What grocery stores do you frequent and for what?

[Jeff V]

I didn't want to derail the Tesla thread...

I am finally starting to see these around town...it's taken a while. Ironically I almost never see anyone recharging in the Whole Foods parking lot chargers. I don't know if it's because I never am there when the e-vehicles are, or if they just don't need to?

Well, Whole Foods is frequented by very wealthy people who can afford to pay double for everything, and I gather electric cars are owned by people who can't afford gas, so....

I know you were half joking, but you have to know what to buy there, and what not. If you buy something that you can find in say Publix, or Food Lion (not sure what large grocery chains are in the Chicago area), yeah, you might pay double for that...so don't buy those things there! Bread, meats, coffee, and in general ANYthing that is their brand, is completely reasonable, and in many cases cheaper, for a higher quality product than in larger retail grocery stores.

I'm not the one who cleverly dubbed them "Whole Paycheck."

The quality is not necessarily better than you get elsewhere, and if I have to pick and choose select items of decent value, I might as well pick and choose them at a single store that has more of what I need at the prices I want to pay. Whole Foods has never given me sufficient reason to visit on a regular basis, and I've probably not been there for 2-3 years now.

We have a shit ton of grocery store options here, with seemingly more added by the day. Here is where I go and why:

Meijer - go-to store for almost all regular needs. I live equidistant to two of them. Good balance of selection and prices.
Jewel - former go-to store, now secondary for a few things I can't get at Meijer or that Jewel just sells for less on sale (like pop).
Trader Joes - condiments, wine, cheese, spices, and soup stock. Occasional oddities you don't find elsewhere.
Fistya Market (Fiesta) - produce and meats, because they "fistya" on everything else.
Cermak Market - produce
Garden Fresh Market - produce and ethnic foods, deli
Super H-Mart - Asian ethnic foods, fish, seafood, produce
Jofen - small Filipino grocery store and prepared foods. Strange produce, fish and shrimp. And mango balls. (what, you didn't know mangos had balls?)
Angelo Caputo's - Italian-themed supermarket, produce, meat, cheese and sausage
Standard Market - because Whole Foods isn't expensive enough

Now, I don't go to all of these places regularly, but each has a unique reason that draws me in -- something I can't find elsewhere, certain prepared foods, or a category that is reliably cheaper than the main supermarkets and worth taking the time and effort to go there.

[Scuzz]

SaveMart.....large regional chain store. It's where I get my lunch stuff and beer.
Vons........... see above

[hepcat]

I just discovered Valli Produce in Evanston, IL. Good God, they have the most amazing fruits and vegetable area, a fantastic selection of cheese and sausages/salami, and a huge seafood department with surprisingly low pricing. Their booze is a little high priced, but everything else seems to be very competitive.

They have a bunch of other stores in the area too though.

[Isgrimnur]

In order of frequency:
Walmart
Kroger
Albertsons

Anything else would involve a trip out of the immediate area.

[Jaymann]

I personally go to Stater Brothers (a west coast lower priced chain) especially because they are only a couple blocks away. But my son and his GF go to Whole Foods and its ilk using my credit card. The trade off is they do all the cooking and kitchen cleanup, and I end up eating healthier.

[dbt1949]

The two closest grocery stores to me are Harps. One west and one east. DIL is a manager in the west one.

[YellowKing]

Our big three are:

Walmart - for non-meat/non-produce
Lowe's - for meat/produce/beer
Trader Joes - for the oddity stuff

However, my wife will hit a Food Lion or Harris Teeter in a pinch depending on sales.

[LordMortis]

I used to have a great big wild way for shopping cheap stuff at about 7 different grocers.

Now:

Meijer is my mainstay. I use them for most everything and time my purchases with sales and peak values from MPerks. I usually hit Meijer once every week or every other week.
Costco is once a month. For about a half year or so, I make it a point to go with my mom. It give us a chance to hang out while still being productive and gives us something to talk about. I mostly buy what's on sale. I try to time it so I run out of the things they put on sale as I need them.
I hit Aldi for staples I happen to have run out of without picking them up an Meijer. They're cheap, on the drive home, and I can get in and out.
I hit Kroger when I forgot something and I need it now. Kroger are within a long walk from my house (which is not to say I ever actually walk there )

Everywhere else is specialty shops that I go to for specialty reasons. Like I might hit Busch's because they are next to my work. Or Holiday Market because they have specialty baking items. Or one of a host of ethnic stores because I need thing x


I find Meijer +Mperks rewards +sale shopping generally can't be beat except by doing competitive sale shopping and knowing the cost of everything, which is just too much of a bother. I imagine WalMart +sale shopping might actually be better than Meijer but I have along standing WalMart hangup.

