Jungle Jim’s International Market is a certified Ohio classic, and it’s only about two hours southeast of the Indianapolis area in Fairfield, Ohio.
To call Jungle Jim’s a grocery store would be an incredible understatement. Outside, the property is covered in jungle decor, with a fake watering hole (animals included!) by the entrance. Inside, the store is absolutely ginormous, with several different departments ranging from pop culture merchandise to international food. Over 70 different countries’ cuisines are represented.
The store is decorated with all kinds of old animatronics, some of which you can approach and interact with. In the toy section, a life-size Darth Vader is lying back between the racks, and, upon pressing the button, he emits smoke, rises up, and begins to talk. Over the deli and American section, a Campbell’s tomato soup can sits on a wooden swing, watching the people shop below. These are just a few of the sundry, and sometimes creepy, animatronics you may encounter on your journey around the property.
Jungle Jim’s began in 1971 when founder Jim Bonaminio set up a produce stand in a Hamilton, Ohio, parking lot. For three years, Bonaminio moved his stand to several different locations, chasing business, before finally settling on a piece of land in Fairfield. However, due to industrial zoning, getting a permit issued was incredibly difficult.
Nonetheless, Bonaminio continued to push for the acceptance of his request and, in 1975, the store opened with 4,200 square feet of space. Over time, the store continued its expansion, with more and more products being added and new sections emerging. In 1988, Bonaminio presented both the international products and the jungle theme, introducing the store’s most iconic factors.
While the store itself had finished expansion, the building had not.
In 1998, the store purchased monorail trains from Kings Island’s former “Lion Country Safari” ride. These were used to construct a jungle-themed monorail station with a huge faux snake behind the store. A second one was soon added so guests could actually ride in the cars. Though plans for expanding the track around the property were introduced, they’ve never been completed. If you go today, you can still see some of the abandoned foundations for this plan scattered around.
Recently, in 2019, “The Oscar Station” was added to the monorail station to serve guests alcohol. In 2004, a strip mall was added onto one side of the building, housing a CiCi’s Pizza and a Hallmark store. Sixteen years later, in January 2020, the front end of the store was expanded, adding approximately 17,000 square feet and additional tenant space. Even Graeter’s ice cream has moved in, allowing you to treat your sweet tooth while you browse the hundreds of thousands of products.
Today, the store boasts two locations- a smaller one being added to Eastgate, Ohio, in 2012- and over 500,000 square feet of space between them both. With the store having hundreds of customers every day, it doesn’t look like Jungle Jim’s will be going anywhere soon. Perhaps they’ll even expand further and get new sections we never could’ve imagined, furthering their reputation as one of the coolest stores in the nation.
