Our dinner table benefits from seasonality with thanks to the farmer’s market, a weekly tradition for local-loving foodies. Care to embrace your international appetite? Conquer cravings for global munchies— like the sweet cactus, dragon fruit, or the curious Indian beverage, Basil Seed Juice— from ethnic markets. Celebrate Toledo’s deep cultural pockets by exploring the expansive, unique, and often inexpensive, offerings available at neighborhood markets.
Middle East Market and Sidon Bakery
(Market): 4623 W. Bancroft | 419-531-3999 | middleeast-market.com
Hours: 9am-8pm Monday-Saturday | 10am-7pm Sunday
(Bakery): 4625 W. Bancroft | 419-558-3900
Hours: 8am-9pm Monday-Thursday | 8am-10pm Friday & Saturday | 8am-8pm Sunday.
In the grocery, the Middle East Market offers a blend of Middle East, Lebanese, and Mediterranean staples like beans, basmati rice, coffees, an assortment of teas, oils, spices and canned goods. However, they also have a very respectable produce selection as well including things like sour grapes and raw almonds in the shell. Fresh exotic fruits and vegetables include sweet rambutan, juicy cactus pears and delicious dragon fruit. The grille and bakery offers the usual selection of middle eastern favorites, including freshly baked cheese and meat pastries. However, they sport a stone-fire oven and a charcoal BBQ that helps elevate all of their offerings.
Dragon Supermarket
40 S. Reynolds (Corner of Reynolds and Hill) | 419-214-0040 | dragonsupermarket.com
Hours: Daily, 10am-9pm
A newcomer to the area’s ethnic market line up, Dragon has been open just six months. With plenty of room to expand, the most noticeable emphasis has been in produce and dry goods, especially with their offering of asian fruits and vegetables and stockpile of jasmine rice. The noodle and wraps alone are worth the visit as they carry an almost unimaginable variety of rice, wheat, buckwheat and soy noodles. Produce, like Taro root, penny worth, chinese celery, along with a good selection of specialty mushrooms, headline the cold section. They also carry a variety of fun ethnic snacks, like Pocky and Ramen Noodles to try and savor.
Reddy Food N Spices
6725 W. Central Ave. | 419-843-9455 | Click here to visit Reddy’s Facebook page.
This premier Indian grocery store has been open since 1997 and is still going strong. They carry a wide variety of spices, and if you’re lucky, you can get fresh samosa made by the owners. The spices they carry combine to make a perfect Asian or Indian dish, and the friendly staff will help you figure out what you need to make your dish perfect. They also have dry, fresh and frozen items. Unique drinks like their bottled Basil Seed Juices will have you picking from a variety of flavors.
San Marcos Mexican Restaurant and Market
235 Broadway St. | 419-244-2373 | sanmarcostaquieria.com
Hours: 9am-9pm Monday-Thursday | 8am-9pm Saturday
Everything that you would expect from a Mexican market, with the normal products like dried chilies, a variety of canned and dried beans, salsas and spices. Other odd findings include dried shrimp and specialty Mexican candy. Add to that an excellent produce section with fresh peppers, guava, prickly pears, yucca, and cactus plus a meat counter and you have a full service market. However, the visit wouldn’t be complete without a gander at the soda section and the frozen ice cream section, both of which are stocked with colorful south of the border originals.
Toledo International Market/African Market
2636 W. Central Ave. | 419-214-0160
A simple and stocked African market. They offer a meat market and catering service, and feature foods found across Africa, especially those from Western Africa. Get your African goods and send your tastebuds on a trip.
Lai Lai Asian Market
3205 W. Central Ave. | 419-725-3563
Hours: 10am-8pm Monday-Saturday | noon-8pm Sunday
A straightforward Asian market with a good emphasis on frozen and dry goods, Lai Lai is a clean and organized market with a great selection of sauces, teas, and dry products.
Walt Churchill’s Market (Briarfield)
3320 Briarfield Blvd. | Maumee | 419-794-4000 | waltchurchillsmarket.com
Hours: 7:30am-9pm Monday-Saturday | 8am-9pm Sunday
Even ranking above its larger cousin in Perrysburg, WCM in Maumee represents the best of an “Americana” market. Excellent deli, bakery, wine department, and meat market are just for openers. WCM carries the best selection of regionally produced products in the area. Their kitchen, from soups, sandwiches, ready to go meals, even sushi and their own smokehouse round out this heart of America market.
