Samber Food Store

Like a bodega and a wine shop had a baby. On the bodega side, they seem to have all the usual fare — assorted junk food, cleaning supplies, beverages. The wine selection is really the upswing here. Mostly affordable stuff (you’re probably not getting your parents’ 25^th anniversary bottle here), but a nice range of options in style and region. Great option for Columbia Heights and Mt Pleasant drinkers who aren’t overly fussy about their vino.
Pro tip: Just wine here, no beer or liquor. For that, however, you can go next door to the liquor store!

Always a pleasure! Granted Sambers does need a bit more merchandise… I’d give 4 ½ stars if I could. But I only come here in a pinch to grab frozen dinners. I wind up leaving with Veggie Straws, Seaweed snacks, and assorted sundries…
Prices are excellent for the convenience. My totals, once rung up, always pleasantly surprise. The owner is a veteran and he and his wife and son all work here. Service from them is lovely and they truly take care of repeat customers.
The store feels nice and spacious! Its a relief to shop somewhere without bumping elbows.

They have everything you’d walk to 7 – 11 for– but they have a better selection and great beer choices. The owners are super friendly every time I go in.

This is a great little store that offers something for everyone (well, just about). Good selection of beer and wine and a little bit of everything else. I’ve come here when I needed things like egg noodles (check), pureed tomatoes (check), Amy’s soup (check) etc.
The owners are part of the reason I shop here — always a friendly word and a smile. One time I forgot my credit card and the owner said to pay next time. A true neighborhood gem!

Samber isn’t in my neighborhood, but I’ll be a loyal patron as long as it’s managed by the couple that do now.
The selection is the opposite of 7 – 11. Great quality beer and wine (the wine isn’t usually fully stocked, but they always have great and inexpensive lesser-​known labels, so some expert there — or the recommendations of neighborhood hipster — must be selecting), a respectable selection of groceries, and very little junk food (they’ve got chips).
I love Samber chiefly for the service. The older gentleman who sometimes works behind the counter (who is apparently a Marine veteran) and his wife are always extremely kind, courteous and helpful. They’re not very chatty, but she gave a free ginger candy with an Asian label once just because she was feeling in the holiday spirit. ‘Valued customers’ does not have a dark ironic ring to it here.

Great beer selection in coolers, and friendly cashier. High quality brews, so don’t expect cheap.

Given them specific instructions on how to print the lottery tickets. They ignore me and print them all on one slip. This happened not once, not twice, but THREE TIMES. Never again.

Slowly but surely, Samber is moving to fill a desperately needed niche in Mt. Pleasant – the upscale convenience store. The heart of their strategy is a great beer and wine section that just went through a major expansion – for wine and beer, they are a decidedly better bet than the adjacent liquor store. But they have also added a little cheese area providing respectable cheese in a pinch. Finally, they also feature a good selection of nice-​brand chips (in addition to the beloved Utz).
Delis featuring nicer products and charging a handsome premium from yuppies who don’t want gross convenience store food but don’t want to walk too far have been cleaning up in New York for a long time. DC needs more of these options and Samber looks like a great outpost for Mt. Pleasant.
And as an added bonus, it is run by an extremely nice couple who offer the finest hospitality of any storefront on the Mt. Pleasant Ave strip (tho that teenager who sometimes runs the DJ’s takeout counter is a close second).

I dig Samber! I wouldn’t pidgeon-​hole it and merely call it a convenience store, although it has similar selections as such, it’s so much more.
For one, Samber has a pretty good selection of beer and wine. With beer in particular, they sell a good variety of microbrews (yay Bells!) and a small selection of the bigwig beer (boo Budweiser).
Secondly, the couple that owns the store are the nicest people ever! They seem to be a first name basis with a lot their customers which you don’t get everyday.

I love this place. Mt. Pleasant Street has its share of liquor/​convenience stores (The place across the street is actually called ‘Convenient Store.’ Amazing.) BUT, Samber is the friendliest, cleanest, and has the best selection. You can find very, very solid beer and wine here, along with standard convenience store items. The highlight of Samber are the owners, an awesome couple who, as everyone has said, will recognize you after a time or two, and are always unfailingly friendly and helpful. I love giving my business to Samber.

