Atenas has several place to shop for Groceries.

Supermercado Coopeatenas

This market is located behind the main gas station at the beginning of town on Rt 3 and is currently the largest grocery store in Atenas. The Co-op, as we call it, carries have all kinds of local groceries, produce and meats as well as ones that they import for the expat community living in Atenas. We always stock up on Agua Pipa – or coconut water, some good wine and beer – yes they have good nice South American, French and Californian wine options as well as a wide range of beers – even  local artisinal ones. Costa Rican cheese or Queso Palmito is more like an indian paneer, however the cheese selection has grown a bit over the years, There are now cheese purveyors in the Monteverde as well as  Monte Azul which is a cool Eco resort and Art Center with an Artist in Residence Program, a B&B, and a sustainable cheese production facility in Chirripo, the highest mountain in Costa Rica.

The Co-op also has a new addition which is an outdoor snack and coffee bar with some really tasty items. Leticia absolutely loves the banana bread there. I recently had crispy hot frijole y queso corn empanadas with a delicious cappuccino for breakfast for just a few dollars. It totally hit the spot and the cappuccino had wonderful latte art on top. Attention coffee geeks:  they use a La Marzocco espresso machine! The fancy coffee culture is a new thing in Costa Rica – home of some of the world’s best coffee, but they are catching the wave and someone trained them right – for about 1/3 the price of the same cup in the US – so drink up!

Shops at the bus station

Yes the bus station in town is worth a trip – there you will find all kinds of produce vendors as well as butcher and fish mongers. There are also small booths that serve quick food. Tres Hermanas is just on the outside of the market and you can pop in there for a quick breakfast or lunch