When it comes to great gifts, you can’t go wrong with food. Thanks to our Specialty Grocery Buyer, Josh Dwinell, we offer more than 15,000 gourmet goodies fit for any food lover.

Josh Dwinell, Master of Specialties (a.k.a. Specialty Grocery Buyer): With 22 years of grocery experience, Josh curates the amazing selection of dry goods across our stores, specializing in specialty, gourmet and organic products from around the corner and around the globe. It’s a big job, but Josh juggles it all like the pro he is.

What’s the key to building a great selection of specialty groceries?
Being a foodie and having a passion for great food definitely helps. In my humble opinion, we offer the best product mix in our area. Continually keeping up on industry trends, building up local producers, products and brands, discovering and being first to market with new products as much as possible—they all lead to an extraordinary grocery experience!

How do you decide which items make the cut?
It’s a multifaceted process. Along with reviewing our current selection and measuring product performance, we work with vendors, formulate promotion plans, utilize industry reports and identify emerging trends our guests will love. We also foster relationships with our vendors and brand community, because as we like to say at Nugget Markets, “We’re in the people business, we just happen to sell groceries.”

What are some of our most popular specialty grocery items?
Some guest favorites consistently fly off the shelves, like Tejava Tea, La Morenita Tortilla Chips, Euro Classic Brioche Hamburger Buns and La Panzanella Croccantini Crackers. One of my personal go-to items is Bunches & Bunches Cooking Sauces.

What products are you most excited about this holiday season?
Panettone! This sweet Italian bread makes a great gift for anyone in the family, and a great host or hostess gift at a holiday party. Our panettone offerings are always expanding each holiday season and they are some of the tastiest treats for the holidays.