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Are there any good grocery stores left?


Randomguy

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I shop at Walt’s, it’s only nine miles away. They have their own butcher and great meat. They have a nice bakery but I try to avoid that. Good produce but a bit pricy in the off season. Right now they are getting to the end of local produce, they still have lots of local peppers at great prices. They have a great selection for an independent store. 

I still shop at Aldi for a lot of staples.

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We have this local place called Sherm's.  It is a regionally owned, somewhat small grocery.  They do a lot of locally sourced stuff.  You can buy things like raw local honey, some local produce, local meats, and stuff a big chain like Kroger won't do.  Sherm has an enormous natural food section.

They just opened a Natural Grocers here.  I am excited for more organic options now, but I am torn. I am concerned that it is going to hurt that regional place.  I will most likely stick with Sherm and only stroll through the new place to possibly get things that I can't from Sherm.  Although, I bet I could order anything I want.  Sherm always listens. I do like the Kroger for produce.  While Sherm's is mostly excellent, their produce can be a little B grade and unreliable.  

We have Albertson's here.  I never go there.  It is too far for me.

We also have a Holiday market.  It is close enough for me that I could walk.  It is slightly more expensive, so I stay with Sherm.

We have no food deserts here, unless you live in the outlying areas.  I am in city center now.  There is a plethora here for me.  We also have this really cool thing where you can order farm to table stuff online and pick it up once a week.  Our town has no many initiatives for people below the poverty line too.  We have a produce connection at the Wellness center.  Anyone can pick up a box of produce for FREE.  No questions asked, free.  I see the lines for it, on Friday mornings, and it is hundreds of people.  

Our local food bank is one of my favorite charities.  I donate monthly from my check.  People who need it can pick up food, no questions asked.  

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Different grocery stores for different products.  One smaller local for meats, two large traditional supermarkets for other stuff and one big box for bulk products.  There is no one solution that fits all.  Price and quality differ from store to store.  For example, you wouldn't want to pay almost twice as much for milk at the "good meat" store.

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There are two local chain stores near me that I like, but they're expensive so I only use them for selected items.  They're not so big that they're overwhelming but they have a nice selection of quality and interesting foods.   I think the chains used to be related, but somewhere along the line they split into two separate companies. 

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What @maddmaxx said. I got to different stores for different things. I like Wegmans, lass than a mile from work, five miles from home. But is is crazy there during peak hours. I get my grocery staples there. The Super H, a Korean chain has great produce and seafood with prices to match. Costco is good for bulk stuff and quality protein but you have to have a plan to deal with the volume you get. I miss Jungle Jim’s in Fairfield OH, but that is all I miss about Ohio.

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2 minutes ago, Old#7 said:

What @maddmaxx said. I got to different stores for different things. I like Wegmans, lass than a mile from work, five miles from home. But is is crazy there during peak hours. I get my grocery staples there. The Super H, a Korean chain has great produce and seafood with prices to match. Costco is good for bulk stuff and quality protein but you have to have a plan to deal with the volume you get. I miss Jungle Jim’s in Fairfield OH, but that is all I miss about Ohio.

I'd agree with the caveat that when I was a kid, I remember my mom going to the local grocer and getting the sort of customer service the big grocery stores don't offer any more. We could call ahead and one of the kids could pick it up. It could be delivered. It could be on credit. They would special order stuff and the deli & meat folks knew their stuff.

Of course, today, I doubt that is easy to reproduce or make profitable. 

Locally, though with probably 20 or 30 different "grocery stores" vying for our dollars, it's sort of a challenge even keeping up.  Costco, TJs, and Harris Teeter usually win our regular business, but then there are all the other options that may be chosen depending upon what we need. 

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The last good corner grocery store near me, Pat's, closed around the beginning of the 2000's when Pat was offered a good job at BWI Airport.  There's still a High's store, but its very limited and high priced - basically a convenience, milk store that is frequented mostly by those without transportation.

My typical shopping rotation is usually: Aldi, Food Lion Supermarket, Walmart, Giant Supermarket, Costco, and Vince's Vegetable Stand.  Where Aldi is usually my first stop and the others depend on if I want something particular to that store, like Giant's 3/4" or more thick never-frozen Haddock Filets for $8.99/lb.

