Which grocery stores do you prefer?

skelterhelter
skelterhelter Posts: 803 Member
in Food and Nutrition
It seems a lot of people wanted a question like this from the grocery store snob thread lol. So which grocery stores do you like?

If I have all the time in the world and want to make the half hour drive, I'll absolutely go to Trader Joe's. They have the coolest stuff at a nice price and I always love looking at their seasonal offerings.

However, Shop Rite is my next pick for all the stuff I can't get at TJ. And you can beat their $2.88 ice cream pint sale!
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Replies

  • JeromeBarry1
    JeromeBarry1 Posts: 10,182 Member
    I usually go for nearby convenience, which is Wal-Mart. Recently, I've been using walmart.com to buy non-perishables rather than wandering hither and yon in search of some item on a store shelf.
  • Lounmoun
    Lounmoun Posts: 8,426 Member
    Walmart is the only grocery store in my small town and the surrounding rural area. We generally drive about 45 miles once a week to shop at a Hy-Vee store for the bulk of our groceries. I order the groceries online and we just pick them up.
  • apullum
    apullum Posts: 4,838 Member
    Grocery Outlet! They seem to be mostly a northwestern US thing, so for those who aren’t familiar, think Big Lots but just for groceries. They get a lot of random things in stock, sometimes stuff that didn’t sell well elsewhere, but other times really good things that they sell cheap. I was buying boxes of Quest bars there for a while, and they generally have nicer chocolate for $2-3 per bar. The produce is pretty good too. I always go there first to see if they have a good deal before shopping elsewhere.

    If I can’t get what I need at Grocery Outlet, then I usually like Trader Joe’s, or Safeway.
  • nooshi713
    nooshi713 Posts: 4,877 Member
    I love Sprouts for produce, Trader Joe's for cool packaged food, and Whole Foods has the best variety of meat. I buy dry staples at Target or Costco. I go to Albertson's most regularly because it is closest.
  • workinonit1956
    workinonit1956 Posts: 1,043 Member
    Wegmans, Shop Rite and occasionally Whole Foods. (I’m in Jersey)
  • FL_Hiker
    FL_Hiker Posts: 919 Member
    Here in FL I love Publix! But when we go up to NC we love visiting Harris Teeter. In PA it’s Dutch Way (all those premade meals are awesome!)! I don’t like to shop usually, but grocery stores are fun 😋. My grandma usually makes fun of me when we go up to PA because I get so excited to go grocery shopping. I’ve never been to a Trader Joe’s, I’ve heard great things though.
  • lemurcat2
    lemurcat2 Posts: 7,885 Member
    I currently often use a local meat market that's close to my house and L stop, and has a lot of produce and other things I like (good yogurt and cheese selection).

    I'm also less than 2 blocks from a regular grocery (local chain) that I go to. It's pretty similar to the Jewel I used to go to, but a little smaller and has more ethnic stuff (the neighborhoods are somewhat different).

    My old place was walking distance to the Jewel (most convenient), TJs, and WFs, and I'd alternate depending on what I needed. (WF had the best produce and fish/seafood, TJ's was easy for staples, but the produce section was small, and a lot of the appeal is the packaged stuff I didn't get much, Jewel is a basic supermarket, but was super convenient since it was between my L and home, so I could stop in any time, and also sold drugstore stuff.)

    I get some stuff at the farmer's market even in the winter, and in season I'll get the vast majority of my produce from my farm share + the farmer's market.
  • ccrdragon
    ccrdragon Posts: 3,365 Member
    edited November 2018
    Which ever one has the best sales on the items that I am looking for - I have as much loyalty to a grocery brand as they have to me :smile:

    eta: I have the following stores all within a 5-7 mile radius of my house - Costco, Sams, Walmart, Kroger, Aldi, Albertson's, Dollar General, Family Dollar, Sprouts and Fiesta - so it's not a big problem to hit several stores in a single shopping trip.
  • CarvedTones
    CarvedTones Posts: 2,340 Member
    FL_Hiker wrote: »
    Here in FL I love Publix! But when we go up to NC we love visiting Harris Teeter. In PA it’s Dutch Way (all those premade meals are awesome!)! I don’t like to shop usually, but grocery stores are fun 😋. My grandma usually makes fun of me when we go up to PA because I get so excited to go grocery shopping. I’ve never been to a Trader Joe’s, I’ve heard great things though.

