Omega Mart and the Surrealism of Consumerism
How a fake grocery store exposes the real horrors of consumerism
Grocery shopping is hell.
If it isn’t people blocking the aisle, it’s somebody walking extremely slow as if they’re trying to be in your way on purpose. If it isn’t the one item you need not being in stock, it’s that one wheel on your cart that’s entirely too squeaky.
It isn’t exactly the most exciting of chores, yet it’s something that unfortunately has to be done.
A lot of people have tried to make the typical grocery shopping experience better, whether that be “inviting” stores like Trader Joe’s or more interactive ones like Jungle Jim’s. Other stores, however, have taken a different approach.
In Las Vegas, Omega Mart has leaned into the weird and quirky side of things to keep customers happy. Their unique and exclusive products make the shopping experience not only more fun but also labels the store as a must-visit destination.
But what many people don’t know is that the grocery store giant is hiding something in its aisles.
Just like any other store, Omega Mart relies on the money to keep rolling in through excessive consumerism… but what happens when we venture into those restricted areas?
“Everything is Fine”
The world might be in a state peril, but you can distract yourself from that with the newest body scrub, you know.
At least, that’s what we’re told by influencers on TikTok, trying to convince us to buy more products. It’s always “RUN, don’t walk” to the nearest Target or TJ Maxx, informing us of the newest cute trinket or food item.
Of course, the stores only lean into the free publicity, embracing the hordes of people clawing into their stores to spend $70 on another limited-edition tumbler cup.
Does anybody remember the Stanley craze that almost immediately died out? Do you remember the videos of people running into Target just to snatch the limited-edition Valentine’s Day cups? Do you also remember that the only difference between them and any other tumbler cup is that it was different shades of pink?
If not that, maybe you remember the strange phenomena of the Hello Kitty “mafia,” which consisted of resellers scouting out stores like TJ Maxx, Marshall’s, and Home Goods for any Hello Kitty memorabilia they could find. Not only did they hide merchandise, but they also would fight any other costumers that dared to eye a Hello Kitty mug.
But hey, if anything, I know you remember the grocery stores during the pandemic. You definitely remember the lack of toilet paper, the scavenging for baby formula, and angry faces of customers and workers alike. All the while, your local Walmart held its head up high with its slogan: “Save Money. Live Better.”
I can’t really dig into just how ironic it is to have that slogan in the faces of people during a time of social distancing and inflation, but we’ll move on.
The key point is that consumerism must live on, even in times of uncertainty and disaster. After all, what would our world be if our multi-billion-dollar corporations weren’t making their quarterly goals? Seriously, how would we have survived if Sephora didn’t tell us to buy that lipstick that was on sale during a time when everybody wore masks?!
In a similar fashion, Omega Mart directly parodies this. Every Omega Mart commercial hides something unsettling — it’s just a matter of figuring out how they manage to sell the discomfort without ever acknowledging it.
Like, don’t pay attention to the strange black hole in the chip aisle. Certainly, don’t pay any mind to the weird Willie Nelson deepfake in our newest ad. Oh, and don’t buy our lemons—they’re not really lemons.
Omega Mart presents itself as a weird 1980s super store, and with that comes its exclusive products. Looking for something to help you feel less guilty? Grab a tub of Plausible Deniability. Or maybe you need something to keep you up for your study sessions? Buy a spray bottle of WAKE UP!
Starting to see a pattern here?
Omega Mart offers the same exact solutions for when your world is falling apart, just like other stores do. The only difference is that Omega Mart does so honestly instead of pouring scented wax into another jar scented “Christmas Sweater on the Beach.”
But hey… who cares about global horrors when there’s a new Lay’s flavor drop, right?
Hidden Aisles
Deep within your local brick-and-mortar store hides secrets within the aisles.
Sometimes, it’s marketing tactics rooted in emotion. Ikea, for example, purposely designs their store like a maze so that it feels like an experience. Ikea isn’t just a store, but rather a mini theme park… food court included! Damn, I really need to get some meatballs soon.
