Cooking and eating are activities that everyone does to live. We need to eat. We want to eat delicious food, but when you’re living away from home it is hard to make food that is comforting. International students are living thousands of miles away from home and may not even have access to foods they might want to make.  

The average grocery store in the US does not always have international brands or ingredients for people use in their cooking. The international foods aisle is small and lacks the variety needed for making meals. Members of the community found that international foods were wanted and have created International or Ethnic Grocery stores in the area to provide those ingredients.  

This blog post is meant to highlight a few stores in the area to get you started for finding the right one for you.  

International/ Ethnic Groceries in the area:  

• Mo’s Food Market: 2404 W Clybourn St, Milwaukee, WI 53233 

Mo’s Food Market is Asian food market in the downtown Milwaukee area. They have a variety of fresh, frozen, and packaged groceries, as well as kitchenware. It is about a 15-minute drive from campus. They update their Facebook page with announcements on specialty products or sales regularly. https://www.facebook.com/MosFoodMarket/  

• Pacific Produce: 5455 S 27th St, Milwaukee, WI 53221 

This is a great general Asian grocery. The place is huge, but the staff is very helpful. They carry all types of assorted and rotating stock from groceries to kitchenware. Prices are very reasonable. It is about a 20-minute drive from campus.  

• J&S African Center: 6029 N Teutonia Ave, Milwaukee, WI 53209 

J&S offers a solid selection of African foods and spices. The store is about a 15-minute drive from campus. 

• Al-Yousef Supermarket & Restaurant: 6329 S. 20th St, Oak Creek 

   Al-Yousef is a Middle Eastern restaurant and grocery store in Oak Creek. The store is about a 20-minute drive from campus. 

• Holy Land Grocery & Bakery: 2755 W Ramsey Ave, Milwaukee, WI, WI 53221  

Halal Grocery* Please double check on what is permissible for you. General searches may bring up inaccurate results. Holy Land Grocery is a modest grocery and dining location.  The store is about a 20-minute drive from campus.  

• Russian Food & Gifts: 3557 N Oakland Ave, Shorewood, WI 53211 

Established in 2007, Russian Food & Gifts has brought Russian culture to Shorewood. It is a unique store where you can find all sorts of odds and ends. It has an extensive selection to choose from. It is about a 5-minute drive from campus.  https://www.facebook.com/pages/category/Specialty-Grocery-Store/RUSSIAN-FOOD-GIFTS-163877802477/ 

• El Rey mercados: 916 S Cesar E Chavez Dr, Milwaukee, WI 53204 

A full grocery store specializing in Mexican and Latino foods. There are four other locations with the largest being on E. Chavez Dr. which is a 15-minute drive from campus.  https://www.elreyfoods.com/ 

Hours may vary, Be aware of COVID safety 

Check out this article: https://onmilwaukee.com/articles/ethnic-grocery-guide for additional stores! 

Contact el-academy for corrections and suggestions on stores!