Copyright cleveland.com
FAIRFIELD, Ohio -- Shopping for food is one of my favorite hobbies. The average grocery store is nice, but specialized ethnic markets quicken my pulse. Think Gallucci’s in Cleveland, La Mexicana in Painesville, Park to Shop in Cleveland’s Asiatown and more. Walking through the West Side Market is an adventure, education and inspiration. That said, visiting Jungle Jim’s International Market in Fairfield has been on my bucket list for years. The store is about 250 miles southwest of Cleveland and about 25 miles north of Cincinnati. A newer version of the store, Jungle Jim’s International Market Eastgate, is just east of Cincinnati. Over the past decade, I’d heard much about the 300,000-square-foot international grocery store. For perspective, that’s about two large Costco markets combined. And it’s filled with more than 200,000 items from more than 75 countries including wine, spirits, cigars, pet items, toys and sundries. The produce department alone covers 1.5 acres and the seafood is so fresh that the fish are still swimming. When my partner Gary Mallory and I spent two days in Southern Ohio in October, I planned two hours to shop the mammoth, single-story retailer. And that’s not a lot. The average tourist spends more like three hours; but our dinner plans gave me a hard stop. The visionary behind this culinary kingdom is “Jungle Jim” Bonaminio, who was born in Lorain. Ever the entrepreneurial spirit, he sold reclaimed golf balls when he was 13. By the time he was 22, he set up his first semi-permanent produce stand in a parking lot near Cincinnati. In 1975, at the ripe age of 26, he opened the first Jungle Jim’s -- 4,200 square feet of products. Over the years, the space grew and grew and grew. Today, consumers push the store’s 1,500 carts through miles of aisles representing every continent but Antarctica. “We have the largest African grocery store, probably, in the world,” said the store’s Podcast Director Mark Borison. He notes that the section is broken down by country. The newest expansion in the store is Nepal. “Nepal blew up from half a rack to a huge section,” he said. “We’ve had an influx of people from Nepal moving to Cincinnati.” The most popular product is probably the social media phenomenon Dubai chocolate, Borison noted. The candy is a milk chocolate bar filled with creamy pistachio-tahini paste and crunchy kadayif, a shredded phyllo. “At first there were just a couple brands,” he said. “Other companies are getting into it. There are other flavors. There’s some wild stuff.” Another hit is a Chinese ice cream product exclusive to Jungle Jim’s. Borison describes these as individually wrapped iced creams shaped like fruit, such as strawberries, grapes, mangoes, peaches. They are popular with influencers on TikTok. In fact, if it’s a food trend on TikTok, you just may find it in Jungle Jim’s. To make that easier, the store will soon have aisles dedicated to products that have gone viral on social media. Given my two-hour limit, I spent less than $200. BTW, those 60 and over get 5% off on Wednesdays. Life goals. LOL. The first item in my cart was cheese, selected from 1,500 possibilities representing 35 countries. I chose a fruity, fresh Pecorino Romano from Italy and funky affine au Champagne Grès d’Alsace, a Champagne-washed cow’s milk cheese from Alsace, France. NOTE: I brought a cooler from home for items like cheese. Smart, right? Not smart enough. By the time we got into the car after dinner, the vehicle smelled like dirty feet. I accused Gary of packing stinky shoes. He sheepishly checked them out, only to call me out on the stinky cheese in my Jungle Jim’s bags. Let this be a warning to everyone who likes ripe cheese and will spend hours in the car driving back north. The cheese section is, of course, next to the wine section, an area where I could have spent so much more time perusing the 17,000 labels available from around the world. I even found a large variety of sake and some of the trending Korean Soju selections. Prices here range from $3 to $7,000 per bottle. Jungle Jim’s is what Trader Joe’s wants to be when it grows up. It’s a place where one visit just isn’t enough. Know before you go Check out the event calendar to time your visit with the best cooking classes, tastings, festivals. Schedule a store tour or scavenger hunt. These cost $5 per person, last one hour and must be scheduled in advance. Visit Jungle Jim’s website to answer questions before you go. Bring plenty of reusable shopping bags. Pack a cooler in your car to hold cold items (and trap cheese odors). Pay attention to which entrance you park near. This is a huge parking lot. Grab a map or download the app to help navigate. Make a shopping list of must-haves and prepare for impulse buys. Plan two to three hours for perusing the shelves. You won’t be overwhelmed as time disappears quickly. Wear comfortable shoes and take a lightweight purse. You may want to power up with a caffeinated beverage for the long haul.
