Your New Local Indie Health Food Store: Silver Lake Natural Food Market

J. Ritz

Who says the indie health food store is a thing of the past? True, Whole Foods has brought that heady "heath food store smell" -- which we suppose comes from commingling aromas of natural soaps, vitamins, freshly juiced wheatgrass and such -- into the mainstream, but the longevity of places like Los Feliz's Nature Mart and Erewhon on Beverly remind us that truly local natural food shops offer their own quirks and relatively quaint charms. At the roughly month-old Silver Lake Natural Food Market, not-quite-packed shelves and ample floor space in the back clearly suggest there's more to come, but all the right components are in place.

J. Ritz

There are plenty of organic dairy goods, granola, snacks, wellness items, beauty products, snacks and other staples. But the coming days should see more activity and inventory arriving at the former Dallas Liquor Market next to Rambutan Thai and Pho Café on Sunset near Parkman. Owner Baba Ji, whose Cowboys & Turbans Indian/Mexican street-food hybrid is a few paces away, tells us he'll be building the selection of raw and vegan prepared foods. As for produce, all-organic fruits and veggies (and the raw materials for the to-come juice bar), will be sourced from both neighborhood farmers' markets and his distributor. Given that this is a small-scale, community store, neighborhood folks should stop by to suggest what they'd like to see stocked in the bulk section.

Silver Lake Natural Foods Market: 2829 Sunset Blvd., Silver Lake; (213) 908-6730.