Hasty Market

What an incredible selection. There are wall to wall weird sodas and plenty of snacks to go with them. And they're always open when you want something strange in your day. I make it a stop when friends are visiting the city. Yes, a corner store can be a tourist location.

Go to for snacks. Also for Ali.

Pros:
- every snack and drink under be sun
- rlly cheap and fair prices
- Ali is super sweet and remembers your name
- they have a lot of imported treats for decades past and new stuff to try if you're feeling adventurous
- parking in the back and free res spots on 16th if you go down half a block

Notes:
- sometimes they're "closed" for five minutes. There's only one person manning the shop so I'm guessing this is when they're in the back room. Give it a bit, for sure it's usually only the five.

They have ginger ale in the fridge, and when you open the ice cream freezer, a loud, screeching alarm that could wake the dead doesn't go off. The 7-Eleven on Fraser and King Edward can suck it.

Love Ali. Hasty has the best selection of snacks for every craving you could have. Certainly a staple on main.

Ali has upped his service ninja game yet again but I hesitate to say why, in the fear that an unsavory person may read this and take advantage of such awesome. And so, I begin this review with a disclaimer:

Are you a good person?

Have you ever thought of kicking a puppy? Or taking candy from small, adorable children? Do you own a big van and spend your Saturday afternoons lurking? Or do you, or have you ever had a large mustache that you twirl ominously while partaking in activities like tying damsels onto railroad tracks?

If you've answered no to the above, we can safely assume you are a good human. Please read on.

In preparation of a big move, my overwhelming need to procrastinate by walking for craft soda has expanded exponentially. So tonight, like many other nights, I made the 15 minute trek to Hasty for my root beer fix. Upon reaching my favourite little neighbourhood store, and loading up on various craft beverages, I realized I had forgot my wallet.

Now sure, i'm a regular but Ali didn't blink an eye. With a quick flick on the register, he took my name, told me my total and said I could pay next time I was in. It was done with the ease that assures me this is not the first time this kind gesture has been offered.

It brought me back to a time where neighbourhod grocers would happily keep tabs or pubs that keep them tucked away until you stumble in the next afternoon. I grew up with this kind of trust and service, but I haven't seen it before in this big ol' city we live in. It's the kind of neighbourly awesome that makes me love this haunt so much.

I'm moving out of the area (well, the country) but Riley Park & Mount Pleasant peeps? Go here. From craft soda, to kitchen staples and everything in between, this place serves up late night snack cravings with old school service.

Best convince store in Van for imported sodas. nobody has as good a selection than hastys

It's weird for me in general to be reviewing a convenience store, however, I have a personal attachment to this store. My parents were the original owners of this store before it sold down the line to numerous owners. I have memories of working there, the old layout is still imprinted in my mind as fresh as the first day.
As I was walking home over the weekend from the record store, I decided to pop in for the first time in literally 14 years. I never did before hand 'cause I never used to hang around the hood and then when my dad passed, didn't want to be emotional. I decided to suck it up and walk in and look at the changed layout and what they had to offer.

I didn't have any intention of buying anything that day, I just wanted to remember in my own way.

I was pleasantly surprised and relived that not only is it in good hands at the moment but the selection has the convenience store staples but a few specialty products as well. The owners are super friendly, just like my dad and his brother were when they owned it back in the day.

It took me 10 minutes to decide on a soda pop to drink 'cause other than your usual suspects IE: Spite, Coke, Pepsi, 7-UP etc., they had specialty pops from different parts of the world. They had rare unusual flavors that I would pay up to $4 a bottle elsewhere and here, at reasonable price. I even found my favorite soda pop Zevia and some cool Seattle based sodas (without having to go to Seattle). I am now on a mission to try all the colas before the end of the year.
It's awesome to see a convenience store having faith with unique drink products in hopes that the customer ship is there besides banking on the usual varieties.
I feel good knowing that it is in the right hands. Cheers.

I come here everyday and all the staff are super friendly and I couldn't imagine my neighbourhood without the hasty shoutout to Ali

Never in my life have a reviewed a convenience store. I'm doing it, because I actually did a google search to see if anyone else feels that store has
something magical about it, it's like entering the Twilight Zone , except nothing weird or creepy happens. Love Love Love these guys,
I'd go in there when my B.F and I had a fight just because, I swear, you open that door and it's a different world. Aside from that, their prices are great, they have good quality groceries, not a lot, but organic things that you'd not expect from a corner store. And they have a great selection of candy, some that I remember from when I was a kid.
Ali, Bubba, I LOVE you guys. Thanks for existing.

Two words: Vanilla Coke. Oh for 2004, when Vanilla Coke was available everywhere normal coke was sold. Nowadays, you have to make a pilgrimage to Hasty Market on Main for your Vanilla, Cherry, or Diet Cherry Coke.

It can't be easy to distinguish yourself as a convenience store merchant, but Hasty Market somehow manages to do so. I find most convenience stories oppressively bright and institutional. Hasty market manages to offer just the right amount of cluttered goods, with options for exotic beverages (see Vanilla Coke mention above) in the coolers along the back wall at not unreasonable prices. And the gentlmen behind the counter are unusually friendly and helpful. When's the last time you saw a convenience store clerk actually get out from behind the counter and show a confused customer where an item is?

I never imagined I would write a review for a convenience store on Yelp, but Hasty Market has earned it.