Grocery stores in your area

[petek]

Situated where I am mere blocks from the US border we have a pretty good selection of stores to choose from for a small city which makes up for not having the bigger selection of Cdn grocery stores you'll find in places like London 60 miles away or better yet greater Toronto.  We have in town a Walmart supercenter, a big Superstore (owned by Loblaws,  , a couple of Metro's (used to be A&P's) but vastly improved and stocked. And a couple of other big ones that are both owned either by Loblaws above) or Metro.. both of those ones are more warehousey looking inside with supposedly better prices than their mainstream stores. Plus a Valu-Mart again owned by Loblaws.. it's up the street from us.. its a small old style plaza store from the early 60's but updated. And there's not many values to be found in it.. mainly because it's the only grocery store in the "north end" which is the pricier end of town even though not all the north end is ritzy by any means,,just that the most expensive neighborhoods are close by along the lake. 

 

Across the bridge in Michigan ($8 return) there's a few stores, again a Walmart, a Krogers, Meijers, I think an Aldi.. I can actually be in the Kroger in Michigan in about the same amount of time as it takes me to drive to our Walmart and SuperStore it's that close.  I don't find their prices any cheaper than here on the majority of food item except for dairy products and meat.. Shelf and frozen foods are about the same price,, sometimes a little more, sometimes a little less. so with the dollar difference right now it's definitely not worth it. Amazingly California produce is often less expensive here in Sarnia grocery stores than it sells for in Michigan at Krogers or Meijers ..  I only go over for groceries if there's something I like and can't find it in one of our stores, and of course by a case of beer at the same time which is half the price in Michigan as Ontario ..  The Canadian stores have a much much bigger selection of ethnic foods and ingredients than Krogers and Meijer at least in their Michigan stores that is.  

 

[vacerator]

Who can even keep track.

Safeway has had two owners in a decade. I must have confused Vons with Ralphs. Both are similar sized chains.
I don't subscribe to progressive grocer any longer. Neither does Erivan Haub.

 

[askolover]

We have 2 Krogers, 2 Piggly Wiggly, Food Lion, Superama, Aldi, Save-a-lot, a Walmart Supercenter, and an indie store.  I usually go to Kroger or Walmart since they are open 24 hours and I go at night when I'm off...I hate being around a lot of people.  MIL uses Kroger and gives us her fuel points since she doesn't have a car.  Piggly Wiggly has a good deli department. A few minutes up the highway we have a Super Kroger, Publix, Super Target, and another Walmart.

 

[vacerator]

Publix

runs very nice stores! Reminds me of the good old days of the chain I used to help run.
I was going to apply there back in 2006, when we could still have gotten a decent price for the house, and move south, but I couldn't convince anyone else to.
By summer of '07, I was out of a job. By June of 2008, both of us were. Neither one ever were in manufacturing, and both college degreed, one mastered. Go figure!
Plus we had two high school students heading for college.
I took what I could get, for half the salary and benefits. I didn't even apply for my unemployment extension. It didn't pay off.
Food had been good to me for over 30 years though. I was never without work or an income with good insurance in all those years.
Live long, and prosper.

 

[oldskool]

Detroit folks....

What ever happened to Farmer Jack's?

When I lived in Detroit, early 80s, regularly shopped at one in Southfield.

 

[DADoES]

 
Walmart and TX-based HEB.

Was a big deal when HEB built a new store here some years ago.  A completely different layout, something new they were trying at the time.  It's nice for a small town -- pharmacy, bakery, deli, meat market, several cubby-suites inside for other little businesses.  They built the new store on the block behind the old one, bought the city street that passed between the two blocks.  Demolished the old store when the new one was done and used the space to expand the parking lot.

Walmart is a 24-hr supercenter smidgeon less than 2mi from my house and on the route to/from work.  Has a Subway inside, hair salon, convenience bank.  Don't recall when it was built but was some years ago, predating the new HEB IIRC.  The old Walmart became a Sutherlands home improvement.

I shop at both.  Walmart most often since it's on the daily route.  Spend more @ HEB when I go there, with the larger/varied foods selection.

 

[frigilux]

One grocery store: Hy-Vee. I like it; great service, good manager. It also sponsors a 'Fuel-Savers' program. Buy certain items and get anywhere from 1 to 10 cents off per gallon of gas at a local station. Occasionally they offer a "spend $50 and get 30-cents off per gallon" special. I saved 48-cents per gallon at my last fill-up, buying things I normally purchase anyway.

