Grantstone Supermarket

First of all, the smell is horrible! and it’s a big chaos, but the place is SO big and cheap and you find all kind of exotic stuff, I won’t event take a single star for it’s downside.
I bought a GIGANTIC bag of rice noodles for 9 dlls… about 3 months ago and I still have half of it… tea pots are cheaper than in ebay! and it’s so full of stuff, I love it, too bad it’s like 40 min away from my home, or else I’d go grocery shopping there weekly. The other Asian stores I’ve seen are small, like corner stores, this on is big, maybe not like a Walmart. but big!
I LOVED IT!

A very solid 3 star supermarket. Not stellar, but pretty decent when it comes to asian markets. There is a pretty wide selection of goods. No, it is not very well organized. Yes, it has that funky asian market smell. But all the goods and produce I purchased were fresh and the prices are fair.

I’ve been going here for quite a while now and view it as vastly underrated. They have a huge selection on all types of oriental goods, for very fair prices as well. If you’re put off by some of the older reviews don’t let that stop you from checking out the place. You’ll notice that it’s been cleaned up and organized significantly in the past few months. It seems the owner/​manager is really starting to notice the importance of cleanliness and organization. It’s the closest store to me and I frequent it for all except basic groceries. Do check it out.

If I cannot get up to Lee Lee’s, Grantstone (or is it Grant Stone?) it is.
This supermarket, which specializes in Asian fare and cookware, is right at the intersection of Grant and Stone — hence its name. And it has been in business, I hear, since the late 1980s.
In the fashion of the 1980s, Grantstone is an overabundant, mismatched market with indulgences stocked aisle by aisle. It is, quite honestly, the modern day version of that 80s fashionista who wore chunky jewelry, too much makeup and bright clothing… with a blazer and a mullet.
I hear that, during the fall, the retro sign that was once out front and along the street had to be removed because it had greatly deteriorated. That’s too bad. I remember that sign with fondness.
Anyway, I can affirm what others have mentioned — there is a strange, dense smell in the air that is not at all appeasing.
Also, the market can feel a bit scattered at times, but I find that the staff is generally helpful when you get tired of racing through the aisle for something that seems like it would be stocked with sauces, but is actually stocked with the spices.
Here, you will find just about everything you need to prepare dishes from China, Japan, India, Vietnam, Thailand, the Philippines and elsewhere in Asia. Often, items are in the languages of their home countries.
The market also sells steam baskets, woks, bowls, spoons, chopsticks, sushi mats and a whole range of other dishes and utensils.
You can even find Asian beers, sake, toys and also bamboo, Asian candies and Chinese medicine and herbal supplements here.
I have and continued to shop at Grantstone for the range: taro root, eggplant, these delicious shrimp-​flavored chips, fresh ginger, mushrooms (dried and fresh), avocado, lime, nice sized-​bunches of cilantro, noodles, soy sauce and fish sauce (they keep quite the collection), chilies and spicy sauces, coconut milk, Indian spices (especially turmeric, coriander, cardamom and garam masala), all sorts of rices (!!!), Chinese sausage, century eggs, etc. etc.

I don’t know if this place used to be really as bad as past reviews have stated, but I have to say I really like it here. It’s a little cluttered and there’s a strong smell when you walk in, (which I think might just be ripe durians) but the products are always fresh and up to date. I’ve yet to see anything expired or a rat or anything like that.
My favorites are the pastries they get from Diamond Bakery, the coconut milk drinks, and the large selection of Boba tea supply. I’ve bought dragon fruit, dried azuki beans, jasmine rice, tapioca pearls, shirataki noodles, sliced beef for shabu-shabu…the list could go on and on.
Every time I visit, I try something new and am never disappointed.

Update: It’s gotten much better, and many of the prices are much better than Lee Lee’s.

