Stores & Markets in Dale City

This neighborhood market has been growing groceries from its blossoming shelf-branches for more than 50 years. Over the years, the store has changed locations, grown, and been asked, "Does Chevy Chase own this place?" by out-of-towners 6,030 times—but has always remained family owned and robot operated. Shoppers will find a deli and floral and meat departments within this small-scale, full-service grocery store. The pristine condition of the store is legendary among area neat freaks. The cleanliness extends to the shopping carts, which are treated with the PureCart system to kill 99% of germs, creating a sanitary stage for fruit squeezing or eating off cart handles.

Running every Saturday in 2012 from May through November, the Briggs Chaney-Greencastle Farmers' Market seeks to provide Silver Springs residents with increased access to fresh and healthy foods. In addition to a selection of local produce, meat, eggs, and cheese, the free-to-enter market hosts a variety of vendors, such as artists, jewelers, and bakers, as well as local chefs who demonstrate simple recipes using local produce and monosyllabic buzz words. To encourage visitors to purchase healthier food, the non-profit farmer's market matches WIC payments dollar-for-dollar, accepts SNAP payments, and matches a portion of Independence card benefits.

The market welcomes children as well, with a range of activities for young ones in its Kids’ Tent. Children can take part in a number of interactive showcases throughout the summer, such as a Railroad Exhibit from the Riverdale Railroad club, puppet theater stories from former Moscow Puppet Theater member Irena Kholodnov, and martial arts demonstrations by the Virginia Kenshinkai School of Budokai. A chess tent lets kids and adults unwind while playing the classic game against friends, family, and Bobby Fischer in disguise. Families may also enjoy live stage music in an audience seating area and feast on their fresh food purchases in a nearby dining tent.

The Barthelson family’s certified-organic farm has cultivated produce, raised chickens and cows, and shared its harvest with the surrounding communities for the last 7 years. Always looking to lower their carbon footprint and increase sustainability, the Barthelsons reuse glass bottles for their minimally processed milk, build their soil with organic compost, and graze Angus cows and bulls on grassy pastures and the now-overgrown stadiums used for pog tournaments. Through their CSA membership program, the farm distributes and delivers eggs, produce, herbs, and meat to residents in surrounding communities from early spring until the beginning of autumn.

Not a lot of kids grow up on farms anymore. So when families start flocking to working farms to get their yearly dose of fall activities, kids have a lot of questions. That’s why the Cox family decided to open up their Spider Hall Farm to kids and adults who want to know more about the day-to-day agricultural lifestyle, the importance of being a good steward of the land and water, and how to apply school lessons to real-life situations on the farm. Their education center features six lab-style classrooms where guests can learn through interactive lessons, followed by a tour of the farm’s 362 acres, which are filled with tobacco, corn, and grain.

Throughout the year, the farm sells seasonal produce, meat raised in southern Maryland, organic milk and ice cream, and seasonal plants, allowing guests to roam the farm and experience the full circle of where food comes from without moonlighting as a cafeteria lady. When the last of the crops are harvested, visitors are invited to celebrate with the Cox family at the corn maze and pumpkin patch or to come back when the weather gets chilly to pick out a Christmas tree and take a merry horse-drawn carriage ride.

Baltimore City Paper named Santoni's the Best Grocery Store in the metropolitan area for good reason. A local staple since the 1930s, Santoni's is proud of its old-school roots and personal service. The friendly staff acts as one big family, either because they are blood related or because they are brothers and sisters in ritual kiwi juggling. Open 24 hours a day, Santoni's is the perfect place to catch the sunrise over a neatly kept stack of navel oranges.