Why Casa Santa Luzia is São Paulo’s most beloved supermarket

We’ve all experienced the displeasure of navigating crowded aisles and wasting time trying to figure out the logic of ill-considered shop layouts – only to be forced to wait in long checkout lines. Good supermarkets can be hard to find. But they do exist: São Paulo’s Casa Santa Luzia, which celebrates its centenary this year, provides ample options and isn’t overlit. You’ll find it in the city’s chic Jardins district, where high-end shops and exclusive restaurants dot the elegant, treelined streets.

Locals pop in to buy a good bottle of wine, get their cold cuts sliced just right or pick up a rotisserie dinner. Stocked with more than 30,000 products including organic foods, Casa Santa Luzia is also beautifully designed. Colourful stained-glass windows add a playful touch of light above shoppers’ heads, while the modernist-style exterior offers an antidote to most supermarkets’ grey tones. Best of all, there’s a much-loved café on the second floor.

Over the years, Casa Santa Luzia’s family-led management team has repeatedly ruled out expansion, ensuring that its expertise isn’t stretched thin. Its third-generation director, Ana Maria Lopes, argues that this is the supermarket’s strength. “Our family is proud to manage what we now consider to be a true asset to São Paulo,” she says. “We’re committed to maintaining our position as a benchmark for the retail of food products.”

It’s no wonder that the shop has become indispensable to local residents. The menu, which features more than 1,000 homemade dishes, offers options for both lunch and dinner, such as beef stroganoff, Brazilian shrimp stew or a light selection of quiches. Doesn’t every city deserve to have its own Casa Santa Luzia?
santaluzia.com.br

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