by Jennifer Cox

So, I love the Skyway Grocery Outlet. I have for quite a time loved Grocery Outlet in general , but when a branch of the bargain market materialized within five minutes of my home, I was ecstatic. Screaming deals dotted with movie-themed décor make for fruitful and entertaining shopping trips.

Given that I commute past the Skyway Grocery Outlet location every day to and from work, I shop there all the time. On a visit a few weeks ago, I grabbed a bag of Hawaiian Kettle Style Chips in the “mango habanero” flavor.

These chips are AMAZING. Sweet, hot, crunchy and delicious.

I’ll explain now that I–along with my friend Jill–have a particular affinity for potato chips. I’ll try (almost) any new potato chip flavor in this country. I say “almost” because I drew the line at Lay’s Cappuccino chips. I will try any potato chip flavor in other countries, and unique chips are one of the things I look for when I’m traveling internationally. From a recent sojourn to Vancouver, BC a pal brought me back a bag of Miss Vicky’s “sweet chili and sour cream” flavor chips, which she knows are in my opinion the Holy Grail of North American potato chips.

Knowing that Jill and I share a chip fellowship (fellowchip?) the next time I was at Grocery Outlet, I looked for the mango habanero Hawaiian chips, but couldn’t find them. As can be the case with Grocery Outlet stock, supplies are limited and when exhausted may be long in returning, if ever. I ended up giving Jill the dregs of my one bag of mango habanero chips so that she could at least experience a few crumbs of their glory. She professed them delicious and we both vowed to buy these chips for ourselves and each other should we ever find them. I proceeded to search for the mango habanero chips at several venues, to no avail.

Earlier this week I was in need of wine (because obviously, wine is a needed material) and figured I’d run to Grocery Outlet as the store has some excellent vino deals (not to mention wine tastings on Fridays). While there, I spied the Hawaiian Kettle Style mango habanero chips! They were in a display away from the rest of the store’s chips. I gathered up all nine bags of chips and proceeded to the cashier. Angels may have been singing.

At checkout, the cashier surveyed my nine bags of chips, looked at them and then at me quite dubiously, brow furrowed. With a tone more than hinting at suspicion, she inquired,

“Why so many chips?”

I explained the situation. The chips are delicious, my friend and I had agreed to be on the lookout for them and would buy some bags for each other. The cashier seemed somewhat unconvinced. I was singularly focused on my joy in the mass procurement of the elusive mango habanero chips.

As I was walking to my car, I realized that I had unwittingly just bought NINE BAGS OF POTATO CHIPS ON 4/20.

I totally understand the cashier’s skepticism.

Featured photo is a CC Licensed Image courtesy of kochtrotz via Flickr