I like the smaller supermarket chains like Aldi and Lidl (whose low prices drove Walmart grocery stores out of the UK) because they have large selections yet are easy to shop.

I like the huge supermarkets like Wegman's when I want to do a little exploring and try new stuff or stock up on the great nuke or bake-and-serve meals they have freshly prepared.

I like Costco for groceries and paper towels, etc. that I'm willing to buy in bulk that I can't find elsewhere or at the price I get at Costco. A very excellent and imported (America's Test Kitchen showed every American EVOO brand tested to be a fraud but all European brands passed) 500 mL Kirkland Toscano Extra Virgin Olive Oil for $13.99, A variety case of 20 oz. Snapple in PLASTIC, not glass, bottles for $16.99 (sometimes $12.99 on sale). a 4 lb take-and-bake in the same plastic container meatloaf (about 2 lb) and mashed potatoes for $3.99/lb.  Kirkland Nut Bars, 30 for somewhere around $15.99 that doesn't make my blood sugar spike.  And much more. Also, if I shop there around noon, filling up on the free samples is my lunch.

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33 minutes ago, shootingstar said:

Shop at a regional grocery chain when we can since they sometimes promote/sell local produce.  Sometimes it’s sheer laziness to go to Safeway’s.

The Safeway a short bit away is pretty large with pretty much any mainstream thing you can think of, but considering the other options just across the street, I find I rarely go to Safeway.

Safeway.JPG.b757205a61c208fdbfdc8e09e1cd2b7f.JPG

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9 minutes ago, Razors Edge said:

The Safeway a short bit away is pretty large with pretty much any mainstream thing you can think of, but considering the other options just across the street, I find I rarely go to Safeway.

Safeway.JPG.b757205a61c208fdbfdc8e09e1cd2b7f.JPG

I bike a bit further away when shopping at a large Asian national grocery chain. It is national because the stores can now be found in medium sized CAnadian cities, in addition to Toronto and Vancouver.  If I want to get fresh lotus root, water chestnuts, bitter melon, etc.   I find the produce is fresher than Chinatown.  (However I don’t think that’s true for Vancouver or Toronto. Calgary’s Chinatown is very small and limited in choice.)

I bike to a Middleastern retail wholesale bakery to get their type of bread, baklava choices where the Stuff is freshest and lowest price.  They supply for 3 western CAnadian provinces. I bike to an Italian deli to get their prosciutto (which there are over 20 types), some pasta (which isn’t often. Italian pasta is too heavy for me vs. Asian pasta choices for me), fresh herbs, pesto, etc.

We don’t shop at Costco...their bulk pricing for large amounts doesn’t help us since we live in a condo.  Besides I don’t know what we would buy in bulk (other than toilet tissue) to save money.

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2 minutes ago, FaQ said:

I can see why a couple wouldn't buy much at Costco.  I do though.  It is great for volume shopping for a lot of items.  

In Vancouver, Costco is only 1 block away from home. Neither of us have stepped inside it. But then, we got possessions spread across 2 cities/provinces.  No point adding more bulk.

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Int he village of Honeoye Falls we have Market Place. HFL_Logo_New4.png

It can be expensive but has an excellent bakery and also some very good hot items to go in the deli.

 

For regular shopping I go to Wegmans.image.jpeg.780b8d0ff0ac787ba93626e19d5e2555.jpeg

I never go to Tops and refer to it as Tops Never Mops

Image result for Tops Never Mops

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On 10/11/2019 at 2:40 PM, Razors Edge said:

The Safeway a short bit away is pretty large with pretty much any mainstream thing you can think of, but considering the other options just across the street, I find I rarely go to Safeway.

You mean you just go to the liquor store? Good call.

I have four supermarkets nearby. A Fresh Market which has really good meat and produce, but gets spendy for things like milk (and has limited options on a lot of things). A Trader Joe’s, a Whole Foods (which I almost never visit) and a Giant Eagle “Market District”, which is their upscale version, complete with beer and wine garden, prepared hot food buffet, etc. It’s where we go for our large shopping trips. 

