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I recently shared with you that a new Grocery Outlet store was opening in Maple Valley. I finally had a chance to check it out and chat with one of the owners today and I wanted to share my experience with you. Bottom line, I was impressed.

The first thing I noticed was that this was a very beautiful store with a nice parking lot – and it was pretty empty. There is quite a bit of construction happening around the store, so I could see why it’s possible folks haven’t noticed it’s open. Um, it’s open so come on down!

Not only that, the aisles are nice and big, it’s clean, and it’s decked out with balloons and streamers. Everyone was super friendly, too. I brought Piper along for the ride because she’s a big fan of “Grocery Outlet Bargain Market.” (Yes, that is exactly how she calls it every time.)

OK onto the deals! There were tons! But the most notable part? The crazy amount of organic, specialty, gluten-free, and vegan options. It was….epic. In the front of the store they actually had a nice display of their NOSH items (that stands for Natural, Organic, Specialty, and Healthy). Observe:

I also found beautiful organic pasta for just $1.50. Manicotti too! (Yes, I did pick some up.)

And a very sizeable selection of natural and organic sweeteners including agave, molasses, cane sugar, and more….

How about organic wine for $6.99? Seems like  bargain to me!

I picked up a couple cartons of this Imagine Lentil soup – it was just $0.75.

I thought these cans of apple were a great buy at $0.99. Now, they expire next month, but I was thinking if you couldn’t use it up, could you not open them up and freeze them or make apple pies and freeze those?

The store has a really beautiful produce selection and display. (I did have a minor incident when I reached for a bag of baby eggplants and the sprayers turned on. My apologies to the other customers I frightened with my shriek.)

Check out all these meatless options!

The freezer section is worth popping by too. They had lightlife veggie burgers for $1.50. I’ve never tried these before, but at $1.50, sure – why not?

I also found gluten-free options throughout the store – not just in one little section. If you follow a gluten-free diet, please consider checking them out. I think you will be pleasantly surprised by the selection!

And of course, don’t forget the fun stuff that pops out at you while you shop Grocery Outlet! I found this giant jar of cactus today. I was totally intrigued and yes, I did buy a jar. I’m thinking it might make a good feature for a future month’s installment at Grocery Outlet’s Bargainista Blog!

Do I even have to tell you how great Grocery Outlet’s cheese department is? Yes, I do. It’s great. Better than great. I found Athenos Feta cheese for $1.49 today and they almost always have those fancier Parmesan and Asiago cheese shreds for just $1.99 a tub.

Also worth pointing out this amazing looking sliced turkey in the deli section. The slices looked top quality, really thick and the package was about 32 oz (2 lbs). It was only $5.99!

I also like poking around the non-food aisles of Grocery Outlets. You can find some surprising bargains there sometimes! I was delighted to find this today:

That would be a set of four car floor mats for $5.99! I actually needed this item and had been procrastinating buying it because who really wants to spend $20 or $30 on something as boring as car mats? Not me. But for $5.99? Sure, I’ll cross this item off the list.

I also needed toothbrushes for my kids and was excited to find these…

I was also really tempted to buy this cute yoga mat for $7.99. Maybe next time!

And what would a trip to Grocery Outlet be without stopping by their awesome wine department? I seriously think they have the BEST deals in town on wine. Even better, when they offer up their 20% off wine sale twice a year. There should be another one in another month or so, and of course I’ll keep ya posted.

I adored my visit to this store, and I really encourage you to check it out! I got the sense that many people don’t even realize it’s open because there were many spots to be had in that parking lot today…and definitely some of the best deals happening in town.

If you’re planning a trip, check out these advertised deals happening at all Grocery Outlet stores this week. And if you stop by the Maple Valley store? Tell them I sent you!

enter the giveaway

Two lucky Coupon Project winners will each be selected to win a $25 gift card to Grocery Outlet! That way you can poke around and see what you can find!

Entering is simple. Just leave a single comment on this blog post. I’d love to hear your Grocery Outlet stories, or which of the above deals you’d be most excited to snag should you win. If you’ve stopped by the Maple Valley store, I’d love to hear your impressions.

This contest will run through next Thursday, February 14th, 12 pm PST. Limit one comment per person. I should also mention that your comment may not appear right away – if that happens, it’s likely it’s just being held in moderation. So please don’t panic or leave duplicate comments if you don’t see it right away. 

Disclosure: Grocery Outlet provided me a gift card to facilitate my review along with the (2) $25 gift cards for the winners. All opinions expressed are my own. For more information, please refer to my Disclosure Policy.