Which supermarket is worth my time and money? (Dallas, Fort Worth: live, prices)

[Dallaz]

Originally Posted by RJ312

Is having a history of being local the only explanation? Tom Thumb was local before a lot of current residents lived here. Does that matter to those who have moved here since Safeway purchased it in the 1990s?

I have noticed that legacy brand names are relevant in the grocery business. Kroger owns a lot of supermarkets that operate under legacy names, such as Smith's, Ralph's, Fry's, King Soopers/City Market, etc. Albertsons owns Safeway and Tom Thumb and is still using those legacy names in various markets.

Personally, I believe it is. It’s easier to operate a store under an acquired name, than to totally introduce a new store name into an area that’s not familiar. For Example: Kroger would have to do some major rebranding in a California, if they decided to phase out the Ralph’s name. It’s not guaranteed to work...that’s a risk some companies aren’t willing to make.

[RJ312]

Originally Posted by Dallaz

Personally, I believe it is. It’s easier to operate a store under an acquired name, than to totally introduce a new store name into an area that’s not familiar. For Example: Kroger would have to do some major rebranding in a California, if they decided to phase out the Ralph’s name. It’s not guaranteed to work...that’s a risk some companies aren’t willing to make.

The grocery store industry is so much different than the banking industry with this. In commercial banking, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, and Chase have acquired so many banks over time and have never tried keeping legacy names. The names Fleet, NationsBank, Wachovia, and Washington Mutual are a part of history. Those names just barely scratch the surface of all the acquisitions those banks have completed over decades. Bank of America did keep the Merrill Lynch name for investment banking.

Tom Thumb has managed to survive the cutthroat grocery environment. They are doing decent in DFW but I don't think they can really cut into Kroger or Walmart's share.

In general, and this goes beyond grocery store, I'm actually liking that Walmart is getting their comeuppance from Amazon a little bit after Walmart laid ruin to a lot of smaller retailers. However, I don't think it is enough as I think Walmart will be able to survive Amazon. I don't think Walmart becomes the next Sears.

[Tigerbait73]

We go to a combo of Sprouts, Trader Joe's, and Costco.

Costco is tough if you're single or just a couple so we don't go as often. Trader Joe's is great with some unique products and has reliable quality. Sprouts is great for fruits & veggies. There's a Kroger by our house in Frisco but the produce and everything isn't the best quality, everything is always bruised and has flies circling around. We normally go for last minute stuff or name brand snacks the other places don't have.

Oh yeah, we'll go to 99 Ranch or H-Mart if we get a chance. Those are Chinese and Korean grocery stores, respectively. They are opening a new 99 Ranch in Frisco and will be open pretty soon. Always has cheap and wide varieties of produce and a lot of different meats/seafood. We will probably go there more once it comes.

We used to go to Aldi more but selection is limited. Prices can't be beat though

Never got the hype about Market Street. Seemed very expensive for the products you get compared to the other places. Frisco was supposed to get a Wholefoods but the project keeps getting out on hold.

[tcualum]

What exactly is Market Street? I've seen one but have never been in.

[stephwin]

Originally Posted by tcualum

What exactly is Market Street? I've seen one but have never been in.

To me it seems like a slightly more upscale Tom Thumb/Kroger. They have more prepared food options, like wood fired pizza, sandwiches, fish, etc. We don't regularly shop there but we pick up some random things from time to time.

[BigDGeek]

Originally Posted by Treasurevalley92

Check out WinCo!

Heh...we'd be heading to the Josey location on a toll road or to the Centerville Road location on 635 east of 75. Either one is a big fat no.

Originally Posted by Aceraceae

We mostly shop at Whole Foods, Kroger, and Costco. The new McKinney Costco is open now. It’s close to us. The one on 75 in Plano is insanity.

Yup, it is. It's so insane that I let my Costco membership expire and switched to Sam's. I just won't go to Costco anymore; I haven't seen one that ISN'T insane.

Originally Posted by RJ312

Since moving to Dallas, I've been trying to figure out how Tom Thumb attracts customers. I don't understand their positioning in the grocery market and who is the core customer.

Tom Thumb is more expensive than Kroger or Walmart. They don't have super organic, high end market either like Whole Foods or Central Market. They are not lower priced than Whole Foods or Central Market with similar merchandise like Sprouts or maybe even Trader Joe's.

I have bought from Tom Thumb because there have been instances where going to Tom Thumb was convenient. There have been times where I have bought at Tom Thumb due to really good sales. For instance, Tom Thumb will have meat sales where it is buy 1, get 2 free.

Some Tom Thumbs in north Dallas & far north Dallas have proper kosher sections, so that's part of it.

Originally Posted by Tigerbait73

Costco is tough if you're single or just a couple so we don't go as often. Trader Joe's is great with some unique products and has reliable quality. Sprouts is great for fruits & veggies. There's a Kroger by our house in Frisco but the produce and everything isn't the best quality, everything is always bruised and has flies circling around. We normally go for last minute stuff or name brand snacks the other places don't have.

That isn't the norm at Kroger in the produce section. I've seen more of that at Tom Thumb and Sprouts to be honest. (Not to mention Aldi.)

[turf3]

Tom Thumb still has somewhat normal sized supermarkets in true Dallas (as in, inside LBJ and old Far North). No need to drive for hours to buy your groceries in a warehouse. They are far more convenient for those parts of town.

