Gateway Market

I love Gateway as they are a convenient place downtown to get organic and vegan options in an area where there aren't really any stores like it for quite a distance. It's a neat store that is always tidy and the staff have always been friendly which has helped me tolerate their rise in prices on top of products that are usually double the price already compared to their direct competitors (Whole Foods, Natural Grocers, Fresh Thyme etc.). This is likely because they are a small local business and thus don't have the capital to compete. That's perfectly fine, we like supporting small business. However, the experience I had today probably put me off from shopping there for awhile. For context, at most stores you are allowed to grab parts of some produce to buy as long as the produce is labeled by lbs. Ex., grabbing a vine of grapes, rather than the whole bag. This is ok for most companies because even though the bag is now smaller, it will likely be perfect for another customer and because the produce is sold by the lbs, they still get the exact amount of money either way. This is a standard practice at Hy-vee, Whole Foods, Cash Saver and other grocery chains. I myself have worked retail, its usually no big deal as long as the sign is labeled by the lbs. It isn't a big deal for any cashier especially. This trip I just needed 2 branches of celery. Now, I will admit beforehand that I should have made note that the stalks were tied together and that should have clued me in that they would like the purchase to be as an ea. sale that is by the lbs pricing. Since I just saw the by the lbs signage however (it was not ea.), I figured it would still be ok to grab a couple stalks since their system would ring it up by the lbs. Same amount of money. No big deal. Well, I get up to the register and the woman informs me that I am unable to purchase the celery that way. I would need to purchase the whole stalk. I said that was alright and that I didn't want it then. Fun fact: I worked exclusively in produce for two years. In these situations all we would do if someone did this on our ea. produce was wash it, and re-attatch it to another bunch and tie it. No big deal. But oh boy, I did not understand the can of worms I had just opened up. The woman procedes to look at me like I am crazy and say "I just have never heard of anyone just taking a couple stalks of celery when it's clearly sold as each." I then calmly replied to her that it is pretty standard in the industry, the grocery store that I worked even did such things and many others that I shop at too. I apologized to her for the mix up and told her it was an honest mistake because I saw that their sign had celery listed as by the lbs. I was even about to offer to just go buy the whole thing when she counters that it was clearly labelled ea. It was not, other than the tie holding the stalks together. The sign says by the lbs (I double checked). I could tell at this point with her rambling with me back and forth about the absurdity of this usually normal shopping behavior that she wanted me to get the whole stalk. Or was just maybe having a bad day. But by then she had been talking down to me for almost five minutes, making me feel ashamed and belittled as she spoke in an exasperated tone over something I had direct industry experience with. I had never been spoken to by a cashier this way. If I had ever done this to a customer I would have been in deep trouble along the same lines as if I blamed a customer for accidently dropping a bottle off our shelf. Accidents happen. This was an accident. I am not upset by our disagreement. I am even willing to go back buy the whole stalk. What upset me and has turned me off from this store is the way I felt like I was on trial over a simple, easy to fix mistake. If I had not been talked down to and argued with, I would have a full stalk and the store its money. Edit: Paid for 2 and took only one home later that day to replace the damaged one for good faith. Please just update signage. The cashier on receipt is not the original offender.

Food is always phenomenal! Last time in we ordered a salad incorrectly- totally our fault- and they replaced it for free. Amazing staff, really were looking out for us as people, not an order to fill. Will go out of my way to come back here

I couldn't eat my breakfast burrito yesterday when I bought it. The eggs were burnt and crunchy, definitely not a pleasant texture. The picture is from today, after I separated the eggs from the rest of the stuff. Pretty disappointed this left the kitech like that.

I went in to order food to-go on Monday June 1st. It was 8:40pm, they close at 9pm. The older woman at the counter acted as if she was very annoyed with my presence. Even though there were other people waiting for food, and there was a couple sitting at a table eating. I ordered the black bean burger with fries. The lack of care for my food was recognizable. There was barely any thousand island sauce, the bun was stale, and the burger did not taste very good and you could tell it was old. Everything was just thrown together in the box and it was very obvious that the employees were disgruntled. If restaurants want to close at 9 PM, but still serve guests, we should receive the same amount of courtesy as any guest coming to your establishment. I had my food paid for and I left before 9 PM when you close. This is unacceptable behaviour. In regard to the black bean burger, there is a spice in there that is overpowering the entire burger. I don’t know exactly what it is, but it does not taste good and it is a bit smoky. Vegans and vegetarians alike will support places, but not if they are going to be rude and not if the food tastes bad. I should have just stopped at Burger King because honestly, it would’ve been better and I probably would’ve had better service. That’s pretty sad.

Great cafe attached to a food co-op market. Huge servings for a great value. There are three plant- based options and we recommend the tofu banh mi. It has just the right amount of spice. Noticed others drinking wine while they waited for their takeout. We’ve been twice and service is always friendly and excellent, which is rare these days.