The newest obsession is taking campus crawlers by storm: Wilko. Owned by Time Market, 444 E. University Blvd., the shop incorporates aspects of its East University Boulevard brother but directs it more toward the hip, health-conscious snob of a college student.
Need a refreshment before class? Grab Reed’s Ginger Beer ($1.35). It’s one of your gal pals’ birthdays? Pick up a bottle of Bitch (or Evil, depending on if you like her) Wine ($11.99).
The possibilities are really endless in this store that sells not only beer, crackers and flowers but also makeup and jewelry.
The store, overall, is nice to look at, clean and spacious inside. The way they’ve hid painkillers, condoms and tampons in little drawers is a nice setup, instead of having those items litter the store as if it was a normal supermarket.
We recently headed over to Wilko on the hunt for an alternative food choice in our normal diet of Chipotle and Pei Wei.
Kelli picked up a box of Starr Ridge asiago cheese crackers ($3.75), chicken salad ($2.03), shrimp egg rolls ($2.99) and a Smartwater ($1.29). While the crackers were a yummy, healthy option and the chicken salad was some of the best Kelli has found in Tucson, the shrimp rolls were strange. The rice paper, which wrapped the shrimp and other ingredients, tasted like plastic, and the contents were dry. After a few bites, Kelli had to throw it away because she just couldn’t bring herself to finish it.
Wilko
North Park Avenue and East University Boulevard
3 stars
Jamie grabbed vegetarian egg rolls ($2.99), rice pudding ($2.16) and mixed fruit ($1.94). The egg rolls (all from the Asian Sandwich Deli, 1710 E. Speedway Blvd.) didn’t please Jamie’s veggie monster’s palate, but the rice pudding and fruit (both from Time Market) did the trick. On a later trip she picked up some California rolls (also imported from the Asian Sandwich Deli, $2.99) which were great and filling given the inexpensive price.
The latte selection at Wilko needs expanding. The lack of prices visible to the sleepy, thirsty student is an inconvenience, and the store only has two syrups ….who carries only two syrups?
When looking for a quick bite, keep your eyes peeled for the Time Market eats – they were thoroughly pleasing and save you the long walk down to the store itself. Otherwise, keep to the pre-packaged eats and the Bitch Wine; you won’t regret it.
