Where do you shop for groceries?

[mpeirce]

Our habits have changed a bit. Where we used to live near Kroger, Meijer, Giant Eagle, Aldi, WalMart, and even a Costco all within a few minutes. So we tried them all. DW preferred Meijer, Kroger and Costco for certain items.

Now we live “out in the boonies”. There is a small Kroger with a limited selection nearby which we frequent, but often drive further to another bigger Kroger which has a significantly better selection.

If you do the digital coupons at Kroger you can save a lot. They notice what you buy and offer custom coupons for the items you buy a lot of. I like this a lot. Yeah, they are data harvesting us, but we we get a lot of savings out of it. And cheaper gas as well.

We also periodically stop at Costco and Aldi for special items. Costco is our main source of good meats, nuts, dried fruit, cheese, and some other items. I really like Aldi’s chocolate - cheap and tasty German style - so I stop by there for that and will also pick up their cheap eggs and maybe some cheese.

We’ve found a local butcher who has excellent quality and very good prices - hamburger is currently almost half the cost of that from Kroger. They also make really good sausage there.

 

[MichealKnight]

Mass Market Chains

By me that is Giant and Stop/n/Shop.

Our family rarely eats the same foods at the same time - - so things like CostCo actually costs us money. And when DW goes - (she has this - I can't run out of stuff and I'm buying in bulk so I'm saving mentality)....we end up with things like Listerine that expired years ago. I don't bring it up anymore, I figure our CostCo waste is my cost of doing business . One beauty of Covid was she didn't go to CostCo for 2 years.

If I go to the chain I mentioned - I find that utilizing the sales makes for a reasonably priced grocery trip. I only go own weekdays - - no lines, less people, everything that an ogre like me enjoys.

Now next door is Carvel. And for $5.89 it's my indulgence to enjoy 2 scoops in a waffle cone. Wifey doesn't get to know about that. And I live in suburban Philly but grocery shop in NJ (it's close and gas is cheaper)....so if it's out of state, then it doesn't count as food that I ate. Ditto the 2 pizza slice and soda combo on the way home.

 

[Aerides]

Publix - staples and non perishables
Fresh Market - meats and veggies
Costco/WF for some specialty items

 

[Sunset]

Yep. Our Costco is walking distance (less than a mile) heh, heh, not that we actually walk! I would do all my shopping there if they just had all the things we need. We fill in with Safeway as it's even closer.

I'm amazed there are 4 Costco's on your island and they are all on the South side, pretty close to each other (~6 miles apart).

 

[Silver]

If you live in Florida (as I do) you are likely to shop at Publix. They are everywhere, and they are still adding new stores only a few miles away from established Publix stores nearby. They frequently have buy-one-get-one deals that are excellent.

I know several people who have worked for Publix for many years, and they say it is a really good company to work for. I like knowing I'm supporting a company that is fair to it's employees.

 

[ivinsfan]

no bargains at Walmart.

We shop at Aldi's but recognize they don't carry everything.

Otherwise, we shop the sale items at Kroger. If things are not on sale, they will be in the next week or two.

Walmart doesn't do bargains they try to offer everyday low prices and I've found that to be true just as low if not lower than Aldis. It saves time and energy for me and my spend is the same

 

[travelover]

I'm amazed there are 4 Costco's on your island and they are all on the South side, pretty close to each other (~6 miles apart).

My observation from tourist visits is that Costco is the only place with halfway sane prices.

 

[aja8888]

I confess...the real reason I go to Costco is for the $1.50 hot dog and Coke. Sometimes I buy something else. Maybe gasoline if I don't have to wait too long.

 

[Another Reader]

I confess...the real reason I go to Costco is for the $1.50 hot dog and Coke. Sometimes I buy something else. Maybe gasoline if I don't have to wait too long.

For me, it was a quick pizza slice lunch while I was out in the field many years ago. Cheap and filling. Now it's the occasional roast chicken. Unfortunately, you have to walk to the back of the store to get the chocken. That means other items occasionally fall into the cart...

