean restroom and a nice smell and neatly placed stock on hand. What a grocery store should be everywhere. Prices are a bit high sometimes but sales are often and quality means you pay a wee bit more for it … I’m worth it

Friendly service, high quality of grocery. Great place to grab a quick lunch or dinner.

AJ’S GRILL REVIEW
OMG!!! The grill outside of this store has the most INCREDIBLE food! My friend took me here for lunch and the place was busy. Turns out it is the best kept secret in North Scottsdale. I have been told EVERYTHING is made fresh on site and I witnessed them cook my burger to perfection. I got a massive burger combo with two sides for $ 8.00, and I had the best mac and cheese I’ve ever had, no lie! My second side was quite delicious, baked beans with fresh cooked bacon. They have several yummy side options, like grilled eggplant, cooked to order. You don’t see that too often! They have other super, wonderful looking entrees to choose from. I can’t wait to go back and try them all!

Review for bakery only:
Bought a custom cake for the first time — Raspberry Mango. The design/​presentation was beautiful but the cake itself tasted just OK. The filling didn’t have much of the raspberry mango mousse. Maybe the chocolate cakes are the way to go. Price was decent.

It does have good a restaurant alternative, so sometimes I’ll buy dinner here. Nice that it is close by in the area.

Among all the pie selections available on the planet, (hair notwithstanding), apple seems to be a favorite among many of us.
And for my money, there’s no better place to get a delicious, grocery store apple pie than Aj’s.
However, here’s a useful tip should you decide to try one.
1. Never buy the large pie.
I’ve found the apple /​crust ratio is less than optimal with its bottom crust often soggy and the apples too few.
2. The small pie, (app 6″) features a thoroughly cooked crust along with a high apple content. Perfect for two people. But you’ll need more than one.
3. Buy three.
One for your dinner. Since all you ate was a lousy bean burrito.
The other for around midnight, when you wake up and think, «fuuuuck was that pie ever good!», stumble into the kitchen and inhale it in one squirrel-​cheek mouthful.
The third?
That one is so your spouse (or significant other) has something to go with her coffee in the morning without your getting bitched-​out. Ordinarily, I’d blame the second pie’s disappearance on the kids or the dog or something.
But the dog died last year and the kids are in college.

Until I moved to Scottsdale, I had no idea what AJ’s was all about. Since then, this has become my ‘go to’ spot for buying Craft Beer and Wine in a pinch. We only live a few blocks away and whenever we go to a friend’s house for dinner or a party, we stop by here to grab beverages.
They have an excellent selection of Wine and Beer… for a grocery store, they’re on the higher end of the scale. I like it much better than Whole Foods too… I don’t know why, but I just feel more comfortable in here.
One thing you can count on at this store location… there’s always people hanging out on the patio sipping Coffee or Tea with their dogs… especially on weekend mornings. It has a nice neighborhood feel to it. That’s why we keep coming back.
Return Factor — 100%

AJs is a really nice high-​end grocery store but it is WAAAAY overpriced. I visited this location with my niece and all she got was a sandwich and a piece of fruit and it was $ 14! Shame on me for paying it when I could have made the same exact thing at home for a fraction of that.
I visit AJs semi-​frequently because they sell my favorite BBQ sauce: Sting ‘N Linger Ghost Pepper BBQ sauce. When I go there, the employees are always nice and professional and they always have my item in stock.

Service at the boulangerie/​patisserie is almost always attentive, and eight times out of ten, they’re more than willing to offer free samples (as opposed to my asking to sample something and my receiving an eager «yes, of course!,» or a stare that says «I’m too busy to stop and acknowledge your request»). I’d give four stars in an instant if it weren’t for the fact that every time I show up with a gift certificate to use (my employer issues out gift certs to Basha’s every year for Thanksgiving and/​or Christmas!), it’s guaranteed that the transaction will take anywhere from ten to thirty minutes (or more) and at least one or more coworkers’ aid. Armed with this fact, I always make sure I have extra free time before shopping at an AJ’s.
It’s best to call early in the morning before 10:30/11 to catch the baker on site if you have any food concerns. While some of the baked sweet goods are made from scratch, most are from «proprietary» mixes. On my last visit, I opted to buy a «red velvet muffin with chocolate chips» without sampling it first, since the nice, young man behind the counter didn’t immediately say yes to sampling the baked item (though he did offer to let me try any of the flavored coffees, if I wanted). It turned out that the sign was wrong, and the muffin did not contain any chocolate chips. FYI, the muffins here are made from a boxed mix, or so I was told by an older employee behind the counter, who seemed too busy to stop and help, much less greet anyone «hello.» I returned the goods and asked for a refund.
Drip black coffee was OK, and it’s always nice to see locally-​made chocolates on display…

This AJ’s has got some great lunch options, especially outside at the grill. However, the parking is terrible! This entire plaza has the worst parking ever. Granted, it’s got several different places for lunch and the lunch crowd is vicious, but my husband and I can never find parking. Luckily, we work close enough so that we can walk over comfortably and do so frequently.
The grill makes excellent mushroom burgers. The burger is flavorful and cooked perfectly to medium-​rare and the mushrooms are sautéed just right. The grill always gets my order right and I like that. The inside lunch area usually has revolving items that are really tasty. Their coconut chicken was really good — sweet and juicy. I like that they always have vegetable sides along with some guilty pleasures (French fries anyone?). The soup here is also really good and something my husband really enjoys. To finish off lunch, the bakery always has tempting treats that are really tasty.
We come here frequently for lunch or if we need a specialty item, but beware the parking! Either come before or after the lunch rush if you want a spot that you didn’t have to fight Battle Royale over.