Riddles Supermart

They pack a great variety of staples, wine & liquor with yummy locally baked breads & locally made specialty spreads and appetizers. And they’re NOT pricey at all — they’re cheaper for many things than Stop ‘n Shop, or, of course, much cheaper — and far more interesting and fresher — than convenience stores.

I’ve only been to Riddles three times over the past two weeks. I have to say, nothing was surprising, slightly higher prices (but it’s «local») smaller inventory (but there’s at least a few of everything), except the customer service was poor — I expected better.
The bakery section with fresh-​made pies for only $ 4.99 each caused me to buy two instead of one — one went into the freezer. There aren’t nineteen cuts of meat, but there’s a few packages of everything — chicken, steaks, ribs, chops. The store-​made brownies (four enormous ones to a pack) are pretty darn good. The gentlemen working in the meat department were very friendly, even though I was definitely in their way while they were restocking.
I just have one quibble: would it kill the cashiers to be more like the staff throughout the store and be just a little more customer focused?
First time I went in was for a quick 5 or 6 item order. The cashier never spoke to me except to roll her eyes at me and snap, «just sign it!» when I hesitated, apparently taking too long to sign the credit card machine. I know she could speak because she carried on a conversation with another customer while I stood there. I didn’t rate so much as a thank you.
Second trip, the cashier just didn’t speak at all. Not to me or anyone else and there wasn’t even anyone around, so that was a very quiet and somewhat weird transaction!
Third trip, yesterday, the cashier was talking to someone behind the counter. Once she started checking me out, something caught her attention so she walked away from my order, into the little room off the cashier area, talking to the other women the whole time. Just turned and left. Huh? Where you going? Happened again, a couple of items later, off she went. Never spoke to me about it but she did sharply instruct me to sign as I was apparently, again, too slow on the uptake. But no thank you, nothing.
If the last person to see you on your way out of a store says «thank you», especially when you’re shopping on Small Business Saturday, it makes you feel like you made a good choice to shop local and support your town’s business — plus it kind of takes the sting out of the higher prices. I totally get that Riddle’s is the only game in town and the staff is likely very loyal to their employer but — a thank you to a customer is free. I’ll probably go back but only for the occasional emergency item; I don’t think they’ll be my first choice again.

I’m a little disappointed with Riddles, because I agree with all/​most of the previous reviews. This is due to being local resident of Hull. This review is based on certain purchase made last week.
I bought a package of ground beef which was marked with 85% meat and 15% fat. What I got when cooked was totally a different ratio. I usually don’t buy meats at Riddles, but I had no time to stop at Stop & Shop. I was returning home from the vet with a sick pooch in the car.
That’s why I stopped at Riddles. Knowing it’s a small store, I knew it would be a quick errand. I’m hoping that this incident was out of the norm. I’ll give Riddles another chance. AND will always shop there for other items if need be. My pics are on the website.

Small store but they carry a lot of variety! Best service and will try to help you if you have any special requests. A little pricey but it’s a local market and very convenient. The sales are always good so watch for them.

Best mom and pop supermarket ever!
Staff is awesome! A little on the pricey side but
You are paying for convenience… watch the sales and you can get some good deals too… the deli staff is so much friendlier than anyother sipermarket I have ever been too! Five stars all the way…

What what they charge you for produce. This is the second time in 4 visits I have been charged for a more expensive item than what I had selected. Otherwise, it’s the only grocery store for miles. Some prices match those of the big box stores.

A bit of Old Nantasket.
Being a yokel who likes to shop local, this store is the place for me. Compact, retro, funky and unpretentious. OK, so they don’t have seventeen kinds of organic free range grass fed mushrooms like the stores in surrounding towns but they do have almost everything you could need. It is a good sized store but small enough that you don’t have to walk 20 minutes across the store to get milk like S&S. The shelves are always neat and organized and the employees are friendly and not snobby. When I don’t walk there, I park in the lot out back, it’s nice and neat. I like the carpet too. Yes there is a Mister Riddle and he can be seen around the store dusting, stocking and being cool.

Riddles has be best variety of FRESHLY BAKED BREADS in the entire town of Hull.
If you call them the night before they will bake the rolls or breads you wish to buy and get them out first thing in the morning.
I have on several occasions requested different choices and shown up at the crack of dawn to piping hot fresher then fresh delicious rolls and buns baked soft of crusty special to my request.
Always warm and friendly group of service oriented personnel.
The best of the best.

Honestly, you can’t beat Riddles. It’s close, the prices & sales are comparable to most major markets with the exception of the frozen section, and the staff are friendly, helpful and just great all round. If you want something they don’t have just tell them and they just may stock the shelves. Great job on the renovations. Support local businesses in Hull & shop Riddles when you can.

Riddles… what can I say… small place, that has everything and I mean EVERYTHING!!! You may pay a small «local» fee but it more than saves you the time and gas to go to one of those «chain» stores. Decent cuts of meat, and they even have fresh dog bones which my greyhound just loves. Parking is plentiful and they even added a rear lot recently… Thanks Riddles!!!

I have to give Riddles a 5-​star review. Not the cheapest place, not the biggest place, not the most-​modern place, Riddles is perfect for our little community as it reflects everything else in the Kenberma «shopping» district, a place for locals.
Walking through the door you are transported to a simpler time where soothing music played on the PA instead of some garbage you hear on pop radio. All of the employees are friendly and wear little white coats. The signs are handwritten. Each aisle you walk down, you wonder if there is an old Mr. Riddle and if he still works in the backroom.
Riddles: A true Hull Gem

This is the primary grocery store for the seaside town of Hull.
And like Hull, it’s quirky and unique.
It’s certainly different from what most of us are used to these days in a supermarket, harkening back to the markets of another era.
You might think for a moment that you’ve actually gone backwards in time to the 1950s and that you’re about to run into June Cleaver over in aisle 5.
There’s no pretense and nothing fancy but you can get the basics here without hassles, crowds or attitude and that’s a big plus.
I’ve stopped in here on a several occasions mostly to pick up a snack of some kind or for a few items to have an impromptu beach picnic. While you’re not going to find organic produce or any specialty items you will find reasonable prices and helpful staff.
There is also a wine aisle which can make this one stop shopping.
If you’re a true wine connoisseur, they probably don’t have what you want but if you just want to add a decent bottle of wine to that picnic basket you will find something here to please.
I’ve never seen crowds at the checkout which in my book is always the best.
What will likely seem odd to you as it did to me initially is that that this store has wall-​to-​wall carpeting. Yes, carpeting. Red Academy Award colored carpeting.
The first time I saw this oddity was in another local supermarket on the South Shore, this one in Scituate.
As much as I liked that market, I was always somewhat put off by the weirdness of the carpeting.
But then it dawned on me that the carpeting might have something to do with trying to prevent slip and fall accidents
Indeed when I did a quick google search about this, (yes, this is the kind of research nerd that I am) I found a NY Times article from October 2010 about a few of the D’Agostino’s chain of supermarkets in the city that had traded in their industrial linoleum floors for industrial carpeting.
As a result of this change, their legal bills from folks suing after falling on spilled items (crushed grapes apparently being a big problem) went down almost to zero. As well, they have less product loss as most glass jars don’t break when they fall onto the carpet.
They also claim this special carpeting is easier to keep clean.
I will say this, the carpeting also dulls the sound. These supermarkets are definitely quieter.
So while it seems strange, I do understand it now. What’s interesting in these parts is the only two stores I’ve seen it in, are these one of a kind, locally owned small markets.
They may be small, but it sounds like they may be smarter than the big box chains.
Riddles isn’t my market of choice, but I do love that it’s there.