This place has started to grow on me for many reasons:
1. Their selection of «exotic» fruits and veggies are amazing. I can buy baby bananas, young coconuts (same ones sold at whole foods for half the price), taro root, lotus root, baby bok choy (1 lb for .99 cents as opposed to Trader Joes… 3 bok choys in a little container for $ 1.99), persimmons, dragonfruit, japanese mushrooms, and etc etc. I really have begun to love this place just solely for their wide variety of veggies/​fruits I normally can’t find period, or would normally find at Whole Foods for exuberant prices.
2. They have a huge assortment of rice and noodles, perfect for a girl like me.
3. I also come here for the wide variety of asian sauces
4. Packaged ASIAN SNACKS (japanese, taiwanese, chinese snacks. the variety here is great, and it really reminds me of my childhood)
Although I still think this place desperately needs new freezers to prevent the ever so prevalent freezer burn they have going on on almost all their frozen food. as well as a major cleaning overhaul, overall I do like coming here to save some money while still being able to buy whatever my little heart desires.

It’s not as good looking and clean as the other big asian store, but it will suffice whenever we needed some pantry necessities. I saw that they sell live crabs here so I decided to purchase some, the ones they have in the box where you can just grab your own made me lose my appetite. I knew from the get go that when i opened that box those crabs are a goner! The smell is putrid and those poor crabs are dying a slow death. I dare not buy frozen meat here and I don’t trust eating it either, most of them are badly freezer burned. Prices are comparable to other asian grocery stores in the area. I like getting fresh produce here though, and they have plenty of them. Also, I like getting snacks here since they carry some of the ones I couldn’t find in the other stores.
The one experience I had a displeasure with the last time I came here is with the lady working the registers. My child unknowingly ventured beyond the confines of the public access with his curiousity, and this lady yelled at him. I then profusely apologized for it and what did I get, RAGE! She told me «no sorry, I don’t want him beyond that point. I decided to just keep walking out of that establishment with my child in tow and kept my composure.
Anyway, I remember you old lady, but that won’t deter me from coming to your place of business to get my food necessity.

Haha yeah I certainly wouldn’t buy meats here, but I did get some nice fresh book choy. And I love the candy selection and kitchen items, and Asian spices/​oils. Yes, it’s dirty, yes there are some shady people hanging around but that won’t stop me from shopping there, i love to browse! And hello it’s Tucson. This whole town is shady… ;) btw been to Lee lees once and the smell was SO much worse!

Its definitely pretty sketch compared to Lee lees, it isn’t as clean as you would want a grocery store to be but its definitely better than what it was before. In comparison to Lee lee’s it does have some items that at cheaper, but its definitely smaller and a bit more cluttered than Lee lee’s I guess if you need Asian groceries and you aren’t willing to drive to Lee lee’s or GNL than grantstone will do.

Exactly what I expected from a asian market. Cleaner than I thought from all the bad reviews. I have seem much worst else where.

On the one hand, it’s filthy, disorganized, and decrepit. Let’s start with the filth. the floors are dirty with black, have not been swept or mopped. What makes it worse is containers of product are laying right on it! The frozen meat section smells of blood.
Next let’s talk about decrepit and disheveled: The very busy butcher aisle was cut in half by boxes piled up, creating a traffic jam. Whole sections of product are blocked by piled boxes.
The signs that mark each aisle from the ceiling hang crooked, like they’ve been shot in the foot. I noticed that in 1986 when I first visited, and it’s 2014 and the same sign (the «spices» sign) is STILL crooked forty years later!!! And it’s missing the writing on the other side.
Frankly, the store looks like what would happen to a Safeway if we had a nuclear war and were wandering around the ruins
So why four stars then? It comes down to this: They have an amazing selection of asian products. I find stuff here you can’t get elsewhere in town, like live crab, some good seafood, szechuan chile sauce from pixian. The prices are pretty decent too compared to some of the other asian stores.
So, yes, you can go to Lee Lee and things are pretty much spotless. I like Lee Lee. But there’s something to the chutzpah of this place and their skill in evading the inspectors.

Bring these people cash, and they’ll be your friends. They’re weird about cards. They carry an excellent selection in the market portion, it’s a large azn supermarket!!!