I don't really coupon shop aside from that anymore. I'd probably still save 100s&100s of dollars a year but I'm just too tired to obsess like that. The house is paid off. I've earned the right to not have to have to carry a coupon caddy and read 7 different weekly sale fliers, and sit in all those lines.

...

On topic? I hear plug in stations at grocers is becoming more and more common, even in Michigan, though I haven't seen them yet. Possibly because I don't live in a hoity toity enough place.

[LordMortis]

Lowe's - for meat/produce/beer

Your meat/produce/beer is made from lumber, electrical, and toilet fixtures?

[hepcat]

Well, they do end up in that last one, so it makes sense.

[Fitzy]

Lancaster's Dutch Market: Their meat is the best we've come across and their price's are competitive with grocery stores.

Target Walmart: We drive to one of these ~20 miles further then the nearby ones because they are the only place that carries the bread we like. That's all we buy there.

Safeway: For now, because of the Monopoly game. We won't win, but it's fun to play. Plus their oranges are really good.

Wegmans: Our go to store before Monopoly. 50/50 we'll go back. They carry stuff Safeway doesn't and Safeway has stuff Wegmans doesn't. Oranges and in-store bread are better at Safeway. Prices and everything else generally seem better at Wegmans.

Oh yeah. Occasional trips to Whole Foods for their baked goods.

[ImLawBoy]

We do our shopping primarily at Mariano's. Decent produce, and their regular groceries appear competitive with Jewel. We occasionally go to Whole Foods for some specialty items that we can't get elsewhere (such as the WF brand gluten free pie crust). We went to WF all the time before our brood expanded. I was willing to pay the premium for the better quality produce (and while I would get an occasional stinker from WF, its produce is still miles above anyone else in the area for me). We have too many mouths to feed now, though, so we're all stuck with the less expensive stuff. I also stop by my local convenience store (FoodSmart) a few times a week to get odds and ends that we ran out of or for beer.

[Jeff V]

I rarely go to Walmart for grocery shopping, although they are currently my only source for crawfish meat. The only other place in the area that carries it is a seafood place near Trader Joe's that charges twice the price. Walmart is often out of stock and I might have to try several of their stores if I really need it. Sometimes I'll buy groceries if I'm there for other things, but aside from crawfish, it's not a grocery destination in of itself.

[Lassr]

these are the ones I visit the most.

WalMart
Publix
Foodland
Aldi



There are also:

Star Markets
Krogers
Piggly Wiggly
Whole Food (i do go for the Spazio Pizza or their food bar)

but it is rare when I go in these because they are not convenient to me.

[tgb]

We have two places we go every weekend:

Fry's for most of our staples because of the price and the gas points they give you on their card.

Trader Joe's for, as someone posted above, the oddball stuff. Plus tlr really likes their protein drink.

During the week if I have to make a quick run for 1 or 2 items I'll dash into Albertson's on the corner only because it's convenient.

[El Guapo]

Mostly a mix of Stop & Shop and Whole Foods, with Trader Joe's mixed in. That's because there's a Stop & Shop and Whole Foods very close to my house. And on the Whole Foods side a lot of that is driven by my wife who tends to fall for Food Babe-esque hippie health voodoo stuff. And while I do push back, I have to pick my battles when making "we should poison our children to save some money" type arguments.

The Trader Joe's that we go to, incidentally, has a tremendous booze selection. You can get full size store brand spirits for like $8 or $9 / bottle, plus craft beers and the like. At this point I'm buying pretty much all of my alcohol from them outside of the my favorite booze (whiskey), that I'm a little more particular about.

[coopasonic]

In order of frequency:
Walmart
Kroger
Albertsons

Anything else would involve a trip out of the immediate area.

Almost, but insert Target at the top and drop Albertsons off the bottom. This is based on credit card alerts, not personal experience.

