If you’re looking for a new place to pick up some food, a new grocery store on Delmar may be just the place. If candy’s what you’re craving, you’ll find it on the same rack as the dried squid.

United Provisions, owned by the Prapaisilp family, owners of Global Foods in Kirkwood, opened on Aug. 11 in a newly completed Washington University housing complex that also includes Joe Edwards’ Peacock Diner.

Not just a grocery store, United Provisions includes a restaurant called the Dining District, serving what general manager Shayn Prapaisilp describes as, “comfort food with an international twist.” The restaurant serves everything from sushi to fried chicken.

Prapaisilp describes the store as an, “urban international grocer.” What makes the store an “urban” grocery store is its 15,000 square foot size. For comparison, the average Schnucks is 57,000 square feet.  The building also boasts LEED Platinum certification, meaning it meets the highest standards of environmental sustainability.

The store sells food from over 100 different countries, including Lebanon, Bosnia, and Japan, as well as locally grown produce.

The store is largely stocked with the bestsellers from Global Foods, but it also includes many items that were put on the shelves as a result of a demographics study of the neighborhood.

Foods in the store are constantly changing. United Provisions receives many requests for items, whether it is something someone misses from home or something that can’t be found anywhere in St. Louis. The store then works with 50 distributors around the country to bring the food to the shelves.

The strangest item currently in stock is natto, a fermented soybean from Japan. Prapaisilp describes it as, “super stinky, sticky, and really gooey. People either love it or hate it.” For those who hate it, the store also carries Wonderbread.

This mix of international oddities and everyday foods draws a mix of shoppers to the store. Some adventurous destination shoppers come to find rare foods like natto, while many other shoppers come in to do their everyday shopping. Many of these shoppers are students from Washington University.

Approximately 400 students live directly above the store, and many more students take the ten minute walk to the store to buy their groceries for the week. The large number of student shoppers has greatly influenced the store, evidenced by the large selections of ramen and frozen meals. Many international students also come looking for some food from home.

Prapaisilp said that the store is a great fit, “with Wash U’s international students as well as the cool and weird culture of The Loop.”

United Provisions is open seven days a week from 7AM to 10PM.