St. John Virgin Islands: Apples to Apples
Posted by gerald in St. John USVI, St. John Virgin IslandsMore St. John Food Shopping News
Yesterday morning Jacob and I went to go but some half and half for mom’s coffee at the nearby St. John Gourmet market. They were out so we went to Starfish bypassing Pine Peace because of parking congestion.
Before we left the St. John Gourmet, however, we bought a few Fuji apples and some white seedless grapes because they looked good.
Arriving at Starfish, I noticed the very same apples and some not quite the same grapes.
Fuji Apples - left Starfish - right St. John Gourmet
White Seedless Grapes - left St. John Gourmet - right - Starfish
The Fuji apples available at Starfish were just about identical to the ones I had just purchased at the St. John Gourmet. (They even tasted the same when I sampled them later back home.)
There was one difference, though. The price.
The apples I had just bought at St. John Gourmet sold for $1.45 per pound. Here at Starfish they were $2.79 per pound, almost twice as costly.
Then I started wondering what the difference in price for the grapes would be.
Checking the fruit bins, I quickly came across the white seedless grapes.
The grapes, however, were not quite identical to the ones at St. John Gourmet. The St. John Gourmet grapes were considerably larger and quite fresher looking.
Neither was the price. The grapes at the St. John Gourmet sold for $2.95 per pound. The Starfish Market price was an incredible, considering the mediocre quality, $5.19 per pound. Again the Starfish price was just about double that of the St. John Gourmet.
Moreover, if I had waited until today and gone to Dolphin instead of the St. John Gourmet, which as comparable selection and equal prices, I could have bought my apples and grapes with a 20% discount.
The system used by the the government to determine relative prices relies on a basket of foods that are generally essential items, like flour, sugar, eggs, milk, bread. Here the prices are fairly equal. I will now try my own unscientific system, which I will call the Yuppie system, with price comparisons on items such as fresh fruits and vegetable, organic milk and eggs, gourmet coffees, etc – stay tuned for more.
 St. John Gourmet Market |
 Starfish Market |
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I’ve noticed this about St. John Gourmet for a while, as I mostly buy fresh fruits and vegetables. Starfish also seems to be gearing up their prices (and stock) for season. Three days ago I noticed they had organic grape tomatoes, which I really like. There was no price on them, so I checked with the cashier, who confirmed that they were $3.39 each. That was a couple bucks cheaper than the non-organic kind, so I raced over and bought all the rest on the shelf. The next day I was in Starfish for something else, and they had restocked those tomatoes and added a sign with the price. $8.59!!! More than a $5 increase in one day!!
St. John Gourmet’s stuff, when it’s fresh, is the best produce deal I have found on St. John. If they would start carrying Josephine’s greens, I’d rarely set foot in any other market.
The owner of the St. John Gourmet is always open for suggestions. I’m sure he would carry Josephine’s produce if possible. Next time I see him I’ll run this by him. I’d love to see Josephine’s organic produce there also.
G