I’ve always ignored tourist traps and bravely made a beeline for supermarkets where the locals shopped. My travel photos are food photos, so I smiled when I read that one of July’s viral trends on TikTok was “grocery store tourism.”
Users of the social media platform started posting videos they shot in supermarkets around the world, mainly gawking at the odd potato chip flavors and marveling at the prices, packaging and food items they could not imagine anyone consuming.
A viral video posted by user marissainchina from Malaysia included this comment: “This may be controversial, but I think that the best thing to do while traveling is going to the grocery store.”
Another TikTok included this bold stance: “Checking out the grocery stores in different countries is sightseeing.”
Watching the videos made it obvious these young travelers were visiting supermarkets the same way they enjoyed Meow Wolf and other immersive experiences. The noodle aisle is just another cool destination in the multiverse.
Thankfully, you don’t need to update your passport, deal with DIA and a 15-hour flight to find TikTok-worthy grocery stores to explore. Hiding in plain sight behind Colorado’s boring beige suburban facade is an amazing roster of globally-influenced grocery stores well worth visiting.
Check out the following Boulder flavors: Middle Eastern/Afghani (Silk Road Grill and Market), South American (Cuji Foods), Indian (India’s Grocery), Mexican (La Loma Carniceria); Chinese, Japanese, Filipino, Indonesian, Thai and Vietnamese (Asian Food Market), and French and European (Le Frigo).
You can find other small international grocery stores and bakeries in Longmont, Lafayette and Louisville. One Longmont destination is already a TikTok fav, especially on hot summer days. The legendary Cheese Importers is two floors of French and European goods, foods and wines. The highlight is a huge, refrigerated room lined with cheeses and charcuterie from across the globe. Parkas are available for shoppers who get chilly.
Worlds beyond Boulder
To get lost in more expansive global supermarket worlds, leave your preconceptions behind and travel only 20 to 45 minutes from Boulder. Here are just three of my favorites:
Mi Pueblo Market
9171 Washington St., Thornton
This large combination grocery store, eatery and bakery will open your mind to a wide world of Mexican, Caribbean and Central American ingredients. Highlights include a huge produce department with cut tropical fruits and tons of jicama and fresh and dried chilies.
An impressive cut-to-order meat department is next to dairy cases full of cheeses, crema and prepared salsas specific to Salvadoran cuisine. I get mesmerized by the tortilleria in action and I always leave with pineapple empanadas. The market also stocks Mexican fútbol jerseys. Most (but not all) signs and labels are in English and Spanish.
GW (Great Wall) Supermarket
6600 W. 120th Ave., Broomfield
I get lost among the colors and aromas in this mega-market’s produce department and amid the cool melons, durian, yams and 12 varieties of bok choy. There are endless aisles of savory sauces, oils, vinegars and endless oddly flavored candies, crackers and cookies. There is an entire department dedicated to kimchi.
Most (but not all) signs and labels are in one of several Asian languages as well as English, but you may encounter language lost in translation. “Chicken floss,” for example, turned out to be pulled or shredded chicken.
Arash International Market
2720 S. Parker Road, Aurora
Arash is a colorful, mind-blowing food hub where locals from across the Middle East, Eastern Europe and Africa shop rub shoulders in search of flatbreads, dates, fresh feta cheese, a multitude of olives and halal meats. This is where I find my favorite tart cherry preserves.
Don’t miss
Your TikTok tourism itinerary should also spotlight the following: H Mart, the huge Asian supermarkets in Westminster and Aurora; Lowe’s Mercado, the Central American superstore in Denver; Pacific Mercantile Company, Denver’s venerable Japanese-oriented market; Viet Hoa Supermarket, Lakewood’s Southeast Asian grocery store; and Solomon’s Grocery & European Deli in Aurora.
Never TikTok tourist alone
You can’t wander the aisles of these local stores without acknowledging the other shoppers and the presence of so many immigrant communities in Colorado. The shelves wouldn’t be filled with these foods unless there were folks originally from Ukraine, Honduras, Indonesia and Ethiopia eager to buy them.
When you visit, always bring friends and plan for a tasting party afterwards. Kids will notice cool things on the lower shelves. You’ll see items you have to point out, like the tasty matcha tea and fig-centered Oreo thin cookies I found at Great Wall Supermarket.
I also went home with a mysterious sweet I thought was caramel only to discover it was hard candies flavored with sweetened condensed milk. I enjoyed them with a cup of espresso — it was like sipping a Vietnamese coffee.
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Read more local food news from John Lehndorff on Boulder Weekly