Harvest Market is the newest (and in my opinion the best) grocery store in Champaign. But calling it just a grocery store would not be fair because it is so much more than that.

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Kelsie Travers

Not only is this massive store filled with a variety of health brands, it has all of the not-so-healthy brands you love as well. In addition to the array of products, Harvest Market offers other quality services that make for a refreshing grocery store experience.

Farmhouse Restaurant

Farmhouse Restaurant offers a menu that changes with the seasons that features famous Midwest foods and flavors. An elaborate fixed menu plus daily specials ensures that there is always something new for you to try. The restaurant features multi-level seating that adds to the dining experience.

The Nook Learning and Cooking Space

Harvest Market offers an instructional cooking space that can host events like food demonstrations, taste tests, cooking instructions and more. So after you’ve shopped till you almost dropped, you can learn how to cook the food that you've bought.

A calendar of Nook events can be found here.

Deli and Cheese Shop

According to their website, the deli offers chef prepared meals, fried chicken, a sushi bar, in-house roasted meats, farm crafted salads, a salad bar, The Farmstead Cheese Shop and even a butter churn room. What other grocery store lets you churn your own butter?

The Biscuits

This may not be a main attraction to the store, but I just can’t leave out the biscuits. I might not be a biscuit connoisseur, but I can tell you that I’ve never tasted a better biscuit before in my life. Pair this with the freshly churned butter and this small treat simply cannot be beat.

While the size of Harvest Market can be overwhelming at first, the variety and quality of the foods they offer are second to none. I’m personally counting down the days until next year when I move into an apartment with a kitchen so that I can take full advantage of what Harvest Market has to offer.

Before you head on over to Harvest Market for your next grocery shopping adventure, check out this article to find out how to avoid being fooled by grocery store produce. And because chances are you're a broke college kid, here's how to save money at the grocery store.