The biggest upside is that this place is very central and easy to get to. However, its specific location is pretty shady. The consensus seems to be that this place is run down, smelly, dingy and shady (which it is). However, the key question for us central people; do you want to drive all the way up to Lee Lee’s? Nope. Therein lies why I schlep down once in a while to restock on bulk kimchee, nori, Rousong, mochi, fish sauce, frozen packaged dim sum and various other staples in my kitchen. My advice is to stick with the non-​perishable items.

I was a little apprehensive about going to this super market due to all the negative reviews. It made me a little paranoid about the neighborhood. I’m from CA, plus I’m Asian so I need my Asian produce, condiments, ect. I decided to drive by this super market on my way to Lee’s which is SUPER far from my house. It was getting dark but I figured it couldn’t hurt to check it out. As I pulled into the parking lot I looked around to make sure there were not any sketchy people standing around. To my surprise, there wasn’t. I walked into the store and was reminded of some of the Asian stores back in California. Yes it does a an odor, which I do believe I’ve smelled in other Asian stores as well. It had amazing cheap produce, affordable cuts of meat, and tons of other things as well. I’m pretty excited that I disregarded the negative reviews and dropped by anyways. Use your common sense when going anywhere. If there are sketchy people around then its probably not a good idea to go to the supermarket. The customer service is typical Asian service. Its the culture, they are not going to wine and dine you as you shop there. They are just doing their job so don’t expect 5 star treatment. But yes I am extremely excited that I will not have to drive across town to Lee’s every time I am out of something.

Yes, it’s smelly, dirty, and full of loud Chinese speaking staff. None of them have been rude to me, but I’ve not had to interact with them much as I’ve not had too much trouble finding what I’ve been looking for. The «high» rating is because it’s GOT the weird Indian stuff I’m looking for at a decent price in a fairly convenient location. Also, I’ve been to China several times, and this store is just… how it’s done? I’m not trying to excuse their setup here in the United States. After all, if they really wanted to expand their market demographic they would clean up, organize, and work on staffing. No, I’m just feeling lenient because, compared to some of what I’ve seen overseas, this place is fine for the strange stuff it offers.

Pretty crummy surroundings and store, which I overlooked for a long while for an amazing selection of Asian foods. Many choices. Staff not frendly at all but maybe they don’t speak English.
I’ve had reasonably priced canned Lychees and fresh ones too that were good. Their other produce is dubious or not fresh at all. Bought some mushrooms there recently that were packaged and on sale. My good deal stunk up my kitchen and were so bad I tossed them out.
I’m done with this place. Lee Lee for me.

Where is Grantstone Market located? Yeah. Grant & Stone. Somebody asked me that once. Easy to find.
But don’t bother. Grantstone is filthy. I have seen one robbery there and a couple of people stealing things. The parking lot is crawling with low life scum who prey upon you and your vehicle. Don’t go after dark for sure. The vegetables and produce are often suspect and need to be examined. They get some cool stuff there and at good prices. But I have seen fruit flies and worse. Things seem old and unkempt and nasty. It’s like Grantstone isn’t even bothering to try and compete with Lee Lee Supermarket.
So that makes it fairly easy to decide where to go, and Grantstone is not a good option.

Disorganized and dirty. Plus the owners were shouting in cantonese from one end of the store to the other both times i’ve been here. You’re probably safe with *some* purchases, but do yourself a favor and do your heavy shopping elsewhere. I guess they have an all-​right variety of items but the state of the store makes me question the freshness of the items on the shelf.

Every time I’ve been here over the past decade, I see packages of tortillas that are very moldy. I don’t come to an Asian market to buy tortillas though.
Those moldy tortillas show me that they don’t manage their inventory and that they are willing to leave items laying around far beyond their shelf life, which can be very dangerous with food that can be home to bacteria such as «fresh» meat. The meat from their butcher is usually an ugly stale brown too, by the way.
There are shady looking people loitering outside often, but they usually don’t approach you.
The pluses: they have a large variety of Asian cookware such as woks. There are a few items that you can’t get anywhere else like an entire pighead or cowhead, though I’m not sure why you would want either. I’ll keep this in mind when I want to pull a Godfather on someone though.
I’m all for local markets but if you don’t bother putting in your all into your business at all then don’t bother at all.