Trader Joe’s for pasta and their Organic Basil Pasta Sauce, for cheeses and limes and lemons.
Olive oil and tuna in water. Not much else–the occasional veggie. Dislike their meats.
Whole Foods and our local New Seasons and Zupans for proteins.
Costco for fesh bread (we freeze) berries and Fresh Ahi Tuna (freezes beautifully) and organic ground beef (again freeze).
Winco (locally owned and so successful) for anything in a clam shell or can. The fresh stuff either is packed or I need to get under 3 layers for untouched food (you should see the kids play with the produce as the parents watch). Lowest name brand (think Best Mayo and mustards and such) available anywhere.
So–Many stores!!! takes time and cannot always do it. But to pay .69 at Winco for black beans or 1.69 at another store…gads.
Hope new WF’s is suprer. Would love to get down to 1-2 stores.
Teri you bring up something that really bothers me. I live in an area where the demographics support a lot of nicer stores, but somehow nothing like this comes into our local area. Trader Joes is in another town 20-25 min away, I love it but don’t always feel like making a special trip. Whole Foods is farther so I never shop there. We recently got an Aldi- and are not impressed.
It’s probably a marketing technique - maybe an opportunity to get into markets where a Whole Foods wouldn’t fly (the community couldn’t/wouldn’t support the prices/types of products, etc.) but something a little less would.
Take Costco for example. I would say that our Costco does not have the same shoppers that our Aldi’s does for instance. Now this is just a generalization - and more descriptive of the Costco and Aldi’s that I know - but I would “label” our Costco shoppers as at least middle class and up and our Aldi’s as lower middle class and down (I know, that sounds kind of awful, but think it’s true of the ones I know in town).
I’ll be a less expensive Whole Foods store would attract a lot of the same crowd as our Costco. Who is not the same crowd shopping at our pricey Fresh Market.
(oh, and I WISH we would get a Half Price Books! Many others in Ohio but not here!)
“They say the new stores will offer a “curated” and “values-oriented” selection of foods. That is, they’ll have lower prices than Whole Foods, but also a more limited selection of products.”
I am very loyal to Wegman’s, too. We drive to another state to shop there (ok, it’s 20 minutes away, but STILL). Last week we were on a very tight schedule and due to an accident, we couldn’t get over the bridge. we ended up going somewhere local and it (a) cost a fortune and (b) messed up my entire week because I couldn’t get everything I needed.
The most upscale grocery store we’ve ever had was a Giant Eagle. I loved their products, but their customer service was awful. They ended up closing. Kroger pretty much runs our town. Cub Food closed. All the Food Towns closed. Rumor has it that Kroger bought or leased the old properties so no other chains could come in. I don’t know if Whole Foods will make it here. I doubt that I’ll be shopping there much, even though it will be 10 minutes from my house.
@FallGirl we are the same as you. The demographics would more than support a Trader Joes or Whole Foods. The nearest are about 35 minutes away. Not on my radar screen!
Lower cost whole foods shouldn’t be too hard. I can look at the exact same item between Whole Foods and Target. $3.39 at Target, $5.99 at Whole Foods. Again, exact same item (those Amy’s frozen meals - single portion).
Coca-Cola and McDonalds don’t have marketing teams as good as Whole Foods.
A friend from Cleveland told me about it. They said there’s a bar in the store, and you can just drink a pint while shopping for groceries.
The new, bigger Giant Eagle stores are not too bad…but the older ones are small, cramped and horrible. My family lives about a mile from Giant Eagle. They make a drive to Heinens which is about 5 miles away. Heinens is a much nicer store, better selection and…clean. Prices are normal grocery store prices. They have a great bakery.
We have a wine and beer bar in our local New Seasons. Our newest-- Market of Choice-- also has a wine/ beer bar. Whole foods allows you to buy beer or wine and drink it with the deli/hot foods. They will open it for you even.
Personally, I think Whole Foods’ reputation as “whole paycheck” is undeserved. It’s the only store I can shop in where I can be sure the produce is ripe, not under- or over-. Their bulk section is the cheapest way to buy oatmeal that I know of ($1.49/pound for organic); they have ten varieties of dried beans for under $2/pound each. Yes, I can spend $9/pound on a broccoli salad–but I can also buy local apples for $.99/pound (if I make sure to only buy what’s on special in the produce section). My favorite salad dressing is $3.49 at WF and $5.49 at Safeway (where I think they consider it a luxury item). Their house brand (365) is often excellent and always reasonably priced. I waste far less food when I buy at WF because it’s good food and packaged appropriately.
I think what drives my food bill up @ Whole Foods is too many impulse purchases. (Bakery area, I am talking about you.) Meat can be pricey, however, although I know it is quality.
I agree with dmd77. I find Whole Foods quite reasonable. Even their meat, if you choose something on sale. However, if you have to get a specific item, or do all your shopping there, it gets expensive. The way I shop, only buy what is well priced or hard to get elsewhere, have a range of items, not specific, it is decently priced. Buying the cooked food from the food bar is cheaper than going out, and cheaper than buying all the ingredients to cook it. And better!