Sai Market

6175 Santa Teresa Blvd
( Santa Teresa and cottle rd)
San Jose, CA 95123
Phone: (408) 360-9900

Shreya from Sanjose said, “Almost every Friday I pick up 6 curries from Sai Market and I am set for the weekend. I just open the cooler door, pick the boxes of fresh food that I need and go!!! I don’t have to think, plan and definitely not get confined to kitchen during weekends when every body is at home. Its like opening and picking from my Mom’s fridge.” Christina Thomatos, who lives in the neighborhood and enjoys shopping at Sai Market said with great enthusiasm in her voice, ” Its a great neighborhood store with kind customer service that offers wonderful Indian spices, a nice variety of rice, lentils and produce, delicious sweets, curries and naan, and even offers a British item or two like Bird’s Custard Powder. You can even pick up basic items there like bananas and milk. The owners are very friendly and welcoming to my family and me when we shop there too. We are glad to have Sai Market in the neighborhood.”

Like any other traditional Indian grocery stores, Sai Market offers fresh vegetables, pre-packed pulses, legumes, spices, and other baked, canned, packaged goods; however the differentiating factor is their kitchen. Just the concept of opening the refrigerator and being able to pick up from the assortment of curries is a great relief and stress reliever for many. You can pick and choose the to-go curries, pre-order them before coming or place an order while finishing shopping.

Sai Market occupies a decent floor space and is suitably located at the Intersection of Santa Teresa and Cottle Rd in South Sanjose. It is close to Kaiser Hospital, IBM, residential areas, apartment complexes and to many local businesses and hence is very convenient to consumers. Within the shopping complex, it is little tucked away and is at the far end, however, that doesn’t stop the basic appeal of this grocery store for its goods and the freshly prepared food that is made everyday and made available to customers in varied ways.

Upon entering, you will find a huge cooling unit on the right side. This is where most of the customers head to. Fresh vegetables are on one end of the store. Along the shelf’s, you will find the pre packaged dals, spices, lentils and such. Next to the cashier counter, there is an assortment of freshly made “Today’s specials” such as chapati’s/naan’s, some curries and snacks, like pakodas, and samosas. Opposite to the cashier counter is a small sitting area with TV, where customers either sit to wait while their order is getting ready or just sit to enjoy some chaat or samosa’s. Out side, though parking area is not much, but finding a space is not a problem.

The selection of fresh, frozen, pre packed food is great as it caters to all the varied needs. In the “quick pick” freshly ready made items, there is choice of both veg and non-veg items. Veg items include various curries such as , alu-brinjal, alu gobi, beans, kadhi, karela fry, bhindi curry, tomato dal, sambar, and different types of chutney’s to go with Idli and dosa’s. The non-veg items include curries like chicken, and lamb with variations . Additionally, there are ginger-garlic mixes, and some times, mouth watering Gulab Jamuns and other sweets. In addition to these quick picks, they have snacks to feast on. They specialize in Chicken Biryani and Veggie Dum Biryani, which is the most ordered specials for catering and for weekends.

One of the most important factor about availability of home cooked food, is its taste. One doesn’t have to worry about preservatives, excess amounts of oils or spices, or about purchasing old or stale food items. Each morning, only a certain amount is prepared, based on the demand. So don’t be surprised to find the fridge almost empty by late afternoon. As Shreya rightly pointed out, “its like opening Mom’s refrigerator and getting ready to set the table for dinner”.

Customer service is great. There is acknowledgment and service but at the same time space is given to the customer to browse around and shop. It’s a family run business. The family brings experience to the store and have been affiliated to the food industry for many years in the US. Sai Market is their new venture, which is less than a year old. The Owner is a wonderful and friendly lady. She said,“we are still in the process of organizing, setting, fixing and getting the place spursed up”. We have a chef and he has several years of experience and can put an extraordinary spread for catering orders and with the same ease he makes everyday meals hearty, fulfilling and mouth watering”. She further added, “ I used to do all the cooking and now with our chef’s help, we are trying to meet the needs of all the people.  We will also be adding a  DVD’s and CD’s collection shortly“.

Sai Market is providing great convenience and advantage to many. It’s purpose to supply freshly prepared food in a easy and “quick pick” form, is of great advantage to the entire gamut of busy people, from working professionals, working Moms, College students, other internationals to full time Moms. Sai Market is in its infancy and will be celebrating its first year of existence in few months. Stop by when you are on your way to Kaiser Hospital or after work or whenever you are around the of Blossom Hill area. It would need your support to continue to provide and offer its services. Supporting it would enable, one stop shopping experience to all, on a continuous basis, making it convenient for everybody around South San Jose, in the long run. It would need your continued support, to offer all the services that it has presently operational and to incorporate more in the future to make it a grand one stop shopping experience for all.