[YellowKing]

To clear up the confusion, Lowe's Foods is a Carolinas (and a small presence in Virginia) regional chain.

The one near our house recently did a HUGE remodel, and it's very nice now. They put in a really nice beer section and they have a rotating tap of 6-8 beers you can sample, buy growlers, etc. I get most of my beer there now because even though they don't have the selection of the bottle shops, it's still pretty damn good for a grocery store a few blocks from my house.

[AWS260]

C-Town (smallish chain in the northeast U.S.) for staples
The local bodega for fruit, cheese, and beer
Union Market (mini-chain with 4 NYC locations) for the occasional fancy item

[hepcat]

I rarely go to Walmart for grocery shopping, although they are currently my only source for crawfish meat. The only other place in the area that carries it is a seafood place near Trader Joe's that charges twice the price. Walmart is often out of stock and I might have to try several of their stores if I really need it. Sometimes I'll buy groceries if I'm there for other things, but aside from crawfish, it's not a grocery destination in of itself.

Valli carries crawfish. I've seen it every time I've gone there.

[Malificent]

Kroger - I do most of my shopping there. It's the best combination of quality products and price without being way too far to drive to.
Harris Teeter - There is one across from my apartment. They are actually surprisingly high end. They're convenient but more expensive.
Fresh Market - I end up getting most of my meats and some of my veggies from here. More expensive than Kroger but the quality difference is noticeable. I time this with weekly sales to get prices comparable to other grocery stores.
Target - Upon occasion. I have a redcard, so for some things it becomes worth it.
Walmart - Only if I'm desperate. I always feel like I'm losing my soul when I walk in. Plus I end up losing a significant amount of time waiting in line and that matters to me.

[El Guapo]

Related question: which grocery story parking lots do people frequent for meth?

[hepcat]

Definitely not the same ones where you're selling it for "favors".

[Blackhawk]

I haven't got a lot of choices. I have two stores in town, a Sav-A-Lot and a Baesler's.

Save-A-Lot is a discount store. Their packaged goods are limited to generics, and the quality is usually awful. Their produce is a section of wall about twenty feet long containing a variety of visibly wilted greens, and their meat - well, let's just say I don't trust their meat. It does have a cool 70s vibe, though. It is the only place I've been in decades where you check out, they put the food back in the cart, and you take it to the bagging counter by the front window to put it in bags yourself.

Baesler's actually has decent stuff (although it is a small store, so the selection sucks.) The problem is that they aren't a general grocery store. Their core business model is from a larger town where they are a high-end store, offering harder to find foods at higher prices in order to compete with the large chains. Around here, though, they're the only viable store, which means that a loaf of bread or a gallon of milk costs 50% more than it would anywhere else. It is where I go when I am out of something and can't wait. If I actually tried to shop there, I'd run through my grocery budget halfway through the week.

I do my actual shopping at a Wal-Mart about 30 miles from here. It is in the town where my kids go to school, so I'm there several times a week. It isn't the best Wal-Mart (if you look at People of Wal-Mart for Indiana, you're liable to see this place - people drive their ATVs there all the time.) It is the only option I have for food, though.

Now, during the summer, when the kids aren't in school, I drive the other way, to the Wal-Mart in Terre Haute. TH is a larger town, and a number of better options (although they're still generally more expensive), but I can sometimes afford to do my produce shopping at one of them for some extra quality and variety before doing the rest of the shopping at Wal-Mart.

[Kraken]

Stop n Shop because it's close and because they have self-scan and self-checkout. The self-scanners mean I can see my running total and never go over budget, and I rarely have to interact with humans. Prices are decent if you play the coupon/reward card game, but their produce quality is marginal.

Shaws because it's close and their produce is better.

Everything else is too far away or too expensive. On rare occasions I'll go to Wegmans or Whale Food to get weird ingredients, but both of those involve pilgrimages.

[Jeff V]

I rarely go to Walmart for grocery shopping, although they are currently my only source for crawfish meat. The only other place in the area that carries it is a seafood place near Trader Joe's that charges twice the price. Walmart is often out of stock and I might have to try several of their stores if I really need it. Sometimes I'll buy groceries if I'm there for other things, but aside from crawfish, it's not a grocery destination in of itself.

Valli carries crawfish. I've seen it every time I've gone there.

