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Person holding his grocery shopping. Photo by Mick Haupt.

Best Grocery Stores in Vancouver, Canada

Vancouver is a major city in western Canada, located in British Columbia’s Lower Mainland.  Vancouver is the most populous city in Canada. Furthermore, it is Canada’s most ethnically and linguistically diverse city. Vancouver has been identified Canada’s most expensive city to live in.

Home cooks in Vancouver are extremely lucky to have lots of stores and local markets selling fresh produce, pantry staples, and specialized ingredients. If you want to spice up your grocery shopping, Vancouver has a wide variety of diverse stores to choose from.

You can get Caribbean, Japanese, Chinese, Persian, Punjabi, and other cuisines from a variety of mom-and-pop shops and beyond. Remember to make a grocery list before you go shopping!

1. Granville Island Public Market

Interior, Granville Island Public Market, Granville Island, Vancouver, BC. Photo by Joe Mabel.

Granville Island Public Market is an indoor market with a fascinating array of colorful food and produce stores showcasing handcrafted merchandise and the finest in one-of-a-kind gifts.

The famous Public Market, which is open daily from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., is home to over 50 independent food purveyors and adds to the Island’s appeal as a renowned culinary destination. Many of Canada’s best artists and designers can be found in the Net Loft Shops and Railspur District.

Granville Island is home to many cultural venues and hosts a variety of performing arts and cultural festivals throughout the year. Granville Island is self-sufficient in terms of operations, with over 300 businesses employing over 3,000 people.

2. Vancouver Farmers Markets

Raspberries at the West End Farmer’s Market in Vancouver, BC. Photo by Jennifer.

At Vancouver Farmers Markets, they believe that everyone, regardless of income, should have access to healthy, locally grown food.

Thousands of Vancouver households struggle to get fresh food on a daily basis. The Fresh to Families Fund of Vancouver Farmers Markets helps to bridge that gap by providing fresh, local food from BC farms and producers to families in need.

3. Meinhardt Fine Foods

Linda Meinhardt established Meinhardt Fine Foods in the South Granville neighborhood in 1996, quickly establishing a reputation for culinary excellence as Western Canada’s first gourmet grocery store of its kind. Meinhardt Fine Foods offers a wide variety of freshly prepared meals and trademark products in a modern and inviting setting.

For nearly two decades, Meinhardt Fine Foods has been Western Canada’s culinary destination, best known for its specialized and imported food products, gourmet offers, ready-to-eat meals, and exquisite desserts.

4. Nesters Market

Nesters Market opened in Whistler’s village in 1987, becoming the community’s first true full-service grocery store. It quickly became the favorite store of the locals, and it has remained so for nearly 30 years.

Nesters Market bills itself as “Where the Locals Shop.” Nesters Market was purchased in December 2001 by the Jim Pattison Group with the goal of adding an award-winning neighborhood grocery store to the Food Group’s portfolio and expanding the brand across Western Canada.

5. Choices Markets

Apples and bananas in brown shopping bag. Photo by Maria Lin Kim.

Choices Markets is a British Columbia-based natural, organic, and specialty food store. Choices are proud to be celebrating 30 years as a community-based grocer dedicated to their customers, communities, and the environment.

In addition to farmers and food producers, it has been a major supporter of local groups that seek to develop healthy, sustainable communities, whether through food, education, health, or environmental efforts. They believe that successful communities require more than just delicious food.

6. Safeway Robson

Since its inception in Manitoba in 1929, Safeway Robson has served towns throughout Western Canada. There are now 183 Safeway stores from Vancouver, British Columbia to Thunder Bay, Ontario. Safeway is dedicated to environmental preservation by conducting business in an environmentally friendly manner.

They are committed to environmental conservation by seeking more environmentally friendly ways to conduct their daily operations. Sustainability at Safeway means prioritizing the well-being of our company, customers, and community without jeopardizing future generations’ ability to thrive on the planet we share.

7. IGA (Independent Grocers Alliance)

Since 1955, IGA has advanced into more than just a grocery store. It’s a name that conjures images of a gathering place where the food is always fresh and business is always done with a handshake. Some things have changed over the years, but their commitment to providing a pleasant local shopping experience and the high quality of our products has not.

These small gestures keep them grounded in their communities and allow them to provide basic kindness to them.

8. Costco Vancouver

Costco, Downtown Vancouver. Photo by Colin W.

To enjoy the full benefits of Costco, you’ll need a Costco membership and a car. Costco is simply Costco. It’s cheap, massive, and all about large quantities. It makes sense for long-term stays or when feeding numerous people.

Walking is only convenient if you’re in Yale town or gas town, and it’s right next to the Stadium-Chinatown Sky train station; however, because the items here are massive (read: heavy), you’ll most likely need a car to get your groceries home.

9. T&T Supermarket

This is the pinnacle of Chinese supermarkets, complete with live seafood in tanks, traditional Chinese produce, a full Chinese bakery, a wide range of meat selection, and your standard authentic Chinese items – aisles of frozen dim sum, aisles of rice, noodles, all kinds of sauces – you name it!

Shopping there is enjoyable because of the sights and smells. It’s as if they captured the essence of Chinatown and placed it inside a massive grocery store!

10. Urban Fare

Food Court, Urban Fare. Photo by GoToVan.

The ultimate yuppie grocery shopping experience in Vancouver. It’s a local gourmet grocery store chain with three downtown locations. They have:

• a bakery,
• fresh meat and seafood counter,
• a good deli,
• a huge selection of local and imported gourmet cheeses,
• exotic fruits,
• wild mushrooms,
• fresh pasta,
• bulk foods, and
• aisle after aisle of imported and local artisan products, and things you’ve probably never seen before.

It’s fun for specialty items, but it quickly adds up if you’re doing regular grocery shopping. Their in-store restaurant café, however, is excellent, as are their takeout options. Take advantage of sales by using  “Save on Foods” card.