Panamericana Grocery

It’s too cramped, the quality of the meat and the way that the butchers cut the meat is horrible, and there’s always mold on the produce. Megamart in Riverdale is MUCH better, has a better quality of meats and produce and is much more spacious.

I almost don’t want to rate this place for fear of there being long lines at the closest grocery store to my house. I am addicted to having this grocery store so close to where I live. Sure, the outside looks like the bad parts of the Bronx in the 1980s. Inside, it’s DC’s most inexpensive treasure trove of quality food. While the bent is toward Salvadoran and other Central American cuisine, there’s a hearty selection of fresh meat, seafood, produce and dairy that’s comparable to Giant & Safeway, but in many cases at about half the price. The only thing that really bums me out is their :(selection of berries — only fresas/​strawberries to be found here.
Usually you’ll need at least some basic Spanish to wrangle what you need at the fish and meat counter.
If you’re looking for toiletries, you need to check out in the left-​most lane; they’re behind the counter.
And if you’re looking for their delicious homemade tamals, they’re at the other counters, in the white plastic bins covered with tin foil. Just tell your cashier how many you want — they’re $ 1.25 each and super delicious.

No support for community. What business charges $ 40 .for a bag of ice melt. I hope that are not racially profiling in the community. Its shameful to treat customers this way.

This is a really great supermarket. The only reason it got 4 stars and not 5 is because it is so cramped. Sometimes the lines get long and confusing because there is no space. I always go on Sat.-Sun. so it is generally busy. One Saturday they had a local DJ playing Latin music. You will save a ton of money compared to shopping at the Giant in Columbia Heights. The produce section is excellent and you can find some .99 deals on fruits or veggies with a little blemish. They have a butchers counter in the back with good prices. If they could expand their space a little it would be perfect.

I had so much fun today at this store! a friend of mine recommended this place to me when I told her I couldn’t find chorizo in the stores around my neighborhood. There’s so much more to this place than chorizo! I found a great variety of Latin American products, most of them unknown to me, but having lived in northern Mexico for about a year, I was so happy to find some of them.
When i arrived I was hesitant about it, the outside looks not very inviting, but once as soon as I entered I knew I found a good place. yes, it was packed with people, and the halls are narrow, but people seem to be used to elbowing and moving your way around the store. You’ll find latin drinks, cereals, freshly baked bread, eggs, cookies, sauces, tortillas, cheeses, meats, veggies and MANY MORE products. when I came to this store I had the intention of only buying a few things there, but now I see I could easily use this place as my regular shopping store, their prices are great, an 18 eggs for 3 dlls, sausage packages for 2 dlls, veggies much cheaper than in places like Giant.
Anyway, I just wanted to recommend and say I’m definitely coming back!

I’ve been there twice. The first time was a Sunday at around 4pm and it was pretty much empty. The second time a Saturday at around 1pm and it was packed. The locals seem to be used to that, and it seems that elbowing your way around is accepted.
I lived in Central America and was looking for ingredients for some particular dishes, I had heard of some latino markets outside DC, but I do not have a car so I went to this one.
They had everything I needed (meat, cheese, vegetables, dulce de leche, spices and even blue corn tortillas).
But they also have the general staples at a third of the price of Safeway (sugar, beans, rice, flour, oil, tuna, etc).
I got 15 limes for $ 1. Spices are super cheap (oregano, cinnamon, pepper, vanilla extract… but also achiote, epazote, peppermint, etc). Seeds are also cheap, as well as several kind of dried chillies.
They sell meat and fish, but I did not try that yet.
I went there with a friend, and we shared some of the dried stuff because some of the packages are too large if you do not plan to use them every day.
I’ll go back because it is very cheap and they have ingredients that I do not find in the chain supermarkets around my house.

This place is effing bonkers! One time I went in there and I had to climb over 3 people just to get some yuca. It was so busy it seemed everyone was dancing together to squeeze through the aisles. It’s small, it’s packed, it’s lively… and I love it. They carry pretty much anything you would want, including what seemed like rather fresh produce. It may take some searching, but you’ll find it.
I like it much more than Giant for the reason that Giant is simply mis-​managed while this place does everything they can with their available space and constraints. I would reccomend the first time you go here to be during a non-​busy hour.