None of their locations is close to me. The only time I might be within hailing distance of one is if I visit my friend's sushi restaurant in Glendale Heights, and that won't be for a while since sushi is verbotten for my wife until the baby comes.

[Jaymann]

Related question: which grocery story parking lots do people frequent for meth?

Definitely Safeway, since you can duck into the store for safe haven from the cops:

He was arrested in the Safeway parking lot in one vehicle bearing federal government license plates. A second federal vehicle was parked next to him, but the man police suspect of driving that into town already had gone into the grocery before police arrived.

[Anonymous Bosch]

Mostly CostCo: Meat/dairy/produce/beverages/frozen food, and household basics (e.g. paper towels, laundry supplies, and so on). The quality of their meat and produce is absolutely top notch, particularly considering their affordability. Though you do have to be vigilant not to overbuy.

Most other stuff typically comes from Target or Raley's/Bel Air Markets.

[Jeff V]

How do you not overbuy at Costco unless you have a small army at home? We still have ample quantities of things bought there for a party last September. Much of their produce comes in volumes we simply cannot consume fast enough. We don't eat much prepared foods. The meat is good (Sam's Club isn't bad either) but we'd need a stand-alone freezer to house the surplus.

Mostly I'll buy non-perishables there. I don't have a membership though, but my sister does. When my mom was alive, I'd occasionally take her shopping to Sam's Club and sometimes get a few things, but even in bulk it wasn't always a good deal, so you need to be careful.

That reminds me of an annoyance many grocery stores are guilty of: the "buy one, get one free" sale for things with short shelf lives, such as salads or bread. It's not a deal if the free one winds up in the garbage. Then there's some things like the prenatal vitamins I just bought my wife. Buy one, get one...she now has enough to last until past her 4th trimester. Instead of buying 2 at a net savings of 50%, how about one at 25% off for those of us who don't eat salad six times per day or are managing two or more pregnant wives?

[Blackhawk]

I'll go to Wegmans or Whale Food to get weird ingredients

Care to share any recipes for krill?

[gameoverman]

Stater Bros for the most part. There's a new one near where I live and it has LED lighting and whatnot. It has a great bakery and deli compared to other stores, so that draws me in. Besides that I'll hit up various ethnic markets depending on what I'm looking for. A carniceria is a great place for meat, try grilling some carne preparada sometime.

I've never gone to Whole Foods and I think I've only ever been in a Walmart a couple of times. Not due to snobbery or some kind of political stance, just because it's not necessary here. I don't buy in large enough quantities to make Costco or something like that worthwhile.

[hitbyambulance]

i don't have a car and live by myself, so i don't do Costco. soooo...

Safeway ('mid-level' Kroger) - best balance of price and location. best priced bagels and cheese (along with Fred Meyer).

QFC ('high-end' Kroger) - well, they at least like to think* they're high-end... their prices suck, but they're the closest to my apartment. pretty much everything i buy there is what's currently on sale.

Fred Meyer ('low-end' Kroger) - best mainstream market prices in Seattle (outside of Grocery Outlet), but really terrible produce quality. closest thing to a Wal-Mart that this city will allow, tho i get more of a K-Mart vibe from it (in the general department store area). i would shop there more if they were closer.

Trader Joe's - frozen goods, dried seaweed, mango slices! do not come here on Sunday 4-6pm.

Uwajimaya - huge Asian store, good produce prices.

Rising Produce, Lam's, Hau Hau Market, Viet Wah and the dozen other produce shops in Little Saigon - best prices (5lbs of oolong tea for $8????), but beware of dodgy/rotting items!! buy your Sriracha sauce here, no question.

PCC (Pacific Coast Coop) - if i had my way i'd do pretty much all my food purchasing at this mini-chain, but they're Whole Foods-expensive. still, they have the best shopping 'experience' of any place. maybe that's what the profit from the higher co$t$ goes towards.

Vegan Haven (formerly Pig's Peace Sidecar) - vegan jerky and marshmallows. their profit goes into their associated pig sanctuary non-profit, so i love this place.