Hy-Vee also has a great website with many online coupons that you load onto your Hy-Vee Perks Card. These are specials not listed in their weekly newspaper flyer. Coupon prices log automatically upon swiping the card at checkout. Simple.

 

[lordkenmore]

'Fuel-Savers' program

I resisted the Fred Meyer "Rewards" loyalty card for years...but finally caved in because of fuel benefits. For them, you get a points based on what you spend. Get enough points, and one can knock off a certain discount per gallon at participating stations (Fred Meyer and Shell). I can't remember the exact numbers, but I was getting routinely 10 cents off/gallon. Even ten cents off was nice during some gas price spike.

They also give rebate based on what spends. You don't get cash, but get in-store credit. This rebate is a little depressing, because it's about 1% total spending per quarter, and one can easily tell how much money one spent at Fred Meyer. Which gives a clue about how appallingly expensive it is to eat.

I think other stores have or have had fuel programs, but I never really looked into anyone other program. I never spent enough elsewhere to get enough points or whatever to get much of a discount.

 

[vacerator]

John oldskookl,

FJ closed in July 2007, after 86 years. The chain was founded by Al and Tom Borman.
It grew to 85 stores by 1988, then was bought by the Great Atlantic and Pacific Tea company. The newly merged chain comprised 140 stores in the area. Some underwent name changes to A&P, and some to Farmer Jack. After a few years, the FJ stores were doing better so the A&P name was dropped in the area and smaller less performing stored replaced, or closed. Erivan Haub retired, and his son took the helm. I had the opportunity to meet him. Nice man, good people. They kept it going 20 more years.
New stores were still opening in 2004, still with 110 stores, then bad things began to happen.
Some bad decisions were made on buying a small Toledo chain which used to carry locally sourced items. When their loyal shoppers couldn't get those items, they stopped shopping in those 7 stores.
The recession and manufacturing decline saw the Flint area stores close first, and a new Walmart in Port Huron, etc. continued to unlevel the playing field in price, and some labor cost. Prices were comparable to Kroger, and Meijer stores.
Some was no doubt political, as older employees were retiring in larger numbers, but the bulk of the full time labor force was an older group.
Category buyers were over buying, then tacking the bill onto the next years accounting. It caught up with them after Katrina hit New Orleans. The Detroit office was doing the accounting for that division, and those were the first salaried lay off's. A few of those executives now work for Nash Spartain.
A Food Basics marketing scheme of discount stores was tried out without success.
By 2006 there were 66 stores left. The recession in Detroit was in full swing, and A&P decided to pull the plug. Kroger purchased 22 stores, and hired a small amount of employees. Some others are still empty.
A&P purchased 140 Pathmark stores in NJ, and NY after closing Farmer Jack.
Om Jan. 1 of 2010, A&P filed bankruptcy, then the Pathmark stores also all closed. A&P became totally defunct as well.
Christian Haub started Shop Rite stores, and has since sold them.
The Haub Family, originally of Mulheim Germany, then Washington state, were major donors to St. Joseph university business school in Philadelphia.
Erivan and Helga Haub retired in Wiesbaden Germany, after divesting all interest in A&P upon or before news of the 2010 bankruptcy. Shulde', or debt is an embarrassment.
Guten tag! Das sonne hat im der Schwarzwald bei shinnen. Chuse.

 

[cycluxe]

In the Lehigh Valley...

...the big supermarkets are Weis, Giant, and Redner's. Weis is expensive, Giant is hard to navigate (IMHO), and Redner's customer service is awful. That is why I'm a proud Wegmans shopper!

When I was a kid we shopped at a store called Anthony's, which became T.J. Bart's, which then became Boyer's. I think Boyer's is somehow related to Ahart's, a chain of smaller supermarkets that cater to inner-city neighborhoods in the Valley. Both advertised "red-shirt service."

I feel the need to note that Allentown does have an IGA, the Little Apple IGA on 7th Street.

 

[vacerator]

Wegman's

runs their company like the Borman's did. I've only read good things about them.
Voted best place to work years over.
The hourly FJ employees all took pay cuts in 2006 with the hopes of saving their jobs.

 

[oldskool]

Thanks

@/Vacerator
Much appreciation for the detailed information regarding FJ. Wow! Amazing how businesses and corporations can be going so strong, then just a few bad moves and the downward spiral begins, usually followed by more bad choices and/or external factors that usually come along at a bad time. Very much appreciate your input.

John