Promenade Red Apple Market

This is my favorite local grocery store. The employees are so nice, friendly and helpful. Selection is great, other than produce and fish which are sometimes lacking. Amazing selection of ethnic food supplies, like curry powders, adobo seasoning, and 5 kinds of Mexican cheese. I don’t go anywhere else for groceries.

3.5 stars.
What I like about my neighborhood store:
I’m able to find some brands/​items here that I can’t find anywhere else, because they’re an independent market and often stock what customers request.
The staff has been mostly the same since I’ve been shopping here on and off for almost 10 years.
What I dislike:
I always, always check expiration dates, because often things are at or past their sell by date.
I go elsewhere for most of my produce, I buy lemons here but not much else in produce.

I go for the fried catfish !!! When you are craving it go there.
As far as groceries… a tad more pricey than Safeway/​QFC.

It breaks my heart to have to give this place two stars, but here’s the word:
First of all, if anything saves this place it’s the staff. They are friendly, helpful and actually take the time to get to know the people that come to shop there. This place really has that small town grocery store feel to it. The people at corporate need to cut their employees here a check for the hard work they do to make this store a homey, comfortable place to shop in.
What the people at corporate also need to do is to get their act together and properly supply and maintain this location. I live around the block from this store so I’ve been there lots of times, and the majority of those times if I’ve had a shopping list with more than five ingredients on it I almost always fail to find one of them. Add to the lousy selection the fact that the prices are high compared to shopping at Safeway or QFC. Also, the meat department scares me. Speaking of Safeway, on a recent trip there I saw one of the Red Apple cashiers ahead of me in the check out line. What does that tell you?
Oh, and the bathroom is seriously gross. I don’t know who I should blame for that, but I’m gonna go with corporate. Seriously, all you suits wherever the corporate offices are located, stop screwing over all the good people in the Central District who don’t have the luxury to travel the extra couple of miles to Safeway and let the nice folks in your employ at this location do their job.

I give this store two stars just for the convenience in the neighborhood. It’s ok if you need something last minute but be sure to always check expiration dates on just about everything. The red apple has no problem keeping product on shelves up to a year past expiration — I learned this the hard way several times. That said, the produce is rarely fresh and usually very picked over. Sometimes you can get fresh stuff but it’s rare. I’m not brave enough to buy meat here. Sadly we in the neighborhood must drive elsewhere for decent groceries.

I gave it 4 stars because it is a little more expensive than other places but give the staff 10 out of 10 stars! They are phenomenal! So friendly and helpful. Yazmin (spelling?) helped me last night with my unique request and I was shocked to learn she was just a 12^th grader! She has the poise and attitude of someone older and wiser.

Produce selection is horrible and prices across the store seem very high. Good for a few items here and there while in a bind or missing an ingredient while cooking but I wouldn’t shop here on a regular basis

What a great place to shop! The music is by far the best I’ve heard. Great meat department and staff is awesome !!!

Pretty much the same as the hilltop red apple. Decent selection, limited prepared foods, everything a couple or $ 4 too expensive.

I’ve been shopping here every weekend for about a year now. The market has everything I need: fresh fruits and veggies, meats, beer and wine, and even Chinese and KFC-​style fast food. It’s within walking distance for me but has a large parking lot if you are driving.
The staff has always been friendly and I am very pleased shopping here.
Prices are fair in my opinion.

I always have a pleasant experience here.
Sure, it’s in a colorful neighborhood, and some people just can’t hack it. I was scared to shop here at first because, dang, Red Apple, you is ghetto.
It is a part of a dwindling chain, and like other Western Family partners, the markups on their offerings can be prohibitive. So overpriced. On the other hand, they have some great sale prices and markdowns that are nice affordable. (Fruit in the summer!)
The kindness of the staff is refreshing. I’ve had personal interactions with the core staff multiple times. They are endearing and authentic. That goes a long way for a higher Unilocal review for staple services, like grocery and pharmacy.
Their beer and wine selection is large but beyond that, not noteworthy, and I prefer not to eat from grocery store delis so I can’t speak of the quality.
I’ll be sad to see it go when that inevitability occurs.
I’d be remiss to neglect the awesome music selection they pipe in, it is not uncommon to see some random person getting their boogie on in the aisles.