City Target - i stock up when i'm here because i used to be a huge Target fan (Minnesota connections), but their prices are higher than the suburban Targets

Rising Sun Farms and other various produce stands - good prices and quality, but somewhat out of the way. need to make visiting these places a higher priority.

not listed: various Indian and Hispanic markets

[Holman]

In Philadelphia:

ShopRite is my local chain big grocery, and I go there for my typical supply runs. Our local ShopRite is clean and well-run, and I've been going there long enough to know many of the long-time employees. I know the terrain so well that I can fill my weekly shopping cart to the top and be out the door in 35 minutes.

Slightly closer but less expansively stocked is our local Acme. When we moved here the place had a bad reputation and was on the verge of failure, but they came under new management and have turned it around. It's now a reliable place to shop, but it doesn't always have all the brands I want.

I do Whole Foods very occasionally, but it can't hold a candle to the wonderful Reading Terminal Market, which is the same distance and much more attractive to me. This is where we go for quality and rarity. Shopping there is a treat in itself because of the sensory experience and the bazaar atmosphere.

Beer comes comes from the Foodery, a fancy local bottle shop with a good variety and (usually) good and interesting stuff on tap for the growler.

We patronize two local farmers' markets for produce and cheese, but you never know what you're going to find. If I ate more meat, I would strike up a relationship with an Amish butcher there.

I buy meatballs at Ikea when I also need furniture.

[mori]

The town I live in has one grocery store and I use them almost exclusively unless I want beef other than hamburger than I will drive to a neighboring town's butcher shop. Then I end up buying some pork chops and their old-fashioned wieners as well as what I intended to buy in the first place. I will grab an item or two at Target if I am in there for something else.

[Zarathud]

Strack & Van Til - solid produce, excellent price all around grocery store with good service, convenient being only 1/2 mile away but missing a few staples and specialty items
Target - good for high volume staples, good price, convenient Being only 1/2 mile away
Jewel - backup all around grocery, with poor service, some specialty items
Trader Joes - specialty items my wife loves
Costco - occasional bulk staples, but very crowded and difficult for our kids

We have found Mariano's and Whole Foods to be excessively crowded and expensive.

[MHS]

I pretty much always shop at the Super Target for everything that can't be purchased from Amazon. Occasionally I'll go to King Soopers (local version of Krogers) because they have a really good olive bar, and their cheese market is much better than Target's, but Target is usually more convenient for me and slightly cheaper so King Soopers is really just for poker or other nights where we're entertaining guests.

[Anonymous Bosch]

How do you not overbuy at Costco unless you have a small army at home?

Mostly by purchasing the sort of stuff that isn't likely to go bad any time soon (e.g. coffee and alcoholic beverages, frozen food etc).

In terms of meat/produce, that means the sorta stuff that can be easily vacuum-sealed/frozen, or buying the kind of produce that either tends to last a good while (e.g. apples kept in the refrigerator, and root vegetables) or that tend to disappear in fairly short order (e.g. avocados and tomatoes). It definitely helps if you own a chest or upright freezer, though.

[Zenn7]

Kroger - it's about 1 mile from my house. Other than an overpriced Neiman's (high-end Spartan brand store), everything else is 10ish miles away. I'm lazy and gas savings counts for a bit when you go 2-5 times/week.

Sometimes Meijer (on the way home from work, some $0 cost prescriptions and they have Diet Code Red Mt Dew - Kroger does not).

The occasional odd item at Wal-mart if we are there for some other non-grocery item.

Aldi's for certain items wife likes from there for cheap.

[LawBeefaroni]

Whole Foods: We can walk there. I bought broccoli there there the other day, it's like 90% stem and 10% florets. Seriously you assholes? Overcharge and still stick me with this ridiculous palm-tree looking thing? Take your average broccoli piece and add 6 inches of stem to it. That's Whole Foods.

Trader Joe's: We can walk there, a bit further than Whole Foods, worst selection of any of the majors, but cheaper and better all around.

Jewel/Osco ("Jewels" for some): We can walk there. Furthest walking but still close. I go there for the staples.

Tony's: Superstore by work. I can walk there from the office. Tons of local ethnic stuff. The $0.99/10 pitas are a goddamn steal.

Paulina Market: Walk there, best meats around. Expensive but worth it.

Chicago Foods: Asian market for what I can't find at Tony's. Drive/bus.

[rshetts2]

Being in Michigan, the go to answer is usually Meijer. They have good prices and are the definition of one stop shopping. I do have a Kroger thats closer but I only use that when Im pressed for time.