For example, my near-Lakewood house is near-ish to at least four Tom Thumbs (Preston Center, across from Northpark, Old Town, and Hillside Village) and while two of these are newer mega-stores, two are normal ones. I know of one Kroger nearby (Greenville and Mockingbird) and getting in and out is a hassle and the store is a true giga-store with all that implies. Plus they have security guards around all the time like it's a dangerous place (don't know if it really is) and the general vibe is unpleasant to me, compared to the straightforward TT at Hillside Village.

I suspect TTs don't do that well in the exurbs.

For many many years Minyards was a crummy suburban chain along the line of Winn-Dixie or Affiliated, then when Safeway quit the Dallas market, Minyards bought up a bunch of Safeway stores and went way upscale. I don't know what happened to them in the mid to late 2000s that they went under; probably the usual hasty overexpansion.

I think you would pretty much have to pull a gun on me to make me buy groceries at Costco or Walmart.

[Campeador]

Originally Posted by Sugar-free_jazz

Hey everyone!

I recently moved to the Frisco area from San Antonio, where HEB reigned supreme. I’m not familiar with any of the supermarkets in the area, except Sprouts, since we had one back in SA. So far, I have seen Aldi, Market Street, Tom Thumb, Kroger, and WinCo.

I usually like to get everything (food and non-food household items) at one place, but understand that this may not be so simple. I’m also on a budget right now because I just started a teaching job here and I won’t get paid until September, so I’m looking for a place with good quality ingredients (doesn’t necessarily have to be organic) for a lower price. I like buying spices and nuts/grains in bulk (like where they have the giant bins and you scoop out the items into a bag and label them), so having that feature is a must, but I also want to be able to buy other non-food related items (like foil, trash bags, etc.) all in the same place, if possible. I do know that there is a Central Market close-ish by, and while it is technically an HEB, it’s not quite the same. Also, I hate Walmart.

Can anyone who has had experience shopping at any/all of these places tell me a little bit more about them, and if they would be a good place for me to shop? Also, what other places that are worth checking out that I’m not aware of?

Thanks!

OP: what have you found to work for you?

We were in this same dilemma when we moved to Fort Worth from Austin. HEB was the perfect store for a one-stop shopping experience. We struggled to find an equivalent. First it was a combination of Costco and Sprouts. Costco did not sit well with me at first--hated buying bulk and feared that it would encourage overeating and waste. Then we had a child and found that diapers and other items (excellent meat and seafood) were a bargain there. Sprouts was a nice supplement since they have wonderful produce and the bins you mention. Plus it was close.

Then we moved across town, so now it's Costco and Kroger. Kroger's fine, but I miss Sprouts a bit.

[Dallaz]

Originally Posted by turf3

Tom Thumb still has somewhat normal sized supermarkets in true Dallas (as in, inside LBJ and old Far North). No need to drive for hours to buy your groceries in a warehouse. They are far more convenient for those parts of town.

For example, my near-Lakewood house is near-ish to at least four Tom Thumbs (Preston Center, across from Northpark, Old Town, and Hillside Village) and while two of these are newer mega-stores, two are normal ones. I know of one Kroger nearby (Greenville and Mockingbird) and getting in and out is a hassle and the store is a true giga-store with all that implies. Plus they have security guards around all the time like it's a dangerous place (don't know if it really is) and the general vibe is unpleasant to me, compared to the straightforward TT at Hillside Village.

I suspect TTs don't do that well in the exurbs.

For many many years Minyards was a crummy suburban chain along the line of Winn-Dixie or Affiliated, then when Safeway quit the Dallas market, Minyards bought up a bunch of Safeway stores and went way upscale. I don't know what happened to them in the mid to late 2000s that they went under; probably the usual hasty overexpansion.

I think you would pretty much have to pull a gun on me to make me buy groceries at Costco or Walmart.

The Minyard Family sold Minyard Food Stores and its subsidiaries (Carnival Food Stores and Sack N Save Warehouse Food Stores) in the 2000s. After that, the company went to hell and went completely defunct in 2016. Minyard was a MAJOR player in Southern Dallas. They would open 50,000 sq ft stores, in areas the competition wouldn’t. That’s what set Minyard apart and possibly what made them successful for years. To this day, major chains (probably except Walmart) wouldn’t dare open in areas where Minyard once was. After they began to decline, Southern Dallas was where their only surviving stores made a profit (because there wasn’t much competition from other stores). At Minyard’s peak, they had around 70 or 80 stores throughout North Texas.

For Example: Minyard closed a smaller store on Second Ave and Hatcher St in South Dallas (which was purchased from Safeway in the 80s) and built a 50,000 sq ft store on MLK Blvd across from Fair Park in the late 90s. Minyard was literally the ONLY grocery store in all of South Dallas. Other grocers wouldn’t build a store in the part of town at all.

Even as early as the 2010, Minyard was still operating in stores that were purchased from Safeway in the 1980s. Many of the stores were very small with no fresh departments at all, just groceries.

Having stores that specifically catered to a Hispanics - Carnival Food Stores and having a warehouse concept - Sack N Save helped them fight off competition. WinCo really reminds me of what Sack N Save was. Since Minyard is gone, no full service grocers are willing to open in parts of Southern Dallas. Walmart has many stores in Southern Dallas, but they would go as far as to open a store in South Dallas (Fair Park).

[calgirlinnc]

Originally Posted by turf3

I think you would pretty much have to pull a gun on me to make me buy groceries at Costco or Walmart.

Apart from proximity, why?

There is a Walmart in Flower Mound that is the nicest, most upscale WM you can imagine.