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Fred's Market
Category: Food Convenience Stores Convenience Stores [Edit]
2521 Telegraph Ave(between Dwight Way & Blake St)
Berkeley, CA 94704
Neighborhoods: Telegraph Ave, UC Campus Area
(510) 549-1319
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Street
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
16 reviews for Fred's Market
16 reviews in English
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Review from Cassy H.
1/6/2011
My roommate from college and I use to live above Sharks (the costume/vintage store 2 doors down), so whenever we had late night cravings to bake or just wanted to procrastinate like typical college students, we'd run down our apt and head on over to Fred's to get eggs, sugar, milk, flour, etc... Thank you Fred for opening late!
This place also sells liquor on the first floor (lots of liquor).. and then you can walk down these stairs for the produce/other regular grocery items. The prices are a bit high but understandable since it's a mom and pop, small family business. Literally, it's a family business. We sort of know them since we run down and get baking supplies so often. They're friendly and jokes with us every once in a while.
Oh and just FYI, we asked the older man one time if his name is Fred, but it's not.. it's his brother's name or something like that. Just in case, you were wondering... now you know. :o) -
Review from Kimberly A.
Berkeley, CA
8/4/2011
The family that runs this store is very cool, especially the dad. He always remembers my husband and me and chats with us. It's a very nice, neighborhood kind of feel, which is the sort of thing that tends to draw my loyalty as a customer.
As convenience stores go, Fred's is *huge*. They seem to have everything you could possibly want, including various deli options (and fresh baklavah) behind a counter in the front of the store.
But ...
The prices here are often much higher than the other comparable stores in the area. (Even the extremely yuppified Andronico's, which is only a few blocks away, has cheaper prices on most things.)
Not only that, but they don't actually *mark* prices on anything in the store, so the cashier just flies by the seat of his/her pants with every purchase. So Gatorade might cost you $2 on one visit, $2.25 another time, $1.75 another time, and who knows what the next time! For those of us who enter a convenience store on a very tight budget -- with, say, $5 to spend -- this kind of inconsistency is frustrating.
My last criticism of Fred's Market is perhaps not really the store's fault, but rather a simple result of the location: they get a lot of skeevy-looking street kids milling around, both in front of the store and around the cash register, and they can sometimes make it difficult to even walk through the store.
I still go to Fred's occasionally, because of its convenient location and wide selection, but if I have the time to go somewhere else instead, I do so. -
Review from Roy N.
6/1/2010
Great family-run local neighborhood store...every time I'm there, the staff is really nice and always remembers me. The owner is super cool too, truly a great guy and he knows everybody! If you're in the area, it's the perfect place to stop in for a soda or a snack.
Rasputin and Amoeba are just down the street so it's pretty convenient. -
Review from Ruth M.
Oakland, CA
Updated - 1/30/2009
Correction - my bad!
There are two Fred-named places in Berkeley. One has an amazing beer and wine selection, the other is kind of sad. This is the sad one. Go to University and MLK for all of your exotic alcohol needs.1 Previous Review: Show all »
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8/6/2008
Some times I really don't understand Yelp.
I've got to argue with Zach D. on this one. This place… Read more »
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Review from charlie t.
San Lorenzo, CA
2/10/2011
I used to shop at this place very often in my younger years when I used to hangout in Berkeley alot.
Its always better to support local family owned businesses so I commonly chose shopping here over going to 7-11 whenever I could and it is one of a few places in Berkeley that carries my beloved faygo soda
A gentleman that usually works their used to rudely yell things at me right when I went into the store about what I was going to buy and such in a very angry manner. One or 2 times he had another large person join in on the intimidation.
Definitely did scare me a bit but I just assumed it was all in good fun for him and he likely commonly messed with alot of people this way so I put up with it and picked out what I could afford and paid and left the store as promptly as possible. This went on for about 2 or 3 years and has stopped now that I am in the area hardly ever and only shop their once in a great while.
All the other people who work here have always been pleasant but the vast majority of my experiences here were with the angry gentleman so a one star review it gets. :'( -
Review from Diana C.
7/16/2011 8 Check-ins Here
This place is pretty convenient because it is like the only place opened in the area. It is also pretty huge! I was helped right away as well. I already knew what I wanted and it was easily found. I just paid and then left. Pretty easy transaction.