    NC has Publix in places; there is one very near me with a Harris Teeter on the opposite corner. Those two are my favorites for quality of produce and likelihood of having ingredients for recipes. Their store brands tend to be pretty good. They both have a low fat chocolate frozen yogurt that is really good (Food Lion's is not good and neither is Pet). HT Traders sauces are really good. However, they tend to have the highest prices in my area, especially HT.

    Better deals are found at Food Lion and Walmart, which are within a couple of miles. Costco is 5 miles away and has quality and low prices. If I take the time to go there (I probably won't until January; it's a zoo during the holidays), the frozen chicken and seafood is consistently high quality at good prices, especially the chicken. I don't eat mammals, but people speak highly of their beef and pork also. I do find some top quality fruit on just about every visit, but it typically isn't a great deal, probably because it is high quality and they throw out a lot (I see fruit getting pulled that most stores would try to sell for a few more days). Costco's bakery is amazing.
  • Copper_Boom
    Copper_Boom Posts: 85 Member
    edited November 2018
    I usually go to Publix, which is great. My only complaint is that I can never find fresh spinach there, at least at the stores in my area of FL (only pre-washed bags or containers). I also frequent Whole Foods, especially for meats and prepared foods.
    There is also an Asian foods grocery store in my area, which has really interesting finds. Can get a roasted duck instead of a rotisserie chicken for dinner!
  • lemurcat2
    lemurcat2 Posts: 7,885 Member
    edited November 2018
    Aldi is inexpensive, isn't it -- that would be a reason to like it.

    I've never been there because it's never been convenient for me, and I only go to grocery stores I can walk to. (I do keep toying with whether joining CostCo would be worth it, and I'd drive there.)
  • josette06
    josette06 Posts: 119 Member
    edited November 2018
    FL_Hiker wrote: »
    Here in FL I love Publix! But when we go up to NC we love visiting Harris Teeter. In PA it’s Dutch Way (all those premade meals are awesome!)! I don’t like to shop usually, but grocery stores are fun 😋. My grandma usually makes fun of me when we go up to PA because I get so excited to go grocery shopping. I’ve never been to a Trader Joe’s, I’ve heard great things though.

    You must visit my area then. I was about to stomp my feet at the fact there isn't a dutchway anywhere around me until I googled it. There's one on the other side of the county. I need to check it out. 🤦‍♀️

    I loooove Publix. I get a cake and sub from there every time I get to Florida.
  • happytree923
    happytree923 Posts: 463 Member
    Costco for certain things that are staples for me, Aldi for dry goods, Sprouts for fresh items and dry goods I couldn't find at Aldi.
  • CarvedTones
    CarvedTones Posts: 2,340 Member
    edited November 2018
    lemurcat2 wrote: »
    Aldi is inexpensive, isn't it -- that would be a reason to like it.

    I've never been there because it's never been convenient for me, and I only go to grocery stores I can walk to. (I do keep toying with whether joining CostCo would be worth it, and I'd drive there.)

    Do you have friends who shop at CostCo? Give one of them $50 or $100 to buy you a gift card. You can shop with a gift card even if you are a non member. Buy close to the amount. They will give you up to $10 in change to zero the balance. They can get it online; it's not that much of a pain (I could have bought one in less time than writing this).

    EDIT - Oh yeah - Aldi's...
    There are a couple near me. I don't know if they are all this way, but while there are some deals, if I go in there with a big list I will not find everything. Kind of like TJ's, though TJ's is even worse about that. They are almost not true grocery stores.
  • kimny72
    kimny72 Posts: 16,013 Member
    For normal budget grocery shopping, I go to Food Lion. The one near me is small and doesn't have much variety, so once a month I go to Walmart where the prices are still reasonable and get all the stuff I like that the local Food Lion doesn't carry.

    Every once and awhile when I'm getting bored or want nicer produce I'll go to Harris Teeter - more expensive but nicer stuff.

    Once a month I hit Trader Joes for variety, and they have a better selection of nuts and grains than my local stores.

    The only other groceries close enough to bother with (but farther than everything else) are Kroger and Whole Foods. Neither seems worth the trip to me.

