The Foodletter Guide to Weiland’s Market
The independent grocery is both a trusted neighborhood resource and a food lovers' destination. Here's what makes it special.
Weiland’s Enters a New Era While Keeping it Old School
By Erin Edwards
If you didn’t know that Weiland’s Market, which was founded in 1961, has been under new ownership since April 2024, we wouldn’t be shocked. The transition has been fairly seamless to those of us on the outside.
That’s because Weiland’s previous owners, Jennifer Williams and Scott Bowman, sold the independent Clintonville grocery to two of their managers, Daniel Phillips and Andy Russell, who already had two decades of Weiland’s experience between them.
The pair also offer a nice balance. Phillips, who brought restaurant and butchery experience to the job, started out as a Weiland’s meat cutter before rising to meat department manager. Russell, whose first job was bagging groceries at a Harris Teeter, eventually rose to manage the grocery and produce sides of Weiland’s.
“Meat, seafood, deli, prepared foods, that’s like our backbone, all the stuff that keeps us running,” Russell says about the Indianola Avenue grocery.
Aiding with the transition is the fact that Phillips and Russell were already bought-in to Weiland’s culture, understanding that customer service is its hallmark and that its identity walks the line between a nostalgic mom-and-pop and a more modern specialty grocery store.
“We’ve always tried to be old school with a new school spin,” Russell says. That might also explain why, in the prepared foods section, you’ll find Weiland’s take on Hungry-Man TV dinners and sloppy Joes alongside pot stickers and mojito chicken.
One change that the new owners have ushered in is a Weiland’s rewards program. “I’d say we’re maybe 15 years too late, but that is a one of the newer things that we are trying out,” Russell says. “I think in the first five days, we had like 700 sign ups. So far it has been working.”
When asked if he missed anything about his old job, Russell says it is “just having one thing to focus on, the produce or grocery department. Now, it’s however many square feet I got to focus on … and there are these outside issues that you would have never guessed.”
One such external issue is that Weiland’s participates in the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), which is at risk of running out of money on Nov. 1 because of the government shutdown. The loss of SNAP benefits would not only affect Weiland’s customers who rely on the program to buy food, but also the grocery’s bottom line. (You can read more about the suspension of federal food benefits and its impact on small independent grocers here.)
Russell adds that the country’s uncertain economic climate is adding some concern overall.
“Just the lower spending overall, because some people might look at us like a luxury, so if somebody is cutting out their luxury items out of their budget, then that will hurt us,” he says. “That all kind of circles back to [our] customers who are regulars. They do keep coming back even in harder times, and we love them for it.”
In the meantime, Weiland’s is heading into its most important season, November through December. Russell says they’ll have some special—and currently hush-hush—things going on during the Holidays to make “the shopping experience a little brighter.”
So, now is the time to reserve your fresh or precooked turkeys from Weiland’s, which also offers a wide array of Thanksgiving sides and pies.
When asked to share a go-to Thanksgiving item that you can find at Weiland’s, Russell didn’t hesitate.
“I’m a pie guy. I always recommend the buckeye pie from Just Pies.”
What to Buy at Weiland’s
By Bethia Woolf
If you live in Clintonville, Weiland’s Market might be your convenient neighborhood go-to when you run out of milk or beer. But beyond being a local staple, Weiland’s is also a destination for people from across Central Ohio in search of high-quality and hard-to-find products. Members of the British expat club stop in for all the fixings for a full English breakfast; nostalgic locals make a beeline for the ham loaf or ham salad; busy parents head to the grab-and-go dinner case; and chefs come for the butcher’s expertise and quality.
Everyone we spoke to for this story had different favorites at Weiland’s. Whether you’re looking for freshly made quiche, curing salt, bulk chocolates or local maple syrup, one thing’s certain—Weiland’s probably has it.
Below, we’ve compiled a list of reliable favorites and more obscure products that you’ll find at Weiland’s—plus a few tips about when certain items are in season or available.