B N Elat Fish

This market is great for getting good Iranian and other ethnic foods, but the amount of merchandise (and customers!) would fit comfortably into a space about four times bigger. It is always crowded both inside the store and in the meager parking lot in the back. Also, the produce is hit and miss, so unless you are going there for specialty items only, it isn't going to be one-stop shopping.

PROS: Great Persian food you can't find anywhere else
CONS: Crowded and crazy, also very little parking.

Posted 10/24/05 | Report Abuse

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As a neighbor of Elat Market I can help explain their low low prices. First, they appear to start by attempting to avoid every regulation and law regarding appropriate behavior.

It took over a year to get them to comply with the ban on deliveries before 7am. Many City agencies have been involved in many enforcement actions with these guys.

If you want to know how your groceries are handled, I suggest you come really early in the morning and watch for unmarked vehicles making deliveries sometimes.

Another way they save money is clearly on labor. There's no way Vons and Ralphs, who pay living wages to their employees, can compete with Elat's labor. No uniforms, and safety practices I'm sure any union would balk at. Do you think their employees get any bonuses? Do you think they are legally in the U.S.

Or how about the time I found a couple of their thugs threatening a woman who parked her car on the street near their market. They were telling her she had to leave so they could park one of their vans there. Yes, a public street and these guys are physically intimidating a woman. Of course their customers just looked the other way.

Because they're too greedy to provide adequate parking, they let traffic back up onto the street (sometimes all the way onto Pico) which results in gridlock and people beeping and laying on their horns.

I could go on and on.

If you support Elat you do so at the expense of decent neighbors and decent living conditions.

PROS: Low Prices
CONS: Horrible Neighbors, Questionable Employers

Posted 09/29/05 | Report Abuse

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The first time I went into Elat, I was a bit overwhelmed. The place is packed with people pushing and shoving to get through the crowd. Then I realized why. The produce prices can't be beat!!! I can get out of there with a week's worth of produce for under $15. If you can take the struggle, you'll eat like a king, and there's always some great exotic foods to choose from as well.

Posted 06/29/05 | Report Abuse

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