Also in Southern California
Vons, Ralphs, Stater Brothers, and WinCo are supermarkets where I find myself shopping for groceries. Of these, Vons and WinCo are where I shop the most, usually after work on the way home because this is most convenient for me, and because it is easier to get the larger sizes of items at these two.
In terms of prices, I tend to favor WinCo because it is more of a warehouse store and environment, much like Costco or Sam's Club. With careful shopping, it is not hard to save 10 or 15 percent over what you spend at other chains. Ralphs and Stater Brothers are also good, I have found, but shopping there requires you to keep your eyes open when going through the aisles. The house brands are usually much cheaper than the national brands, but you need to make an effort to look at the small price placard on the shelf, not always easily done.
Like a lot of people these days, I'm carefully counting coins in the store, and I pay attention to the ad inserts (and coupons) in the weekend newspapers. Sometimes, if there is a special at a particular store on something that I want to stock up on, like a hard to find brand or grocery item, then I'll do the week's shopping there.