 

[FlaGator]

I confess...the real reason I go to Costco is for the $1.50 hot dog and Coke. Sometimes I buy something else. Maybe gasoline if I don't have to wait too long.

One of the many joys of being retired [emoji2]

 

[aja8888]

One of the many joys of being retired [emoji2]

Yes, and on occasion, I get one of these:

 

[jollystomper]

I confess...the real reason I go to Costco is for the $1.50 hot dog and Coke. Sometimes I buy something else. Maybe gasoline if I don't have to wait too long.

Funny, for years that was the joy of a cheap office lunch for me. My Megacorp office location was a 10 minute walk to a Costco... and a group of us would go there a couple of times a week for lunch.

 

[swakyaby]

Oriental market, Raley’s, Safeway, Winco Foods, Trader Joes, Costco, Sprouts, Whole Foods.

There are several other grocery stores within 5 miles of my home, but I don’t go: Food For Less, Savemart, Walmart Neighborhood market

Soon to open next door to our Costco is Amazon fresh, one of those grocery stores where you don’t have to go through a cashier line, but get charged as soon as you walk out with groceries.

 

[PaunchyPirate]

I buy paper, canned, boxed, dry, frozen entrees, dairy and packaged goods at Walmart. I don’t really care for their meats and produce. I get those primarily at Giant Eagle or local, smaller stores. I go to Aldi to specifically get their cocktail peanuts which is an addictive snack for me.

That pretty much meets my needs.

 

[RobbieB]

I've taken to "snatch & grab" at Costco, ie, no cart.

Just go in and get what I can carry with both hands. Chilean sea bass, salmon or halibut, crab legs, bag of shrimp or lobster tails. Prosciutto and blue stilton -

 

[2HOTinPHX]

I've taken to "snatch & grab" at Costco, ie, no cart.

Just go in and get what I can carry with both hands. Chilean sea bass, salmon or halibut, crab legs, bag of shrimp or lobster tails. Prosciutto and blue stilton -

Yummy Lobster
....never had any at home. How do you cook it at home?

 

[Koolau]

I'm amazed there are 4 Costco's on your island and they are all on the South side, pretty close to each other (~6 miles apart).

I'm gonna go out on a limb here, but I'm guessing that's because those 4 locations are within a few miles of 80% of the Island's population. The only "underserved" area is Kaneohe/Kailua and most of those folks w*rk near the existing Costco stores as they are bedroom communities.

https://i.pinimg.com/736x/95/5f/43/955f4368ab7c9bb8b7a4369389d5b85b.jpg

Couldn't find a better pic off hand but I think this pic shows reasonably well where the population of Oahu resides.

 

[Koolau]

My observation from tourist visits is that Costco is the only place with halfway sane prices.

Sams and Walmart are our back-up to Costco. Of course, they are a few miles drive but right together. Costco seems to be better on fresh and frozen foods prices. Sams seems to have more selection of canned goods.

To have access to both stores, we have to have memberships to both. We pay for the Costco membership with routine purchases and fuel on Oahu. On the mainland, we are too far from Costco so Sams is our go-to store AND the membership pays for itself in fuel savings since we actually drive on the mainland! We drive farther in 3 to 4 months on the mainland than we do the remainder of the year on Oahu.

By the way, just like on the mainland, one can take advantage of sales at the "expensive, regular" stores. Often loss leaders and other sale items beat Costco and Sams. For instance, I never purchase soft drinks from Costco or Sams. Regular prices at the regular stores are truly outrageous BUT sales make them cheaper (by far) than Costco or Sams. So, I just stock up and then wait for the next sale. One gets creative in the Islands. For instance, when we were tourists, we would walk a mile to a regular store (outside Waikiki) and purchase food to eat in the room (actually, we would usually picnic someplace close to the hotel.) The supermarket food was quite expensive compared to stores "back home" but WAY cheaper than eating in Waikiki restaurants. We discovered plate lunches-to-go at the stores (for instance, a huge portion of main course plus generous helpings of 3 sides AND a drink costs between $8 and $10 NOW (since inflation has reared its ugly rear.) We can't cook a decent 4 course meal for that at home. AND they are good! Most such plate lunches are good for two meals. Creativity! YMMV