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4 hours ago, Prophet Zacharia said:

You mean you just go to the liquor store? Good call.

There is a liquor store right next to Safeway that I have been to twice in the 20 years I have lived nearby.  It is sort of crazy how little I need liquor since we are lucky that beer and wine are available in normal stores. We're beer and wine folks.

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The store I usually shop seems to have been bought out by Kroger. Yesterday, I was in the meat and fish dept. They had no fish, but they had buckets of Bob Evans mashed potatoes. WTF can't mash potatoes?

All of the meat was Kroger brand. Same with the eggs. 

I had to leave and go to another store. 

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We have full service grocery - Hy-Vee that isn't bad. Kind of our general go-to. Grocery. 

Fresh Thyme is kind of part Trader Joe's part Whole Foods. Best price on milk and decent coffee beans. They have a good fruit and veggie dept and decent fresh meats. I think they have their own butcher, but only early in the morning. 

They are one of the closest as is Walmart. Only go to Walmart if I forgot to get something and don't want to re-route back to Hy-Vee. 

We lost our last locally owned full-service grocery about 3 years ago. The last generation was good at making the store pretty on the outside, but the bones of the building were run down. The next generation didn't want the financial burden of doing much needed internal work that had been ignored. The ground was sold to Super Saver. A decent chain, but the store is out of the way for us. Their neighborhood is supporting it, though. 

We have several LatinX and Asian markets. We like to shop them. 

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5 hours ago, dennis said:

The store I usually shop seems to have been bought out by Kroger. Yesterday, I was in the meat and fish dept. They had no fish, but they had buckets of Bob Evans mashed potatoes. WTF can't mash potatoes?

All of the meat was Kroger brand. Same with the eggs. 

I had to leave and go to another store. 

Kroger - either is bankrupt or in process of going bankrupt :(

My first job was at Kroger.

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51 minutes ago, Razors Edge said:

Kroger - either is bankrupt or in process of going bankrupt :(

My first job was at Kroger.

Apparently, it happened a while ago. The changes at Lucky's have just kicked.

 

CINCINNATI, OH and BOULDER, CO — April 1, 2016 — The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) announced a strategic partnership with Lucky’s Market, a specialty grocery store chain focused on natural, organic and locally-grown products. Kroger has made a meaningful investment in Lucky’s, which will significantly accelerate Lucky’s Market’s growth in new and existing markets. The financial terms of the transaction, which closed today, were not disclosed.

 

Founded in 2003 and based near Boulder, CO, Lucky’s Market and its affiliates employ more than 1,800 associates and operate 17 stores in 13 states throughout the Midwest and Southeast United States. Lucky’s “Organic for the 99%” store format emphasizes its expansive selection of natural and organic food, including fresh produce, meat and seafood, prepared foods and baked goods, as well as wine and beer and personal care goods. With stores averaging approximately 30,000 square feet, Lucky’s layout resembles an indoor farmers market, with “garage door” entrances, field bins, barrels and wooden crates. Its culinary department showcases great tasting, restaurant-quality prepared foods made from recipes that include those developed by CEO and former chef Bo Sharon and his wife Trish. Through its “L” private label, Lucky’s provides a broad range of grocery items at great value that have no artificial colors, flavors or preservatives, and 10% of profits from its private label are reinvested in the communities it serves.

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I found a local farm that will deliver to a pick up location once a week, so I can get local meat, dairy, and a few other things. The prices are better than any of the chain stores and the food is higher quality not factory farmed. They sell bones too for making stock.

Now I need a good produce source if Lucky's goes the way of Kroger. 

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They just opened a new grocery store in a nearby town last week.  I thought it was some small grocery chain, but it turns out to be the fancy version of Foodtown.  The store has a very industrial look, but it seems to have a good selection.  The deli section looked okay but a bit disorganized.  They had places for more hot foods and soups but there was nothing set out, maybe because the store was still new. I don't think it will be my new favorite store, but it will be ok for when I'm in the area and need to pick something up 

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