I first discovered Penzeys Spices years ago, when I was a frequent visitor on Cooking Light’s bulletin boards. At the time, there wasn’t a retail location near us, so my exposure to the establishment was strictly through recommendations from my fellow bulletin board members and the mail catalog.
The times, they are a changing…
When we heard that we were finally getting a retail store close enough to visit, Patsy and I quickly planned a field trip. I mean, c’mon, pure spice heaven, how could we not?
This location is in downtown Summit. While there is plenty of on-street (free) parking, it’s a bustling downtown area, so good luck with that. A couple laps around the block, and you should be fine.
One of the reasons I don’t order from the catalog much anymore is I found it very overwhelming. They have a lot of their own spice mixtures, and, well, it’s hard to buy from paper speculation, you know? And then the basic things you know, like cinnamon, for example, they have a bajillion varieties. It’s enough to make your head spin.
The layout is very open and clean, which makes it easy to browse the different areas without getting as overwhelmed as one might browsing their catalog. But that might be just my issue.
I strongly suggest going to visit their actual storefront if you’re lucky enough to have one in your neck of the woods. Getting to smell all their tester jars convinced me of a few “must needs,” and confirmed there were a few things that sounded good on paper, but did nothing for me once I smelled them. Except turn me off. ‘Twas quite a good exercise indeed….