Top Grocery Stores in Your Area for Shopping: Publix, Walmart, Save-A-Lot

[DessertDivaFL]

I wanted to see which grocery stores are your favorites in your area.

The one that I shop in the most is Publix but sometimes I go to the Wal-mart Neighborhood Market since it is the closest to my home or I go to Save-A-Lot when I am near my parent's home.

 

[Crystal Patton]

I only have Safeway, locally, so there really isn't a choice. I like Safeway but I find they do take adventage of the monopoly. I could drive 30-45 minutes into Prescott and shop at Frys, my favorite, but it's hard with three little ones.

 

[NooraK]

I love Publix's Buy 1 Get 1 deals. I often go to Kroger because it's the closest. I use Southern Savers to find the best deals.

 

[BettieC]

I'm fortunate to have a ton of SM to choose from in my area.

Shoprite
Pathmark
A&P
ACME
Stop & Shop
Kings
C-Town
Whole Foods
FairWay
FoodFair
Trader Joe's
Wegman's
Food Basics
FoodTown
Super Supermarket
Corrados
also BJ's/Costco's & Sams Club
We also have alot of ethnic type stores Hispanic, Asain, Indian & MiddleEastern

My faves are Shoprite & Trader Joe's

 

[The_Kitchen_Guy]

I'm fortunate to have a ton of SM to choose from in my area.

Around here, everyone keeps their personal life pretty much secret.

National chains have never done very well in this market, for years, the grocery market here was dominated by Kohl's (as in Senator Kohl.) Kroger and A&P tried to break in here but were pushed out.

Today, Kohl's is gone (driven out of business by the other chains) and probably the largest chain here is Roundy's, that operates under the name Pick 'n' Save. (Roundy's is a regional retailer that operates in the Midwest under the names Pick 'n' Save, Rainbow Foods and Copps. When Jewel pulled out of the market, Roundy's bought the remaining operations and either re-badged them as Pick 'n' Save or closed them.

We have one Trader Joe's, Woodman's opened one location on the far south side and Wally World. We also have a local chain, Sendik's, that has expanded from one store to several locations.

That said, I do 85% of my shopping at Wally World, 10% at Pick 'n' Save and 5% at Trader Joe's.

 

[BettieC]

Around here, everyone keeps their personal life pretty much secret.

HaHa................

 

[wadesgirl]

Around here we have more local grocery stores but I prefer WalMart because it's cheapest. That and Fareway (local) has the best meat around.

 

[The_Kitchen_Guy]

The Top 25 Retail GrocersThe Top 25 Grocery Retailers in the United States
Key: Corporation (Number of Locations) Operating Names

1. Wal-Mart (2,765) Wal-Mart SuperCenter
2. Kroger (2,480) Kroger, Ralphs, Fred Meyer
3. Safway (1,507) Safeway, Vons, Tom Thumb Safeway
4. Supervalu (1,594) Save-A-Lot, Albertsons, Shaw's/Star Market
5. Ahold USA (704) Stop & Shop, Giant-Landover, Giant-Carlisle
6. Publix (1,001) Publix, Publix GreenWise
7. Dehaize America (1,606) Food Lion, Hannaford, Sweetbay
8. H.E. Butt Grocery (278) HEB, HEB Plus, HEB Central Market
9. Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Co. (418) Pathmark, SuperFresh, Waldbaum's
10. Meijer (185) Meijer
11. Winn-Dixie (521) Winn-Dixie, SaveRite
12. Whole Foods Market (269) Whole Foods, Wild Oats
13. Target (239) SuperTarget Center
14. Trader Joe's (311) Trader Joe's
15. Giant Eagle (171) Giant Eagle
16. Save Mart (245) Save Mart, Lucky Store/Save Mart, S Mart
17. Albertson's, LLC (257) Albertson's, Super Saver Store, Grocery Warehouse
18. Military (176) DeCA Commissary
19. Hy-Vee (200) Hy-Vee
20. Wegemans Food Markets (72) Wegmans
21. Ruddick (179) Harris Teeter
22. Aldi (984) Aldi's
23. Roundy's (152) Pick 'n' Save, Rainbow Foods, Rainbow Fresh, Copps
24. Stater Brothers (165) Stater Bros.
25. Price Chopper/Golub (117) Price Chopper/Golub

Source: Progressive Grocer

 

[straitfan]

We only have two choices ..Wal-mart and Dillon's (which is now part of the Kroger chain) They were founded here and a lot of their HQ's are here in Hutchinson (the "big town" near where I live) I HATE going to Wally-World, so Dillon's get the lion's share of my business.

 

[PamperChefCarol]

Am a total Meijer head. I don't believe are national, but just celebrated their 75th anniversary this past weekend. I should know, I worked a free hot dog lunch demo at one of the stores and served 500 hot dogs!

