Produce Depot Health Food Store falsely advertise lunch meats as being DaBecca brand (preservative-free, nitrate/nitrite free) when they are in fact Kirkland brand from Costco; also falsely advertise their coffee as Lavazza, but they use Kirkland brand coffee as well. Saint John Indiana

I had heard about this little store opening, and finally decided to check it out. With a name like Produce Depot, I had high hopes, but they didn't last long after I entered the store. First of all, the produce stock is very bare and fruit is going bad before your eyes. It was also pretty warm out and the store was infested with fruit flies - not a pleasant shopping environment. The store did, however, have a few novelty fruits that the local grocer doesn't carry, but nothing profound that would warrant the extra stop.

The store also has a smoothie and sandwich bar where you can order deli-style lunch meat to purchase by the pound. The signs by the lunchmeat advertise it as DaBecca (which is a natural lunchmeat, famous for not including preservatives or nitrates/nitrites). Impressed, I decided to give this place the benefit of the doubt and I ordered a pound of their pastrami and a pound of their oven roasted turkey. HOWEVER, when they girl behind the deli counter went to cut me fresh lunchmeat, I was appalled to see her retrieve lunchmeat that was packaged in KIRKLAND packaging. The meat, advertised and priced as DaBecca meat, was actually the same lunchmeat you can purchase at Costco. The price, of course, was marked up. 

Skeptical at this point, and wanting to do some more investigating, I headed over to the coffee bar the store also has. Now let me tell you, the store is not large what-so-ever, and only two employees were working at the time, and I was the only shopper in the store throughout my entire visit, yet the workers were spread too thin. The girl who worked in the deli was also in charge of the sandwich/smoothie bar AND the coffee bar. And she did not know how to make the Almond Joy Latte I ordered. I watched her flip through papers trying to locate the recipe. Which was not a HUGE deal, but after the lunchmeat fiasco, I wisened up and asked her what brand of espresso they used. She wasn't sure, but located the can of espresso beans and, again, I was APPALLED to see that it was KIRKLAND brand again, from Costco. Their lattes were advertised as being LaVazza, but obviously that was not the case either. The store does, however, sell Lavazza coffee on its shelves.

I cannot stress enough how disappointed I was. I was hoping this little store could be the 'Whole Foods' that the area is lacking, but the fly-ridden atmosphere and dishonesty when it comes to their products turned me off completely. I won't be going back, and advise others to avoid as well. At the very least, be careful with what you purchase here. Make sure what you're buying is indeed what it is advertised to be!