First time at Jungle Jim’s International Market in Fairfield, Ohio? Here’s what to expect from one of the most overwhelming, exciting, and unforgettable food experiences in the Midwest.
What Even Is Jungle Jim’s International Market?
I mentioned I was headed to Ohio for Valentine’s Day, and my gym buddy Sara told me a little about Jungle Jim’s International Market. She said we should definitely stop by, but nothing could have prepared me for what it actually was.
My husband and I made the two-hour drive out to the Fairfield, Ohio location on Valentine’s Day, and while a grocery store might seem like an unconventional way to spend the holiday, it turned out to be part of one of the most fun and memorable outings we’ve had in a long time.
To give you a little context about what this place even is: Jungle Jim’s got its start back in 1971 when a man named “Jungle” Jim Bonaminio set up a roadside produce stand in a parking lot in Hamilton, Ohio.
It moved around a few times before he finally bought his own land, and the first actual store opened in 1975 with about 4,200 square feet of space. Over the decades, he just kept expanding and adding things at customer request.
In 1988, after visiting specialty markets in Chicago, he made the decision to turn it into a full international market and introduce the jungle theme. Today, the flagship Fairfield location sits at roughly 200,000 square feet and carries over 180,000 products. There’s a second location in Eastgate that opened in 2012. To put it plainly: this is not a grocery store. It is an experience.
Walking In: Disney World Vibes from the Start
Growing up in Tampa, my frame of reference for “overwhelming but magical” is Disney World. And I’m telling you, the moment we walked through those doors, that is exactly what came to mind.
Even the signage had this big, bright, theme-park energy that made you feel like you were somewhere special. The whole place has that same quality of being almost too much to take in at once, where you turn a corner and find something you never expected.
We got there a few hours before closing, which, as we quickly learned, was both plenty of time and somehow not enough. The first thing that greeted us near the entrance was a section full of novelty and gift items. Novelty snacks and treats, Harry Potter merchandise, goods tied to different movies and TV shows, all kinds of fun stuff that had nothing to do with your weekly grocery run. It immediately signaled that this place was not going to be your average shopping trip.
Here’s a fun video of the place to give you just a taste of all we saw:
Ice Cream, Wine, and Walking the Aisles
Then we spotted the ice cream shop. Inside the grocery store. We looked at each other and just laughed, because of course there’s an ice cream shop. We tried a few samples and then committed: I went with cookies and cream, and my husband got chocolate chip cookie dough. Walking around a massive international market eating ice cream cones felt a little absurd and completely wonderful.
From there, we noticed there was an actual bar inside the store where you could do wine tastings. So naturally, we walked over and I ordered a glass of raspberry truffle wine, which I had never tried before. At five dollars a glass, it felt like a no-brainer. There’s something deeply funny and delightful about sipping a glass of wine while wandering the aisles of a grocery store, and we leaned into it completely.
The International Food Selection Is Truly Something Else
With our drinks in hand, we made our way through the store and it just kept going. The wine section alone is staggering, with around 12,000 options. The liquor section is its own whole world. And then you hit the international aisles and that’s where things get truly impressive.
There were dedicated sections for foods from countries all over the globe including African, Mexican, and Indian sections, and so many more. The store carries products from an enormous range of food cultures, and it’s one of those places where you find yourself stopping every few feet just to look at something you’ve never seen before. They also carry around 1,600 cheeses and 1,000 varieties of hot sauce, which sounds like a made-up number until you’re standing in front of the shelves.
We also came across the cigar area, which had a full humidor and everything you’d need if that’s your thing. But the moment that genuinely stopped us in our tracks was the live seafood section.
Lobsters and all kinds of fish were swimming in tanks, and there was an enormous variety of fresh fish available for purchase, including species neither of us had ever even heard of. Because we arrived later in the day, some of the stations were starting to close down and wrap things up, but they were still packaging product you could buy and the sheer scale of what they offer there was obvious even at the fishtail end of the day.
Three Hours Later, We Still Didn’t See Everything
We spent a solid three hours there and pretty much stayed until the store closed. And here’s the thing: we didn’t buy a single item to take home. We hadn’t gone in with a shopping mindset. We went for the experience, to see what all the fuss was about. And while I have zero regrets about how we spent those three hours, I do have one small regret about leaving empty-handed.
Here’s a longer walkthrough video of the place so you can see what you’re really getting into if you visit:
Three Things I Learned from My First Time at Jungle Jim’s
1. Take advantage of the map. There is a reason this store provides a map, and you should absolutely pick one up the moment you walk in if you have never been there before. The place is enormous and organized in a way that makes sense once you understand it, but without some kind of guide you will wander aimlessly. Which is fun, but if you’re trying to actually find something, you’ll want the map.
2. If you’re going there to grocery shop, go in with a plan. I genuinely could not figure out how people use this as their regular grocery store, but there were absolutely people in there just doing their weekly shopping. I have so much respect for them. The selection is overwhelming in the best way, but if you walk in without a list and a strategy, you will be absolutely lost. There are too many options, too many sections, and too many distractions to just wing it.
3. Come ready to buy something. This is my biggest takeaway. We drove two hours to get there, and without a cooler in the car it wasn’t practical to bring home any of the cheeses, fresh seafood, or specialty foods that we were eyeing. I genuinely wish we had thought ahead and packed one. When you’re looking at live lobster tanks and walls of imported goods, you want to be in a position to actually take something home with you. Don’t make our mistake. Plan ahead, bring a cooler if you can, and come ready to treat yourself. Jungle Jim’s is the kind of place that deserves more than just a look around.
