6 Anderson St, Yarraville. Phone: 9687 8375
Like its predecessor in these premises, it may still have the FoodWorks name and logo emblazoned on the exterior, but proprietor Marc Heine is adamant his new venture will be known as The Village Store.
The T-shirts worn by the staff agree with him.
Marc and his crew have only been open a week or so.
This is our first official visit, Bennie and I in this case joined once more by Rakha, who first joined us on blog duty for a visit to Yummie Hong Kong Dim Sum.
We are sporting a modest mid-week shopping list and are interested to see how we fare.
The Village Shop in some ways initially seems to be captive to space restrictions, making it on some levels pretty much your typical small suburban supermarket – quite a broad range but not a lot of depth.
The fruit/vegetable and meat sections are both smaller the those of the neighbouring IGA, though the quality is high.
Marc is interested to learn that we did our fresh produce business, as per usual, down the road apiece at Dominic’s because we were specifically after Kiwi Gold kiwifruit and the smaller size of Fuiji apples, among other things.
If, as one poster at the Village Shop Facebook page pointed out, the new place has yet to command a “point of difference”, we are nevertheless appreciative of some of the speciality lines Marc stocks and even more pleased to somewhat unexpectedly find a couple of our utilitarian regulars on the shelves.
My suggestion is that if you have a beef or a suggestion, for sure take it up with the boss – he’s all ears, so to speak.
Just inside the front doors, on the left, is the Hausfrau Coffee Counter, signalling a collaborative effort between the Village Shop and the stalwart coffee joint/bakery around corner. It’s open from 7.30am to 12.30pm, but only for takeaways.
Then follow the bread, fruit/vegetable and meat sections – and even an ATM! We’re unaware as yet whether it’s a $2 or a $2.50 contraption.
The mainstream biscuit/cookie range leaves us underwhelmed so it’s a pleasure to lay eyes on the range of Italian and more speciality styles further back towards to deli counter.
That deli counter is modest in size but seems to cover most of the expected bases.
Best of all, is finding that the Village Shop stocks three essentials of our household – our favourite brand of corn chips and Black & Gold rolled oats and crushed oats.
We don’t tick off every item on our list, but manage to do so for more than I expect.
The wine section will have to wait until next time.
Bennie and Rakha thoroughly fail the mission I had set them – to each find the most crazy, whacky item they could.
We finish our shopping at Dominic’s before adjourning to Barkley Johnson for a well-earned coffee, hot chocolates and light-as-a-feather Greek-style yoyo’s.
consider the sauce 
Haha how would anyone know it’s NOT a Foodworks if they aren’t changing the sign?! I suppose the quality of the meat section would be one’s first clue! We should deffo do a meet-up soon, will email you with details when I’m a little less utp!! 😉
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Yes, Vee, agree – I thought that, too! I talked to Mark late in the piece, and had two youngsters in tow, so didn’t have time or opportunity to get too intense about it all. I know he’s sourcing the top-line stuff himself, so is probably relying on the FoodWorks set-up for the basics. In which case he can probably call his joint whatever he likes, and have his staff wear T-shirts sporting whatever, but the signage is probably a done deal. I’m sure this place will evolve over the coming months – some things will work for them, some won’t.
utp? You youngsters talk funny! Unable To Perform? Uncertain Tax Position? Up Town Projects? 🙂
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Under the pump 😉 I’ll try and keep the ghetto slang on the down low haha
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Of course! 🙂 (Smacks forehead with hand loudly …)
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We went on opening day to check it out. I was impressed with the quality of the fruit/veg and I hope they keep it up. Prices seemed typical, as well. I have to admit that I generally try to avoid Dominic’s if I can –just because of a couple of bad experiences. ’nuff said. It is nice to have a second option worthwhile in the Village. I have always been happy with the IGA and refused to step in to the “second” grocer for years. My favourite bit was finding that they carry Zeally Bay sourdough, which I have found to be the best sourdough option around . They carry it at Plump 2 days a week, as well, but I have forgotten what days it is available–I suspect it will be the same days it is available at Foodworks/the Village Store…
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Yeah, we’ve made our peace with IGA over the years, but generally not for fruit/veg unless we need one onion or one spud or so on.
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One great thing about the Village Store is they’re always super friendly and helpful!
Kristine, I’m intrigued by the bad shopping experiences down the road – can you give us a clue?
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Well, I just have never been impressed with the quality or the price at Domenic’s. And there has been more than one occasion where I bought a rotten avocado and they did nothing to replace it…bought and used the same day and just unusable..yes, my mistake for repeating it–but he is strict about “selecting” an avocado, which I know how to do, and expects you to trust that what he has out is ripe/ready… So I would always prefer purchasing fruit/veg anywhere else except when I was in a pinch.
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Oh I see – thanks Kristine! Any advice for good fruit and veges in the area?
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It’s a while ago, James, so I’m sure you’ve figured it out, but the ONLY place for high quality and reasonably priced, locally (mostly) sourced fruit & veg is Pompello in Seddon.
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Hi Andy! Oh heck, disagree. We use Pompello sometimes – I like that they sell individual sticks of celery, for instance. But reasonably priced? Maybe, for what they’re selling. But still pretty steep for us. As for your line – “the ONLY place” – your hyperbole seems a little over the top. There’s plenty of places around – Footscray and Little Saigon Markets are just up the road, for starters.
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Sorry, perhaps I was a little too hyperbolic!
I just haven’t been able to source quality fruit & veg anywhere else locally (meaning Yarraville, Spotswood, Kingsville, Seddon) that are up to standard and fall within what I consider a reasonable price point. The supermarkets don’t even bother competing and Dominic’s has lost its lustre. Pompelle were not an option for a number of years because the prices seemed prohibitive, but nowadays it’s relatively competitive. I don’t have a connection the shop, other than the fact that I’m a local and I shop there for my F&V.
Yes the markets are available, but as we’re doing a good amount of our shopping on the way home from the train station at about 6pm, the options are fewer, market-wise…
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Very much agree on the supermarkets – even Sims is useless. It’ll be interesting to see how the new place in Victoria St shapes up. You’re not the first person to comment negatively about Dominic’s, but we still use ’em heaps – maybe because we know what are the good buys and specials and what works for us as multi-visit regulars. You’re right, too, about the markets being mostly a weekend thing. May have another look at Pompello.
These days really really like, depending on time of the day and work commuting and so on, Sunshine Fresh Food Market.
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And another thing – stumbled across your blog this morning looking for the trading hours of the village store – have read the whole thing and am now hungry! 🙂
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I’m with you on that – I’ve spent the whole morning blogging and/or writing about fud. So I’m looking forward to hitting an Indian joint with friends!
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Fantastic little bottle shop carrying a varied range of quality wines at extremely great prices could not fault at all the wine rep helped emensouly and the cape Jaffa red was one to purchase for my christmas hampers but not stock yet
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