We also have Krogers here in Michigan, but I never seem to have my key tag so get the higher prices. Just found out that I can input my phone and make it work, but just find it easier to go to Meijer. They have everything, and people say you could almost build a house with the items Meijer sells.

Don't shop at Wal-Mart, but sometimes Trader Joes. Love Whole Foods, but I am on a budget!

 

[The_Kitchen_Guy]

Meijer, as you can see from my list above is a large grocery retailer but is strictly regional - for now. I've seen Meijer as far west as Dyersville and other locations in Indiana and (if memory serves me) as far east as Toledo, but most of their locations are in Michigan. They're in Illinois and Kentucky but I've never been to those stores.You're right about building a house from http://www.meijer.com/home.jsp - when someone says "Big box store" that's the first place that comes to mind!

 

[esavvymom]

We have Lowes Food, Harris Teeter, Kroger, Wal-Mart, Super Target, and Food Lion around here. I go to Lowes Food the most, Food Lion is my closest if I need something quick, Harris-Teeter when they do Triple Coupons (about once a qtr), and Walmart when I'm really budget conscious. We also get a few things from Whole Foods or Earthfare (organic items we can't get at the other stores).I usually by my meat from local farmers, and eggs when I can.

 

[Fluffy215]

What do you call local? To me anything within 15 miles is local. With that being said we have a Shaw's, Stop N Shop, Hannafords, Market Basket, Trader Joe's, and Super Walmart. But in my own town there is only 2 Shaw's LOL And funny thing is they are only about 3 or 4 miles apart from each other LOL I got the best deal yesterday at Shaw's because of coupons LOL I bought 5 Twelve packs of Vault Soda, 2 Hillshire Farm Polish Sausage Links, and 2 pounds of 41-50 count cooked shrimp for a grand total of $.19 Yes that's nineteen cents

 

[raebates]

I'm with Sandy. Local is a relative term when you live in the geographical center of nowhere. I usually do my grocery shipping at Kroger and Save-A-Lot. For a quick item or two I'll go to Hagans, the little independent grocery nearby. If I'm in the next town over, I prefer Martins. If I'm lucky enough to be in Indianapolis, I'll go to Trader Joe's, Whole Foods, Wild Oats, and/or Fresh Market. (I go to Fresh Market whenever possible, since they have fantastic queen-size olives stuffed with provolone cheese.) If I'm in the Cincinnati area, I make sure to stop in at Jungle Jim's. It's like a grocery store/amusement park.

 

[caraighan]

Of any of the ones mentioned so far, the ONLY one available in my town is Wal-Mart. We also have a Food Lion and the locally owned grocery is Houchens. I usually go to Wal-Mart for most large shopping. If I just have to pick up a couple of things I go to Houchens because it's less than 1/2 mile away.

If I drive about 35 miles to the next big town, I have a few other choices... Krogers, Sam's... I think that's it actually...

If I had my choice and didn't have to drive 35 miles to it, I guess I would shop at Krogers and Sams.

 

[KaryCam]

I love Publix's Buy 1 Get 1 deals.

In my little town there are 3 Publix, a Walmart Super Center, and a Winn Dixie towards the outside of town.

I go to Publix only for their sales and Buy 1 get 1.
Otherwise I go to Walmart.

 

[PCMomto4]

In my town, which isn't that big we have Wal-Mart, Sweetbay, Albertson's and 4 Publix's. I shop at Publix, its clean, they are nice and I can always find what I am looking for.
I know that Wal-Mart would be cheaper but my sanity is worth more than what I would save by shopping there. I don't know if it is just our Wal-Mart, but they are always moving things, no one who works there knows anything and are extremely rude, plus you have to wait 30 mins to check out.

 

[etteluap70PC]

What do you call local? To me anything within 15 miles is local. With that being said we have a Shaw's, Stop N Shop, Hannafords, Market Basket, Trader Joe's, and Super Walmart. But in my own town there is only 2 Shaw's LOL And funny thing is they are only about 3 or 4 miles apart from each other LOL I got the best deal yesterday at Shaw's because of coupons LOL I bought 5 Twelve packs of Vault Soda, 2 Hillshire Farm Polish Sausage Links, and 2 pounds of 41-50 count cooked shrimp for a grand total of $.19 Yes that's nineteen cents

Love Market Basket!!!

Used to love shaws then they did a Huge expansion 15 yrs ago and prices shot up. Still like the variety but kinda spendy. (FYI... I haven't lived in NH for 13 years so my opinion may not be exactly accurate! lol) GOOD JOB with the coupons!

Here in MN within 30 miles I have:
Coborns
Aldi's
Wally World
Super Target
Cub Foods

Bolded are MN or Mid west companies
Coborns is here in town, the rest I have to drive 25-30 miles for.
LOVE Aldi's

 

[BettieC]

This is a fun, interesting thread.......to see all the different markets around.

