Bamber’s Superette

A perfect neighborhood grocery. Is it cheap, no. Is it quality, yes. I pay for quality, and Bamber’s stocks nothing but quality items. In fact, Bambers has been stocking quality items two decades before whole foods came to town, and they haven’t changed a bit. I’d support the local place over the corporate seemingly ‘healthy’ grocery any day, and so should you.

Have been here at least 15 times in the last 30 years, Wow, what an attitude these people have. Bought sour milk from here, gave me attitude when I brought it back an hour later. In fact, now that I think about it, I remember, I used to work at Lens’Standard, a gas station about 32 feet across the parking lot from this place in 1979 and 80, back in high school. Remember some of the customers from the gas station being frazzled from going over to them and coming back the summer they stopped selling cigarettes. Back then they were a regular neighborhood grocery store. Then, they remodelled and grew a real bad attitude. Seems like the prices went higher too though they do have some very nice things. They also do not take EBT cards. If you gotta have it, buy it here. But be prepared to pay a high price for it.

Very nice selection of imported foods, the deli offers some tasty salads. I have been going there to pick up specialty items for many years… in fact for a long time they were the only game in town for things like porcini oil and anchovy stuffed olives.

Best selection in South Bend for high quality foods (imports and domestic). Just found out that they’re also very helpful when creating a new recipe (great input from Gene Bamber on creating an interesting birthday cake). We need to shop here more often. Bamber’s isn’t cheap but very worth the money.

Fantastic family-​run specialty store for anyone who cooks or loves to eat — especially ITALIAN specialties! Beautifully stocked with the most amazing array of pastas, cheese, and pantry goods — we fill our cart (or 2!) every visit! The prices are great — and the service spectacular. They also have a delicious selection of prepared foods — lasagna, pasta sauces, pastries — that are worth a quick trip for that last minute dinner gathering. Do NOT miss this treat of a store!

Traveled from Virginia Beach and this was my only mandatory stop. Simply perfect! My mother had never been here and now has a list of must haves too. There is no, NO deli better than Bambers.

Frequent bambers quite often and no sure why i havent reviewed it in the past. By far the best specialty market in south bend. If your looking for hard to find ingredients like semolina flour or maybe a specific stinky cheese then this is the place. Its mind boggling how many odd and exotic ingredients he packs into this small store. Huge wine and craft beer selection. Tons of high end EVOO and aged balsamic vinegar. The real stuff too! Fresh produce and deli style food cases line this cute and quaint mom and pop grocery shop. Definitely worth looking around for any foodie on the hunt for something different.

They have a wonderful selection of gourmet foods and items that you cannot find anywhere else in town. The store has local charm and is worth a trip if you have never been there.

Great family run business. Was in So Bend for football game and came across this market in our search for tailgating items. Owner Gene greeted us and took the time to chat and welcome us to So Bend. Selection is fresh and amazing if you are looking for fresh pastas, cheeses. Love this place… too bad we live in California.

Great local Ma and Pop store with Italian specialties. Great for cheeses, wines, olive oil, pasta, muffuletta mix and other things you don’t get at the chain stores. Good produce as well.

This is an exceptional market. It never seems very busy, so it’s a bit surprising to me that it just stays in business forever. But I won’t look a gift horse in the mouth. This place has a VERY high quality and range as an Italian-​Mediterranean supermarket. It is comparable to, even better than, many of the Italian-​American delis I’ve frequented in the New York region, in part because here the real estate is cheaper, and this place can be larger and more extensive than most of those places.
Bamber’s is unmatched in the area for their selection of olive oils, vinegars, and pasta varieties (this was the only place in town where I could find the Perciatelli shape of dried pasta – Martin’s, no; Whole Foods, no; Meijer, no; Mamma Mia, no – and Bamber’s had it in TWO different brands). They have an excellent selection of cheeses, including fresh mozzarella and also various hard-​to-​find items like Gorganzola Dolce, Fontina Val d’Aosta, and Pecorino Toscano (which is NOT at all like Pecorino Romano, the one that we can find everywhere). They also stock assorted fresh meats, housemade fresh sausages, and – for some of the more exotic items, like boar or venison — -you can go to their frozen meats. They also have a very solid wine section.
My experience buying fresh produce there is almost nil, so I cannot speak to that. (If I am at Bamber’s, I’ve probably just left the Farmer’s Market with bags of veggies.)
Were it not for the fact that I live on the other side of town from here, I’d probably make Bamber’s a very regular, even mainstay, market.

Best soda selection in town. If you’re tired of the usual soda pop, cruise over to Bamber’s and look through their fizzy wall.
Oh, and yes, lots of great high-​end food.