Jungle Jim’s!

Wednesday
It was another sunny day, and milder today. After doing housework and “marzipanning” the Christmas cake in the morning, we went out in the afternoon to Jungle Jim’s in Fairfield, and then for some exercise walking at Winton Woods, in the late afternoon sun (see extra). Jungle Jim’s is a huge, eccentric supermarket and international store. It had its origins in 1971, when “Jungle” Jim Bonaminio set up a semi-permanent produce stand in a parking lot in Hamilton Ohio. Over the next three years, Bonaminio moved the stand to several vacant lots throughout the area, until he bought a plot of land in Fairfield. The first store opened in 1975 with 4,200 square feet of space. He continued to expand the store, adding products at customers requests, and reorganizing the store. In 1988, after visiting specialty markets in Chicago, he decided to make the store an international market as well as introduce the Jungle theme. In 1998 the store purchased the former “Lion Country Safari monorail trains from Kings Island Amusement Park. Today, the store is known for its extremely wide variety of international foods, including various cheeses, exotic meats, breads, wines and fruit and vegetables. Many of the specialty foods in the international department are difficult to find elsewhere in the greater Cincinnati area, and people will come from throughout the state to visit! I don’t go regularly - it’s over the other side of town - and if I did I’d be tempted to spend more than I should! However, we do usually have a trip around this time of year, to pick up some British things we miss. It’s the only place for example I can reliably find a decent selection of good marmalade. We usually stock up on some Cadbury’s chocolate and a box of Quality street or Roses for the holiday, amongst other things. Some things we can order on Amazon, but it’s always good to have a browse and see what they have and compare prices. As you can see from my collage it is a unique eccentric store - it’s worth going just to wander round! The Amish horse and buggy is over a section selling Amish produce, the fire engine over a huge selection of Tabasco and other hot sauces! The central image above the British food area depicts Robin Hood and Sherwood Forest! Two images show some of their more unusual produce.
Step count: 10,256