Am I the only one googling them to see how the stores look, and if there is one near me??? lol

 

[Teresa Lynn]

Central Market (part of the HEB family)
Albertsons
tom Thumb
KrogerI've been known to go to all 4 in one day

 

[DessertDivaFL]

My husband and I went to Save-A-Lot today and bought a cart full for $95. He just loves that! It amounts to a week or so worth of groceries for a family of 4. You just can't beat the off-brand prices!

 

[letmepamperu13]

What a fun thread! I bounce between
#1 Aldi (just got a cartful of food for $40!)
#2 Wegmans (sometimes I pay a bit more but the ambiance is wonderful! and I can get a coffee to drink from their cafe!)
#3 Sam's (love their meats!)
#4 Walmart (go mostly for toiletry items)I actually love to grocery shop-I think this has something to do with no children in my home My nephew is staying for the week and just shopping for his arrival has been a bit of a wake-up and great birth control~ hee! hee!

 

[Crystal Patton]

What a fun thread! I bounce between
#1 Aldi (just got a cartful of food for $40!)
#2 Wegmans (sometimes I pay a bit more but the ambiance is wonderful! and I can get a coffee to drink from their cafe!)
#3 Sam's (love their meats!)
#4 Walmart (go mostly for toiletry items)

I actually love to grocery shop-I think this has something to do with no children in my home My nephew is staying for the week and just shopping for his arrival has been a bit of a wake-up and great birth control~ hee! hee!

LOL - I have 3 boys so I understand what you are saying. We go through a gallon of milk in 2 days.

 

[pamperedlinda]

I'm a Publix gal. I also love to go to Whole Foods and Trader Joe's.

 

[KellyCooks]

I have ShopRite, Stop & Shop, Shaw's, Aldi's, BJs and Walmart within maybe 3 or 4 miles of my house. ShopRite is the closest to me, and I also find that the prices are better (except for maybe Aldi's). The produce is definitely cheaper at ShopRite than at Walmart at least for what I buy.

When I visit my in-laws in Madison, Wis., I enjoying going to Woodman's. The selection is incredible.

Kelly

 

[ChefMary412]

We have a Wal-Mart near by, too... I go there most because the price is best. I am not always thrilled with the selection or produce. I also like Hannahfords and Shaws.
We do BJ's-Wholesale a lot for meats and chips/crackers/snacks, etc.

 

[The_Kitchen_Guy]

LOL - I have 3 boys so I understand what you are saying. We go through a gallon of milk in 2 days.

Is that all?

We go through 5-6 gallons per week - it's only the two of us and The Kat Lady hardly drinks any milk. We should have our own cow.

 

[Crystal Patton]

Is that all?

We go through 5-6 gallons per week - it's only the two of us and The Kat Lady hardly drinks any milk. We should have our own cow.

Holy COW, that is alot of milk! Har, har!!!

 

[Gina M]

Is that all?

We go through 5-6 gallons per week - it's only the two of us and The Kat Lady hardly drinks any milk. We should have our own cow.

I'm right there with you KG - my family of 5 can easily go through 5-6 gallons a week - we are total milk freaks - eat a ton of cereal and drink milk at every meal. I wish sometimes there was a cow in the backyard!

We have a ton of places to shop at around here

Aldi
Target
Walmart
Meijer
Dominick's
Jewel

Just to name a few - and they are all within 5-10 minutes of my house - I love the suburbs!

 

[The_Kitchen_Guy]

Holy COW, that is alot of milk! Har, har!!!

If my milk supply dried up, it would be udder disaster.

 

[caraighan]

My husband and I went to Save-A-Lot today and bought a cart full for $95. He just loves that! It amounts to a week or so worth of groceries for a family of 4. You just can't beat the off-brand prices!

I forgot about Save-A-Lot. We have one and there's one in the (even-smaller) town where I work, 22 miles away from where I live. They also have a Dollar General Market that I like to shop at and a CB Food Stores (I think they were bought by IGA recently). I like to buy my meat at the CB store.

The town where I live is about 16,000 population or so (at least the last time I heard) and where I work is about 1,400.

 

[PampChefJoy]

My husband works for Save-Mart (#16!!! - impressive since it's not a national chain). We shop there or at Raley's (also a locally owned chain) because it's down the street. Our Target's and WalMart's are largely not the grocery-inclusive ones, so they are not competitive with full-service grocery.

We do shop at Publix when we travel to Florida and I think it's pretty comparable to a Save-Mart.

Oh, and of coure, there's Costco...

 

[byrd1956]

Usually go to Carnival or Wal-mart. There is a Cardinal about 3 min. from my house, but their prices are usually higher....it is the convenience, though. Also have Save-A-Lot and an Aldi. Meijer is about 35 - 40 min. away. Sometimes, though I just call my mom to see if she has what I need......nothing beats 'shopping' at her house!!!