 

[mystang52]

Never mind where, but how 'bout WHEN? To the original question, I get paper weekly ads, as well as online. In our part of NJ we have multiple supermarket choices. We do our primary shopping at ShopRite and Whole Foods. But if an item is on sale elsewhere, I will stop by one of the other markets....when we happen to be nearby anyway.
Out of ingrained habit from our w*rking days, we still do our main shopping on Sunday mornings, and fill-in on Wednesdays. We are early risers so the stores are empty on Sunday morning when we shop, but nevertheless we can't break the habit of shopping on a weekend day.
Re: Whole Foods, we find their produce, fish and beef are consistently high quality, so don't mind the higher prices there.

 

[Koolau]

Never mind where, but how 'bout WHEN? To the original question, I get paper weekly ads, as well as online. In our part of NJ we have multiple supermarket choices. We do our primary shopping at ShopRite and Whole Foods. But if an item is on sale elsewhere, I will stop by one of the other markets....when we happen to be nearby anyway.
Out of ingrained habit from our w*rking days, we still do our main shopping on Sunday mornings, and fill-in on Wednesdays. We are early risers so the stores are empty on Sunday morning when we shop, but nevertheless we can't break the habit of shopping on a weekend day.
Re: Whole Foods, we find their produce, fish and beef are consistently high quality, so don't mind the higher prices there.

We try to avoid Fridays as it's typically the worst day to be out and about. Also like to avoid week ends - again quite busy. Other than that, "when: is either when we run out of fresh stuff (fruit, salad, milk, etc.) or when there is a sale on stuff we always stock up on. YMMV

 

[ShokWaveRider]

Aldi, Walmart, Publix & Winn Dixie, in that order, Aldi does not have everything. Costco is too far away for regular shopping as is Traders.

 

[mpeirce]

I've taken to "snatch & grab" at Costco, ie, no cart.

When Costco added self checkout we started doing that sometimes too. That was when the Costco has 10 minutes from home. Now we’re an hour away, so that doesn’t make sense for us.

 

[Dash man]

When Costco added self checkout we started doing that sometimes too. That was when the Costco has 10 minutes from home. Now we’re an hour away, so that doesn’t make sense for us.

We went to Costco last weekend, the first time on a weekend in a long time. Never again!!!!

 

[plex]

I make it a point to live in areas with a lot of grocery options nearby, so that's the way it ends up, everything is within 2-3 miles of me.

Austin (almost a decade): HEB as an excellent one-stop shop (amazing quality, prices, and it is everywhere), Sprouts for meat and other specials, 99 Ranch market for a few Asian goods, a small mexican bakery for occasional baked treats, a small Indian store for a few spices, Asahi imports for green tea and specialty handmade Japanese foods, and Trader Joe's for travel food and very occasional trips. Tried Costco but they were only a slightly better deal on a few items, was only really impressed by their loss leader food court. Randalls was in the area but never visited as the flyer was never impressive. Visited Whole Foods and could not find a single unique item, and absolutely everything was way overpriced.

Lexington (moving there shortly): Probably will shop Aldi for everything except meats/produce and will go to the next door Kroger for those. Probably will check out the Walmart at some point to see if they beat Aldi at certain non-perishables things. Will probably use Trader Joe's a bit more than usual until I am more familiar with the area. Not sure I will ever use the Meijer, it was great in the area I grew up 20 years ago, but went way downhill by 10 years ago, and from what I saw online this time, it hasn't improved, sort of surprised they still exist. Wasn't impressed by Fresh Market, but I will have to see in person, perhaps they are closer to being like Fresh Thyme/Sprouts rather than Whole Foods.

 

[wrigley]

Military Commissary.

Mike