Muna Market
5464 Monroe St. | 419-214-0386 | munamarket.com
Hours: 8am-9pm Monday-Saturday | 9am-8pm Sunday
Muna Market is a relative newcomer to the ethnic market pantheon but should not be discounted. It has an excellent restaurant attached with the usual Mediterranean favorites of Gyro, Shawarma, Falafel, and kafta along with domestic fare. Both takeout and catering is available. It has a small meat counter, produce section, and fairly broad dry goods selection.
Zavotski Custom Meat & Deli
2600 W. Sylvania Ave. | 419-720-5225
4400 Heatherdowns Blvd. | 419-725-9752 | zavotski.com
Hours: 8am-7pm Monday-Saturday | 10am-4pm Sunday
A long standing meat market with a solid polish background, Zavotski’s is famous for its polish sausage. However, it is much more than just sausage. With years of experience in mega mart meat processing, Zavotski can excel at almost any butchering task, including hunting season deer processing. They now have a second location on Heatherdowns. Plus try the chicken burgers.They are amazing.
Tee Oriental Foods
1101 N. McCord | 419-866-6484 | Visit Tee Oriental Foods’ Facebook page.
Hours: 9:30am-7:30pm Monday-Saturday | 10am-7pm Sunday
A straight up Asian market. No deviations and no substitutions. From frozen, to dry goods, to a whole array of sauces, seasonings, and canned goods.
Stanley’s Market
3302 Stickney Ave. | 419-726-4347 | stanleysmarket.com
Hours: 8am-6pm Monday-Saturday | Closed Sunday
Stanley’s is a full service market, though many wouldn’t know it. What we know, what we crave, and what we love, is Stanley’s kielbasa. Yes, many other locations sell the basic kielbasa but it just isn’t the same as getting it from Stanley’s meat case. By going down to the Stickney Avenue location you get the added bonus of looking at the rest of their meat case, their specialty isle, and finally trying their other sausage products. The smoked kielbasa is worth the drive all by itself.
Deepam India
7406 W. Central Ave. | 419-843-1552
Click here to visit Deepam India’s Facebook page.
Deepam India is all about groceries and delicious Indian food at a budget. They have some of the best fresh and exotic fruits like mangoes and lychee and unique spices like methi, which is used as an herb or spice in Indian cooking. Teas and spices are also some of their best sellers, along with some homemade snacks like chekkalu that they make in their kitchen.
Toledo Market
3410 Dorr St. | 419-539-4262 | toledomkt.com
9am-9pm Monday-Saturday | 10am-8pm Sunday
Truly a one stop shop, the Toledo Market offers fresh fruits and vegetables, meat and poultry, and herbs and spices, as well as Tata’s Kitchen. The Mediterranean restaurant features a wide variety of foods, like shawarma, kabobs, gyros and kafta. If you’re looking to get your shopping in as well as a great meal, the Toledo Market’s your place.
Sofo’s Italian Market
5400 Monroe St. | 419-882-8555 | sofofoods.com
Hours: 9am-8pm Monday-Saturday | 11am-5pm Sunday
Sofo’s is the original specialty market here in Toledo. It has defined the pure ethnic market for two generations. Fabulous deli, an amazing bakery, and an olive bar that has no rivals. Throw in a respectable wine selection, imported vinegars and oils, and take and bake pizzas and Sofo’s is the perfect traditional old world market.
Asian Grocery
1801 N. McCord St. Ste C | 419-866-2102
Hours: Daily, 11am-7pm
Although carrying a respectable amount of Asian products, this market is probably misnamed. Rather than Asian look here for African, Indian, and Caribbean Island products you won’t find elsewhere. In particular in staples like rice, millet, and gram flours, curries, jerk seasonings, along with oils and canned goods that have never graced mega market international aisles.
Spice Bazaar
3305 N. Holland Sylvania Ave. | 419-842-8083
Run by a Pakistani owner, the Spice Bazaar has great fresh made Indian and Pakistani food, including favorites like halwa, puri, and choley made every Saturday with samosa made every day. Add in their mountains of spices to pick from and affordable price, and it makes for a market with a little bit of everything.
Lee Oriental
2527 W. Laskey | 419-475-9742
Taking its place on West Laskey, this Asian grocery store combines the best of frozen food and store bought treats. With specialty stocked items like whole frozen fish and your pick of Asian beauty products, this is a one-stop shop to grab all your shopping needs. They carry a lot of unique snack foods, like ice cream and chips, and they also have beauty items like face masks to keep you looking pretty. Specialty candy is also one of the first things you see when you walk into the store, and you can get your sweet treat fix with Japanese mochi or ice creams as well.