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Review from John L.
El Cerrito, CA
2/22/2008
WRONG FRED'S!
This place is cool too, don't get me wrong.
Sorry! -
Review from Paul Y.
Oakland, CA
9/12/2007
This is a great neighborhood liquor store that doesn't sell liquor - strange I know. But their fine selection of MALT liquor (including delicious 6-pack tall cans of Colt 45) should be more than to get you and you pet Triceratops hammered after failing your latest round of midterm exams.
Word to the wise: be careful about the food here! Always check the expiration date even on items that you normally wouldn't. Also, let me know if you are adventurous enough to try their deli food. It does look appetizing but I frequent this market often and I'm fairly sure that most of that food has been around longer than my pal Wally the Triceratops Dinosaur (Psst! he's old!).
Just remember that this place keeps it real so you should too! Thus it's probably safest to stick to the essentials when shopping i.e. booze, cigarettes, and munchie food.
It's also nice that Fred's is family run - you see the same the same friendly faces time and again when you shop here. This becomes especially entertaining though when you realize that everyone that works here creates a continuum of the way Fred must have look throughout the years (i.e. Fred at 8, 15, 21, etc). This holds true for Fred's wife as well. -
Review from Quy Don P.
San Jose, CA
7/13/2008
This place has a liquor store feel to it, and it reminds me of my childhood years spent at my mom's liquor store. The owner is paranoid like hell and treats his customers like shit. But the customers don't care because the alcohol makes up for it.
They have a good selection of wine and also some food. Everything is sold at retail price. And there's always a bunch of dumbass kids hanging around the place and asking passerbys to buy them shit. I love that. -
Review from Philip H.
Berkeley, CA
7/24/2008
I've been shopping here fourteen years and I'm still not sure who Fred is. But the place is run by a very sweet Palestinian family whose children I've watched grow up into young adults.
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Review from Bryan M.
Oakland, CA
10/22/2008
fred's is the coolest liquor store around, i assume because its not really a liquor store at all. they've got all these quality tomato sauces, yummy yerba mate drinks and even fresh produce (and its not just onions and potatoes).
let me digress. why is it that i can't get anything of sustenance at the local corner store? i mean, i could make a meal centered around nuggets of onion, but the rest of my household might hold it against me. is it because onions and potatoes don't go bad for a long time, or cuz people like french fries with their beer? wtf, man.
anyways, fred's has quality booze too, of which i've never had the occasion to try. i guess the walk to rasputin (for $.50 videos!) ain't long enough for a tall boy. yeah, verily.. -
Review from Ramon E.
Berkeley, CA
1/5/2009
I like this place. Decent selection of wine and beers. I pop in for the NY Times sometimes, too. Lovely family running it, too--very cheerful and helpful.
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Review from Thomas R.
Berkeley, CA
2/13/2009
Hey, if you are in Berkeley and you need great beer at a decent price you go here. Andronicos?! Belgian. I found wassail at xmas. It's satisfying to see this many good beers only blocks from home. Thanks Fred's.
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Review from J E.
Los Angeles, CA
1/30/2009
I first encountered Fred's market back in 1981 when I started at UC Berkeley, and I have nothing but the fondest memories of the place (on Telegraph Ave.). And each time I visit the Bay area I make a point of saying hello to the same nice guy (I wish I could remember his name) behind the counter who sold me and my girlfriend a bottle of champagne the night she moved in with me one year later. They always remember me and say hello with the sweetest friendship after all these years. I'm glad they're still there!
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Review from T H.
La Jolla, CA
8/21/2008
Amazing selection of drinks--and I don't just mean alcohol. Their soda selection - Leninade, Jones, all kinds of fancy ginger ales and authentic root beer - is quite admirable. They've also got some good chocolate and candy up front. The family who runs this place is very friendly and remembers their customers. There's no better place in the area to get your junk food. Downstairs they've got a pretty good grocery selection, including dairy, a few veggies, breads, and frozen foods, plus the usual cereal, ramen, etc. A+ to this place...I just moved and will miss my nightly visits.
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Review from ryan s.
Oakland, CA
12/26/2009
best place to grip a Joose or fourloco and roam the town, bonus points for extending credit to loyal customers!