I uploaded photos of the bathroom at this Market, just disgusting! I would never eat anything out of the deli after seeing this bathroom. If a bathroom is this filthy who knows how clean things are behind that deli counter.

The prices for everything are about 30% higher than every other grocer in the area. The service is down right rude, lots of ghetto people rolling their eyes in your face and taking forever. I would drive the extra couple of blocks for Safeway or QFC.

This place is way over priced. Be a smart shopper, just compare some of the prices of basic things that you buy all the time. I know the price of apples and bananas, I know the common price for my brand of yogurt. Think about those prices if you decided to shop here. The location does not have a bakery, but of course there is the Franz just done the street.
One thing that this place has, that I have never seen anywhere else in the Northwest, is a dedicated sweet bread (or pan dolce) bin filled with what is labeled as Mexican treats.
Bring your coupon book, pricy.

I used to come here when I was in high school, nearly every day for lunch. The deli has a great variety of items, ranging from chinese food to jojos and fried chicken. And there’s a subway right next door if that’s more your cup of tea.
GHS ’13!

This is the place with really bomb hot wings. Perfectly cooked, but sometimes very small wings. This Red Apple is different from the Beacon Hill one. I love where it’s located. Their other hot foods are delicious too – very cheap Chinese fast food if you’re in a rush.
Recently, I found out they sell XXTRA HOT CHEETOS! My favorite chips in the whole world. Mmm, I just drooled. They used to sell these 2 years ago, then they stopped… and now they’re back. They deserve a 4 star for their products… and their service though actually is always superb when I’m here. They are very sweet people!

I used to come here a lot because I live a couple blocks away and I wanted to support them (versus — QFC, SafeWay, etc…). But I just couldn’t get over the fact that the produce section is always wilting and dismal, and I was tired of constantly being pestered by people begging for money/​food outside the front doors (even following you around while you shop).
I’ve always enjoyed the staff and their friendliness. The pro’s and con’s just don’t add up for me though.

The Promenade Red Apple rarely lets me down. I don’t do my grocery shopping there because I’m a Costco girl, but there are things that need to be supplemented from time to time. Every time I’ve gone to Red Apple looking for something specific, they’ve always had it. The beer and wine selection is surprisingly good, and the prices are fairly consistent with Safeway and QFC. In a pinch we’ve bought produce and meats, and they’ve been decent. I really like their spicy (hot) Italian pork sausage, and they offer more rare items such as rabbit, lamb sausage, and catfish, if those things suit your fancy. The produce section is standard, except for the interestingly large variety of greens: kale, collard greens, turnip greens, mustard greens, and Swiss chard.
When I’ve been there on the weekends around lunchtime I’m always amazed at how many people are in line at the deli. I’ve heard awesome things about their homemade fried catfish, and one of these days I’m gonna pick some up to try. Looks like a lot of people are there for their fried chicken and chicken wings, too.
The staff has always been extremely nice and helpful to me. Though I’m not in there often, a few of them remember me and ask me how I’ve been. This type of neighborhood feel and hometown attitude go a long way in my book, and I will keep coming back for a quick and pleasant shopping experience.

Over priced. Low selection of fresh foods.
The staff is generally friendly, but otherwise this Red Apple feels not much more than an overgrown convenience store.

The best part of this grocery store is they are always playing excellent soul music. It is the grooviest grocery shopping you will do in Seattle.
It’s kind of ghetto here, as other reviews point out. But the upshot is really down-​to-​earth people, retro grocery shopping experience. Don’t expect fancy organic, etc, compared to more bourgeois neighbs. like the Red Apple in Ballard (which I aslo love for different reasons).