And then there were none: the last Save-A-Lot in California has closed.

[joeekaitis]

Coalinga, California to be exact, a small northern town that's not exactly a grocery emporium magnet. Only the regional chain Save Mart Supermarkets has put down roots. No Safeway, no Raley's, no Ralphs, no Albertsons and certainly no Stater Bros.

And apparently no appetite for bagging one's own store-brand groceries to save money. Don't know if they're on ALDI's radar but ALDI seems to be avoiding towns that had Save-A-Lot or Fresh & Easy, at least for now.

 

[yogitunes]

interesting thought from the Aldi side of things......Save-A-Lot always appears run down from the minute they open....

have noticed a number of Save-A-Lots that closed down within a year of opening, only to Re-Open in the same location as an Aldi, and business is booming....

I really think a lot has to do with the clientele of what they attract...at least for these areas....

you can see the same sort of attraction with Acme versus ShopRite, and the same goes for Walmart versus Target...

 

[wayupnorth]

My nearby Save A Lot is clean, has the best and cheapest meats and produce. I shopped there today. My niece, 140 miles south in Portland said her Save A Lot is a filthy dump she will never set foot in again. It all depends on what the franchise owner does. The IGA part of their Supervalue conglomerate around here are all locally owned nice stores too.

 

[fan-of-fans]

I went in the Save A Lot here when it first opened, it looked pretty good. No idea what it's like now. I've also been to Aldi a few times, seemed more upscale than Save A Lot.

 

[vacerator]

None left near here either.

I never went to one.
Lately for what meats are costing at the big chain stores, the quality is poor most of the time.
I'd rather go to a quality meat market or a gourmet grocery, spend a bit more, and get good meat and produce. They buy from the wholesalers direct more frequently than big chains. It doesn't sit in their giant distribution warehouses until stores order it. Except Costco, their meat usually is nice. I don't shop Whole Foods either. Too far to drive. They'd never make it in this area. We have seven Italian owned gourmet stores in this county. While their prices are a bit higher than chains, they are lower than Whole Foods.

 

[polkanut]

The closest Save-A-Lot to us is about 30 miles south of Wausau in Stevens Point, WI and the few times we've been there it has always been clean and well stocked with a nice selection.  They even had some Mexican detergents on the shelves as well.

 

[wringingwet]

We just got a new Save alot here in walterboro SC Great Store

 

[lordkenmore]

I think we had Save A Lot here once. One store was sort of convenient, but I never really felt like the prices on the stuff I typically buy allowed me to save much, let alone a lot. The place was clean enough, but was still dim and dingy feeling.

 

<blockquote>
I shopped there today. My niece, 140 miles south in Portland said her Save A Lot is a filthy dump she will never set foot in again. It all depends on what the franchise owner does.

 

</blockquote>
I've noticed the store to store variation, too, with--IIRC--Grocery Outlet. One location was really unpleasant, but I'd sometimes shop there, anyway, because they had some good deals. Then, I went with someone else to another location (probably under different management, in a different city), and the experience was much better. As I commented at the time, I would feel almost poor shopping the first location, but that second location was nice enough that I felt frugal.

 

[sudsmaster]

Never seen a Save-A-Lot.

Out in this neck of the woods, we have all the majors (as befits a metro region with some six million souls). Plus some smaller outfits like Smart & Final, Grocery Outlet, FoodsCo, Food Max. FoodsCo stocks the Kroger store brand, so my assumption is that it's owned by Krogers, but there are no Kroger stores in the area. Go figure.

I'm a bit eclectic in gathering groceries. In the past year I've switched to a local Mexican grocery (Mi Tierra) for most fresh veggies. Safeway or Lucky for beef when it's on sale (choice rib steak for $7, chuck roast for $3, etc). Costco for poultry, pork, grains, pasta, bread. Smart & Final for salad dressing (their olive oil balsamic is good) and sometimes poultry or other. Grocery Outlet sometimes has unique offerings but ... got tired of poor quality and nearly expired. But a good spot for picking up "As Seen on TV" items at a discount.

 

[joeekaitis]

ALDI has an almost McDonald's-like control over its stores and Lidl will probably be the same.

Both Save-A-Lot and Grocery Outlet tout their ownership and independent operator programs respectively as a way for each location to have an individual personality and a familiar public face in the neighborhood. It seems to be hit-or-miss and a lot depends on more variables than one can control.

But Save-A-Lot is open to change, especially when one location closes nearly as fast as another opens elsewhere. And note where their new leadership comes from:

Can a former Lidl CEO transform Save-A-Lot into a major player? - RetailWire

Save-A-Lot may yet be a player in the hard discount grocery market in the U.S. The chain announced that it has hired Kenneth McGrath, former CEO of Lidl Ireland and Lidl USA, to lead its business. Can Kenneth McGrath transform Save-A-Lot into a force to be reckoned with in the U.S. hard discount...

www.retailwire.com

 

[vacerator]

Aldi

are independently owned like McDonalds?

 

[joeekaitis]

Sorry, shoulda said:

"ALDI has the same kind of control over its stores as McDonald's has over its corporate-owned locations, and Lidl will probably be the same."

Neither ALDI nor Lidl are franchises. Bad choice of words. The ravages of age.

 

[washlogic]

I Like Save-A-Lot

I shop at Save-A-Lot and the prices are pretty good.

Yogitunes is right! Save-A-Lot is almost dammned by the kind of clientele it attracts. I never go there on a weekend. Its like going to Walmart on a payday. LOL

As far as the products, most are pretty decent. The store near me has the freshest produce at great prices.

Most people dont know this, but they have a 100% Guarantee Policy printed on every store brand item which states you can return anything for a full refund if you are not completely satisfied.

I have not had any issues so far. They do not have a big selection of brands, so if u are very picky, its not the place for you.