    In my prayers every night, I ask God and the universe to send me an Aldi :innocent:
  • deannalfisher
    deannalfisher Posts: 5,600 Member
    i have a safeway, food lion, giant and shoppers all within a 10min drive - the safeway is about 3 min...so i use those frequently - aldi occasionally if i stop on my way home but its kind of out of its way
  • sardelsa
    sardelsa Posts: 9,812 Member
    I usually do most of my shopping at Superstore (or Loblaws), also Fortinos, Longos, Wal-Mart, No Frills on occasion since they carry the PC stuff I like now. Costco sometimes too for stuff in bulk. I used to love Nature's Emporium but now with 4 of us to feed it gets a little pricey. For good quality meats and fish we will usual buy at the butcher or fish market.
  • lemurcat2
    lemurcat2 Posts: 7,885 Member
    CarvedTones wrote: »
    lemurcat2 wrote: »
    Aldi is inexpensive, isn't it -- that would be a reason to like it.

    I've never been there because it's never been convenient for me, and I only go to grocery stores I can walk to. (I do keep toying with whether joining CostCo would be worth it, and I'd drive there.)

    Do you have friends who shop at CostCo? Give one of them $50 or $100 to buy you a gift card. You can shop with a gift card even if you are a non member. Buy close to the amount. They will give you up to $10 in change to zero the balance. They can get it online; it's not that much of a pain (I could have bought one in less time than writing this).

    EDIT - Oh yeah - Aldi's...
    There are a couple near me. I don't know if they are all this way, but while there are some deals, if I go in there with a big list I will not find everything. Kind of like TJ's, though TJ's is even worse about that. They are almost not true grocery stores.

    I'm lazy about grocery stores, so I'd only start going to Costco if I decided I was going to use it for basics and regularly. The gift card thing is a good idea, but more hassle than I'd do. (I've been there plenty of times, since my dad loves it and one friend of mine loves it, and I've been with both of them.)

    Agree about TJs, it wouldn't work for me as my only grocery store.
  • FL_Hiker
    FL_Hiker Posts: 919 Member
    CarvedTones wrote: »
    FL_Hiker wrote: »
    Here in FL I love Publix! But when we go up to NC we love visiting Harris Teeter. In PA it’s Dutch Way (all those premade meals are awesome!)! I don’t like to shop usually, but grocery stores are fun 😋. My grandma usually makes fun of me when we go up to PA because I get so excited to go grocery shopping. I’ve never been to a Trader Joe’s, I’ve heard great things though.

    NC has Publix in places; there is one very near me with a Harris Teeter on the opposite corner. Those two are my favorites for quality of produce and likelihood of having ingredients for recipes. Their store brands tend to be pretty good. They both have a low fat chocolate frozen yogurt that is really good (Food Lion's is not good and neither is Pet). HT Traders sauces are really good. However, they tend to have the highest prices in my area, especially HT.

    Better deals are found at Food Lion and Walmart, which are within a couple of miles. Costco is 5 miles away and has quality and low prices. If I take the time to go there (I probably won't until January; it's a zoo during the holidays), the frozen chicken and seafood is consistently high quality at good prices, especially the chicken. I don't eat mammals, but people speak highly of their beef and pork also. I do find some top quality fruit on just about every visit, but it typically isn't a great deal, probably because it is high quality and they throw out a lot (I see fruit getting pulled that most stores would try to sell for a few more days). Costco's bakery is amazing.

    We did notice the last time we went up there that Publix’s were starting to pop up. They started in FL and have been expanding slowly.

    I’ve really tried to like Aldi... but I don’t like the fact that if you forget your bags or your change for a shopping cart they don’t have anything for you. The staff are also usually very spacey.. my 100 year old neighbor won’t shop there, when I asked her why she said “they’re all a bunch of hippies !” Lol 😆! The produce at our Aldi is also very limited and it’s usually rotten.
  • FL_Hiker
    FL_Hiker Posts: 919 Member
    josette06 wrote: »
    FL_Hiker wrote: »
    Here in FL I love Publix! But when we go up to NC we love visiting Harris Teeter. In PA it’s Dutch Way (all those premade meals are awesome!)! I don’t like to shop usually, but grocery stores are fun 😋. My grandma usually makes fun of me when we go up to PA because I get so excited to go grocery shopping. I’ve never been to a Trader Joe’s, I’ve heard great things though.

    You must visit my area then. I was about to stomp my feet at the fact there isn't a dutchway anywhere around me until I googled it. There's one on the other side of the county. I need to check it out. 🤦‍♀️

    I loooove Publix. I get a cake and sub from there every time I get to Florida.


    Are you near Womelsdorf? Love it up there, so much farmland!! You’ve gotta go check out Dutchway, the homemade meal section is super tasty 😊.

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