The Hidden Gem California Grocery Store That Has Gourmet Grab-And-Go Meals

Malibu, California, is an upscale city known for its glitz, glam, wealth, and beaches. It's a celebrity hotspot, and if you visit, expect to see and experience some of the finer things in life. Everything from fashion boutiques to gated communities to local grocery stores delivers. In particular, there's one hidden gem that previously had three locations and is now down to one lone warrior: Vintage Grocers. 

If you take a trip to this trendy establishment, you'll see that the aisles stocked with fresh produce, quality meat, and fine wine are only part of the draw. The real surprise is the sheer variety of gourmet meals prepared on site. Customers don't just come here to shop for ingredients — they stop in for lunch, dinner, or even a quick snack, because the food service program could rival that of a specialty café. According to the market, the lineup includes brick-oven pizza, rolled-to-order sushi, comforting homemade soups, and a garden-fresh salad bar. There's also a juice counter turning out vibrant, fresh-squeezed blends.

The secret to why these offerings stand out is that the same high-quality items on the shelves are used to create them. Freshly caught seafood doesn't just sit on ice; it's actually sliced into sashimi using the best types of fish, and premium cuts of meat are tucked into deli-style sandwiches and entrées. Plenty of reviews laud how absolutely fresh and thoughtfully selected the food options are, and holiday spreads take it even further, with ready-made feasts to bring a gourmet touch to the table without spending hours in the kitchen. 

Vintage Grocers effectively created a hybrid: part neighborhood market, part upscale dining hall, all designed to cater to a community that values convenience without compromise.

Vintage Grocers may feel like a one-of-a-kind Malibu treasure, but the concept of mixing high-end grocery shopping with gourmet prepared meals isn't unique to California. National names like Whole Foods and regional chains, such as Wegmans, have long incorporated ready-to-eat counters into their floor plans. You'll see salad bars, hot food stations, and specialty delis in these stores, giving shoppers a reason to pick up dinner while grabbing pantry mainstays. But where many chains keep the offerings fairly standardized, Vintage Grocers leans into its boutique scale and location, curating meals that feel more personal than mass-produced.

Places like New York and California have embraced the "grocerant" trend — where a grocery store doubles as a restaurant. Through prioritizing gourmet-level dishes like fresh-cut sushi or brick-oven pizzas, the store delivers on an expectation that local customers and visiting tourists share: food should taste indulgent, even when it's fast. Where VG differs from larger chains is that it can pivot quickly to reflect local tastes or seasonal trends, whether that's adding new deli creations or refreshing the juice bar menu. In practice, that puts Vintage Grocers a step ahead of competitors because it doesn't just check the box on prepared foods; it elevates them to the same status as its core grocery offerings.