Stores & Markets in Westland

Ken Snook wasn't like the other boys in school. His classmates dreamed of becoming basketball players, astronauts, and rock stars, but Ken wanted to be a butcher. The teenager hadn't known it when he took a part-time job at a small butcher shop in Detroit, but he soon fell in love with the trade, developing a knack with the knife and a keen eye for quality cuts. After working as a butcher for years, Ken purchased Colasanti's Market and set up his own butcher shop amid its shelves of groceries and rows of produce.

Today, Ken continues to slice up fresh cuts of USDA Choice black Angus beef, housemade sausages, and fresh seafood. He can even provide an entire hog for a pig roast, complete with electric rotisserie, charcoal, and grill. Beyond his butcher shop lies an entire market of fine foods and groceries where friendly staff members bustle, directing customers to gluten-free goods and refereeing shopping-cart races down the dairy aisle. A deli staff whips up fresh sandwiches, salads, and party trays, and customers sip on complimentary coffee and peruse selections of imported wine and beer. Above their heads, a cheerful model train loops around tracks suspended from the ceiling. Outside, the sun beams on pots of colorful flowers, and ducks amble around a duck pond. The lively market even hosts special weekend events, from wine tastings to summer parties.

The Garmo family first opened the doors to Shoppers Valley Market in 1979, and its been stocking the store's grocery-packed aisles and bursting display cases by hand ever since. Vine-fresh produce spills out of bins and vies for the attention of customers browsing thick slabs of marbled meats at the deli station. Canned goods, household items, and spare shopping-cart wheels line the towering food corridors, delighting eyes with the sight of brand names that range from Dole to Duraflame, Mott's, and Ziploc. Just outside of the store, off-street parking allows visitors to leave their vehicles unattended without using their last genie wish to secure a space.

People's Food Co-op and Café Verde began more than 40 years ago, when graduate students from the University of Michigan first partnered with a Detroit farmer to bring locally grown produce to Ann Arbor. These days, the co-op partners with farms all across Michigan. Items in the store are labeled to give an idea of how far they’ve traveled: “local” means it's from less than 120 miles away, whereas “made in Michigan” means the goods are sourced from somewhere in the state or made on top of a map of the state.

In addition to its expansive produce section, the co-op holds a hot-food bar, a salad bar, a deli, a bakery, and a café rife with the aromas of 100% fair-trade, organic espressos, macchiatos, and lattes. The friendly staff also forges a variety of café sandwiches and pastries, some of which are vegan-friendly and others of which merely nod politely.

Every person on staff at Xtreme Nutrition also works as a personal trainer, allowing them to provide seasoned advice and share patrons’ excitement for fitness. The shelves brim with bottles and jars, their colorful silhouettes emblazoned with brands including Hyper FX, Excellean, and Elite Gourmet. Engineered specifically for demographics such as bodybuilders, teens, men, women, or seniors, the supplements deliver infusions of vitamins, probiotics, and protein. Patrons can take nutritional sips at an onsite smoothie bar or attend Zumba classes led by the store's multi-talented staff and spinning classes led by whoever brings the loudest bicycle horn.