Louie H Y Cash and Carry

HY Louie is historic. Historic because the business is privately run and spans three generations. I’ll spare you the details.
What is it about this store? I remember it as a youngster when my dad would take me here to shop. I finally returned after a multi decade absence/​departure. Hasn’t changed much since then.
Technically, it’s a wholesaler, not a grocery store or supermarket. You may or may not like it depending on what you come for. You’ll love it if you come for bulk or if you run a small business that’s food related, such as a restaurant or a corner grocery store. The one thing it lacks is selection. You may find an item here, but not much in terms of variety.
There’s cooking utensils too.
You’ll have to check this place out for yourself. You’ll never know what you can find.
BTW, you know those plastic take out containers they use at certain Asian restaurants,? You know the ones — they’re the ones that your Asian grandmom and parents would hoard and stash in the bulging cupboards, along with all the other take out containers in their home, and use as tupperware instead of buying tupperware? You can buy them buy the hundreds here for dirt cheap. =P

Lately I have been addicted to their Olive humus. An expensive but good addiction. Very high in fat content but made with natural ingredients. In fact I am eating some right now.

Louie H Y Cash And Carry is a very weird store. Some have compared it to costco, but that’s not quite right. The stock is different, the ambience is different, and there is an annoying bell that keeps ringing every couple of minutes for no apparent reason.
But Louie H Y is the only place like it in East Vancouver. It has a supermarket feel in that there are many aisles in a big warehouse like environment, with several employees in vests wandering around stocking goods and answering questions. They never quite got the organization of a super market down though, as there is a notable lack of signage in any of the aisles.
You don’t need a membership to shop here, and they sell everything in big bulk boxes as well. By «everything» I mean that I don’t know where to start explaining what sort of groceries you can get here. 4L jugs of pickles, big boxes of pet food, cuban espresso coffee grounds and big ol’ boxes of halloween candy, line the aisles: you can find a lot of odd stuff. They have entire shelves of kim chi noodles and those neat individual serving boxes of cereal too! Chances are that if you could find an item in a convenience store, you could find a box with 50 of them here.
I wouldn’t normally give a business like this four stars, but due to its super secret location that happens to be close to home for me I can’t give it any less. It’s definitely got a lot of parking for you out of towners as well!

If I ever need a cheap kg of Fuzzy Peaches candy, this is exactly where I will come to buy them.
For those familiar with the cash & carry store in the US called Smart & Final, this is like a tired, shopworn version of it. Aisles upon aisles of candy, spices in institutional quantities, cleaning supplies and lots of restaurant supplies. When I feel my family is treating me a little like a short– order cook, I can actually buy those little red plastic baskets that you see in burger joints to serve my family’s food to them in as a form of passive aggressive protest!
They do have a lot of grocery products that you can purchase in single sizes which I imagine is a lot better for shoppers who are not restaurant/​convenience store owners. I’m not sure how the prices stack up to Costco but HY Louie doesn’t charge a membership so you are already $ 55 ahead of the game by making your purchases here.

This is probably one of those reviews that I shouldn’t write, based solely on the «underground local secret» thing it’s got going on. But really, when I think about it, it’s not *that* amazing. It’s the ghetto Costco. It’s where all of those weird ‘how-​the-​effing-​eff-​do-​they-​stay-​open’ convenience stores get their supplies; it’s an old school wholesaler that still has those curious clear plastic doors at the entrance; it’s a place to buy massive quantities of paper cups and bulk candy.
It’s in east van, it’s not slick, it’s a little dirty — but maaan, is it a great thing to have in Vancouver.
A departure from the shiny big-​box wholesalers, HY Louie isn’t a spot to buy produce (even if they did sell, I don’t think I’d be buying), but if you ever find yourself wanting a big ol’ tub of pineapple chunks, then you’ve found your store.

A friend let me in on this little secret. I had heard whispers of wholesale markets, but I’d never been able to find one that wasn’t membership only like Costco. I’ve found my go-​to place to stock up on things I use often — spices, tomato sauce, pineapple chunks, salsa, cleaning supplies, candy… I spent $ 98 here last month and I’m no where near working my way through it. I drag along a friend with a car because otherwise it’s a little out of the way, and I want to make the most of the trip. My favourite part was the back section of pop, they have Boylans! Some of the items aren’t much cheaper than stores (if they’re having sales or such), but for the most part the savings are great. My only issue is finding containers in the house to break up the cans into smaller servings to freeze. Hardly a complaint!

It’s a bit of a local secret, truth be told — but the H Y Louie Cash and Carry is an old school wholesaler that outfits many a corner store and conveniently enough is open to the general public.
H Y Louie is the wholesale arm of the company started over 100 years ago by Chinese immigrant Hok Yat Louie and is now the second largest BC owned company (after the Jim Pattison Group). Originally a small grocery/​restaurant supply company, son Tong Louie dramatically grew the company in the latter half of the 20^th century with the purchase of IGA and later, London Drugs.
Located behind Strathcona Park among the produce warehouses the Cash and Carry is the closest thing Strathcona has to a big supermarket. They don’t sell fruits and vegetables, but they sell literally everything else you might find in a small mom and pop shop (and then some). The prices are very low and for the most part, buyers aren’t obliged to buy by the case. EXCELLENT selection of ‘nickle/​dime candies’ that always prove to be a big hit with the neighbourhood kids and my wallet around Halloween.