But other secrets are more sinister.
Just like how Omega Mart has secret passageways for its customers to fall down the rabbit hole, so do our everyday corporate overlords. Chanel certainly doesn’t want you to know about its history of supporting Nazis. Nestle doesn’t want you to dig into how they farm chocolate, either. It’s fucking child slave labor, by the way.
Yet, our stores are still lined with Nesquik and Toll House cookies because Nestle is part of the multitude of companies that own basically everything we see on the shelves. So, who exactly owns the grocery store? Here’s the wizards behind the curtain:
Nestle
PepsiCo
Coca-Cola
Unilever
Kraft Heinz
How so? You may ask. Because Nestle owns Digiorno Pizza, and PepsiCo owns Quaker, and Coca-Cola owns Fairlife, and Unilever owns Dove, and Kraft Heinz owns Kool-Aid. That’s not even mentioning the other powerhouse companies like P&G, General Mills, or Mars.
But, seriously, there’s like maybe ten companies in the world that control a lot of our “food” supply. That’s terrifying, not just because of the insane power they hold, but because they are the food industry. They spend millions of dollars on food science to see what gets people addicted to their products, later on resulting in obesity and other health issues down the line.
And what happens when you fall victim to lifelong food addiction? Why, you need a cure, of course. Which is when you start buying their low-fat, low-calorie, high-in-protein options! That’s when you invest in Lean Cuisine (Nestle), Special K (Kellogg’s), and SlimFast (formerly Unilever).
How does all this connect to Omega Mart then? Other than the literal secret passageways in the store, the lore behind the grocery giant is far more complex.
Omega Mart is owned by Dramcorp, the corporate entity behind the strange and unusual products in the store. And how do they come up with these products? Without giving too much away… let’s just say DramCorp harvests human consciousness to create its million-dollar ideas.
Sound familiar?
Omega Mart might be here to warn us, but the local Publix isn’t as kind. They line their shelves with products based on making our brain be “happy,” using our cravings against us so that we will continuously rely on these giant megacorporations.
They call it food science, but maybe we should just call it for what it is: manipulation. In 2024, the food industry was given a lawsuit for marketing their addictive ultra processed foods despite knowing the health risks. So, we’ll see how that goes.
When Will We Start Looking?
I had the pleasure to visit Omega Mart in 2022. I went late at night, after we had come in from a long flight, and only really got to discover a fraction of it. Since then, I’ve been wanting to go back and visit for the full experience.
I also have the goal to visit every Meow Wolf location, because I genuinely love the experiences they create.
But Meow Wolf, and thus Omega Mart, does something special: they give you the choice to learn the story behind the art. You can totally go to Omega Mart just to look around; you’re not required to play detective by any means. However, searching for clues and digging into the lore certainly makes the experience much more enjoyable, giving you a deeper understanding of how Omega Mart came to be.
Similarly, we have the choice to dig deeper into what we consume in our own lives. Do we wish to stay in the dark and keep mindlessly buying products made to make us feel bad, or do we do research into why these things make us feel the way they do?
The more you look into these mega corporations, the more they begin to contort into cosmic horrors… too vast to comprehend and too many connections in the industry. You can’t destroy them; you can only witness them in the aisles.
Researching is a skill that Meow Wolf teaches, making us look past the neon aisles of Omega Mart. Everything within the store reflects the reality of what we crave, buy, and need to avoid. Yet, when you start looking for something, doors open up—and suddenly, you’re in charge of how the story unfolds.
So, while Dreamcorp may be fiction, it’s not that far off from reality.
Once you start learning about the things you put into your body, the grocery store becomes a lot easier to navigate. I don’t really go into the aisle anymore; I mostly stay on the outside with the produce, meats, and dairy products. Obviously, there’s the instances where I need rice, pasta, sauces—and don’t get me wrong, I LOVE junk food. I just choose to eat it sparingly now, which really cuts down cravings once you retrain your palate.
But anyway… hit me up if you wanna do a Meow Wolf road trip lol. Maybe we can find our own hidden passageways along the way.