Bristol Farms Palm Desert

Bristol Farms - A Grocery Store "Desert Style"

The phone rang one night and it was my good friend Lori. In an excited tone she said, "I'm down here at Bristol Farms. Have you seen this place yet?" I said, "No, but I've driven down Country Club Drive and noticed it was there." She replied, "You have GOT to check it out. Bob and Nikki (her brother-in-law and niece) are running around like they're in a candy store!" After a few more minutes of listening to her describe everything as she walked through the store, I decided to have a look at what got her so motivated to call me on-the-spot about some new "grocery store."

Okay, I did say grocery store, and that's what it looks like by the outside. . . But wait until you walk inside!

As I walked through the entrance, I was immediately struck by the colors and floor plan. The first thing you DON'T see when you walk in is the check-out cashiers. In fact, they're nearly hidden off to the right side. It's NOT the typical warehouse look with several long isles of produce stacked on shelves.

What Bristol Farms IS, is a beautifully decorated and intricate amalgamation of sections and islands. Each department is it's own microcosm of allure and fascination.

The deli has a freshly baked pizza section where you can buy it by-the-slice or carry out whole, and next to that is a hand-carved meat sandwich bar. And it's all conveniently located next to the cafe, which offers even more choices of prepared foods. The cafe is just to the left of the deli area, but I couldn't get a picture because there were too many people in the way! It seemed there were as many people eating in the cafe as were buying food to take home. What does that tell you?

I thought having the bakery as an island near the front of the store a really nice touch, as opposed to always being along the back or side walls. On the right end of it you can see the chocolate fountain where they make decedent desserts and treats!

Even the cheese section is carefully thought out with presentation in mind. I don't know why, but I've always had a fascination with those big cheese wheels.

The seafood section has it's own novelty: "Seafood Salad Bar." It also happened to be where I found the fresh frogs legs! Seemed a little odd to me at first, but when you think about it, they are in the water a lot!

You won't find a lot of pre-packaged meat, so why not pick your favorite cut and let them wrap it for you on the spot? Although you can't see it in the picture, they had air-chilled chicken in the cases. I liked the novelty as it reminded me of a fresh meat market. The manager explained to me that air-chilled, as opposed to wrapped chicken, had storing advantages by not having them steep in a bag with water, thereby reducing bacterial growth. . . made sense to me.

Here's a good example of the microcosms I mentioned earlier, the kitchen and gift section. The gift section will even put together a custom gift-basket for you!

Even the kitchen utensils have their own charismatic display.

The wine house! Looks good on the outside, but step inside.

The wine section has it's own array of dedicated employees just for that department. So when you step inside there is someone who KNOWS how to assist you in selecting the right wine. Okay, living in the Desert we should already know, but who can't resist another professional opinion?

Arbors over the mounds of vegetables. Another stylish touch.

And. . .

Organic produce that resembles a farmers market.

How is anybody suppose to resist trying one with a display like this?

A floral department with custom made arrangements. And they deliver it too!

Speaking about delivery, they deliver practically everything from their store. From online grocery shopping to catering. In fact, I was amazed to find that they can take care of EVERYTHING for your next private party. They are prepared to arrange for party tables and chairs, the food, the flowers and even the food servers!

Back to the term "Grocery Store." For lack of a better term, I guess grocery store will have to suffice for the time being, but I like to put it as a grocery store - "Desert Style!"

You can find out more about Bristol Farms, or GO SHOPPING from their web site BristolFarms.com

Better yet, experience it in person! They are at 73101 Country Club Drive, Palm Desert