Pretty good beer selection, friendly folks.

Their complimentary calendar adorns my office wall. In reference to the other Unilocalists who have commented on the store’s «scary» façade, I would just note that they recently renovated the storefront, and it looks far more inviting these days.

My first choice for beer in Mount Pleasant — a good and changing selection, always a few interesting microbrews (e.g. Dogfish Head) available, always nice and cold. The owners are genuinely friendly and helpful and — as Mark K. said — a real asset to the neighborhood.

i try a new beer and wine from here every week.
i had a mean hangover one day and stumbled down here to buy some gatorade and excedrin. the woman of the couple that runs the store was behind the register on this dreamy saturday afternoon and bestowed upon me a tasty tangerine. needless to say, that tangerine nursed me back to health (in addition to a shower, nap, gatorade, excedrin, and the inevitable passage of time). thank you, samber market.
you had me at «oooh rough night?»
i think i. yes. i love you.

I stop in here about once a week, usually on a Friday or Saturday night to get some beer or wine to bring to a party. On my second visit, the owners recognized me and and treated me like a regular. They are always getting in new types of beer and keep up with seasonal brews. It is the friendliness and great beer selection that keeps me from shopping at one of the many other convenience stores on Mt. Pleasant. Oh, and their yummy ice cream.
A gripe: They are don’t have a very complete section of things to cure your ills. One dose of Advil or Tylenol for your hangover will cost a buck. I would prefer to be able to buy a bottle, but they only have them in single doses.
By the way, there are not any scary stores on Mt. Pleasant. They all just happen to be locally owned and usually owner operated, which isn’t the norm in many places. If you ask me, shopping at stores where you can develop a relationship with there person who supplies the goods is only natural, and less creepy than shopping at huge stores.

When I moved to Mt. Pleasant in 1990 I’d been there for about two weeks and had been to Samber Market which was right around the corner from my house maybe three times. About the fourth time I walked in the woman behind the counter said with a smile, «You’ve moved here, haven’t you? Welcome» and ever since there’s been recognition by she, her husband and their son when I’ve seen them on Mt. Pleasant Street or been in the store.
The store itself is rather simple but has most of those things you typically run out of and need to run to a corner store for: milk, eggs, garbage bags, dish soap, beer or wine, etc. They also have a reasonable number of basic food items: soups, macaroni and cheese, pasta, sauce, tuna fish, snacks, etc. You won’t find marinated artichoke hearts or water crackers but you shouldn’t expect to.
To their credit, they have a surprising number of good wines at very good prices. From Red Bicyclette and Barefoot wines at very competitive and often lower prices than other stores to more sophisticated brands. They’ve made a point of stocking up and there are times I will go here, even though I don’t live in the neighborhood anymore, to buy a dozen or so bottles.
The folks who own and run this place are extremely nice and hard working. They’re a genuinely contributing part of the neighborhood. A year ago I moved from Mt. Pleasant to Petworth and one of the things I’m sorry to have left behind is Samber Market (as we refer to it). Nothing to be hesitant or scared of at all.

I am very loyal to this store due to their respectable variety of wine and beer. They have Chimay and other random «good» beers like that. Their wine selection has cheapies as well as more legit brands. They also have Amy’s food in the freezer, which rules. I also like that the owner and his wife are always there and smiling. They just need a better sign out front to better represent what they have going on inside.
The only weird thing is that they sell «I love New York» keychains at the check-​out counter. This is not New York. Where is the love for DC?

The prolix proprietess laughed at me when I asked if they sell 3-​packs of gum. I don’t know what was so funny, but I think it’s just that she’s just a good-​natured lady, happy to be in this friendly little shop. She ended up selling me a pack of Dentyne and some matches for $ 1.05. This is one of those dark, shady looking Mount Pleasant stores, next to «Sports Man’s Liquor», the kind that you are nervous to go into — nervous you will be intruding on a mafia deal — but there is actually more charm in the cash register of this place than in the entire grounds of your given Exxon Station. Don’t be afraid to support locally owned businesses.