It’s hard to imagine, but in the little town of Fairfield, Ohio (population 142,000) is the home of the world’s largest grocery store, Jungle Jim’s International Market. Covering over 6 acres of land, the 300,000 square foot store is a truly a theme park for foodies. Founded in 1974, Jungle Jim’s has grown from a simple roadside stand to a 300,000-square-foot food temple and tourist destination, offering 150,000 different items from over 75 countries around the globe.
More than three times the size of a standard grocery store, Jim’s is a wonderland of variety. The cheese section alone has over 1,400 cheeses from over 80 countries. The produce section has over 500 food options – more then four times the size of normal grocery produce section.
The international food section could satisfy the members of the G8 plus another dozen small nations. Every ethnic food you can think of is included, from British (no jokes, please – they make very nice marmalades), Armenian, Greek, Filipino and everything else on the planet. The hot sauce aisle has over 1,400 varieties with it’s own real fire truck, which will you may need to cool you off when you find out that there is a hot sauce that sells for $2,000 a bottle! The even have an entire aisle of gourmet gift baskets.
Even the bathrooms are remarkable. In 2007 Jim’s was elected to America’s Best Restroom Hall of Fame, beating out The Mandalay Casino.
Jim’s Foodieland also has a cooking school, an event center, 5 gift shops (including some terrific looking gift baskets) and a liquor area offering 1,200 beer labels and 12,000 wine labels. On some days, you may find the owner himself, “Jungle” Jim Bonaminio, donning his wizard suit and roller-skating up and down the aisles performing his “price magic.”
I never, ever thought I would utter the words “I want to go to Cinncinati,” but this place is worth the trip. What about you? Would you shop at Jungle Jim’s if there was one nearby? Watch the short video about Jim and his Foodieland, then let me know what you think.
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