BY PAULA MINAERT — A month or so after it opened on the Hamilton Street site of the former Safeway, the Bestway on is garnering positive reactions from Hyattsville residents.
“It’s bright and clean and spacious,” said Councilmember Tim Hunt (Ward 3) who was found shopping there on the store’s opening day.
One local 11-year old marveled, after a trip there with his father, “You couldn’t see the shelves. There were no empty spaces. Every time you go in there, you feel like you’re the first customer.”
Reaction on the local H.O.P.E. listserv was overwhelmingly positive, with several residents posting reviews of the store praising the selection, quality and prices.
One person, Angelic Little-Turner, said that the best thing about it was the large seafood section. “Who can beat fresh salmon at $4.99 a pound?” she asked, which led another resident to point out some mislabeled fish seen there.
A discussion went back and forth on the listserv about whether the store carried any organic food. The consensus seemed to be that the produce, while not labeled organic, is very good. It also carries some items not often found in mainstream markets, such as guava.
The signs indicating where items can be found are in both Spanish and English – and many of them have the Spanish words on top, in bigger letters. That’s not surprising, considering that Bestway’s website describes the chain as “one of the largest Hispanic food retailers on the East Coast.”
