Dayspring the Nature Shoppe

This store was very cute and somewhat useful to me. They carry a wide range of products including a nice sized selection of bulk food items. I was there originally to pick up some kombucha but they had only a small selection and not the flavor I was looking for. They do have some fantastic oatmeal soap that I would highly recommend. They also had a lot of sales going on. The real jem of this store is the elderly French woman who owns the place. She talked to us as if we were old friends which I absolutely loved. If you have the time check this place out.

From first glance, this natural food store is a run-​of-​the-​mill, built out of a cute old craftsman home or whatever house, with wooden floors. They carry standard things for natural food stores such as packaged foods, a million supplements, natural and grain free pet food, incense, books, kombucha.
They have farm fresh eggs! But they do not carry a lot of produce, due to a major competitor (EarthFare) down the street, so don’t expect too much in the way of fresh vegetables and meats.
EarthFare, however, holds no competition to the real gem of this place: the ridiculously huge bulk section. They carry grains you’ve never heard of, instant foods great for backpacking supplies, and so many dried fruits it’s insane. Most importantly, they have the BIGGEST DRIED BULK HERB SELECTION I have ever seen in my life. I brought my judgmental, hipster boyfriend here from california and he is addicted. In all honesty, I thought he would scoff at the place and it’s inadequacy compared to Herbs and Harmony in Ocean Beach, CA (we’re regulars and it’s indeed fabulous).
However, Herbs and Harmony keeps most of their plant material in a back room, so you have to ask for it and can’t see it.. . that’s fine, they have limited space — it’s ocean beach, afterall. The herbs in Dayspring are clearly visible, which always sparks your imagination for all these other things you definitely need — oh wait, what about calendula?! You totally need that. Good marketing plan? Perhaps. Anyway, he now makes his own tea mixes and amateur herbal remedies.. .. literally spending all of our money that we would have used for food items and surviving as graduate students, right? NO. You can buy a bag of almost anything for less than $ 3. It’s really quite cheap. If you do go overboard though, don’t worry — you now have a unique mix of calming teas. Go steep yourself some. Or ask my hipster boyfriend to do it — he’ll be thrilled.
Honestly, it is astonishing the level of plant material they have available for their customers. Even more astonishing, the owner of this place, a very interesting French women, happens to be a self taught herbalist. She will help you select herbs for certain health issues, if you’d like. Sometimes she asks personal questions — but it’s just to help, be sure of that! She’s amazingly helpful and genuine, but if she starts talking with you. . plan to be there an extra 30 min to 1 hour. .