Grocery shopping (Richmond, Newport News, Williamsburg: hardwood floors, appointed, sales)

[PChildres]

Ok here is the scenario:

You live in Williamsburg.... Kroger is about 18 miles and Harris Teeter 22 miles away in Newport news. Ukrops is right down the street. Food Lion isn't too far away and Farm Fresh is right around the corner.

Who do you go to if you want QUALITY?
Who do you go to for CHEAP GROCERIES?
Who do you go to for best VALUE?

Down here in Houston, Kroger is king. I know Food Lion to be cheap but their selection of groceries compared to Kroger is horrible. Pretty bad quality too from their generic brands. Never been inside a Farm Fresh or a UKROPS. Harris Teeter seems like a Whole Foods which is top quality but the price also reflects that.

[Erma]

Where and why I shop there:

Food Lion: I think their prices are very reasonable and the MVP savings make my household grocery budget easy to manage. 10 yogurts for 4 dollars is a great value. Two for one ice cream is great when we have the kids home to visit and summer-time cravings are much cheaper than Dairy Queen!
Their deli counter is very reasonable with buy one pound, get another free, for lunch meats. I also like to get my sandwich cheese fresh cut and they are very accommodating at splitting the packages into half pounds. I freeze the other half pound so I am not going to the store on a weekly basis.
Food Lion is known for their inventory to cater to the areas they are located in.

Harris Teeter is okay, but I wouldn't shop there on my regular grocery visits. The only real deals I found this week were the lean cuisines @ 5 for 6 dollars. Normally they run 2.39 a meal.

Kroger has good meat and the butcher did cut a nice roast for me out of the roll he had and their fresh fish is very good, but I also know that Kroger is a union grocery store and this is why their prices are higher.

Farm Fresh caters to the older community with their fresh baked goods and deli counter, but their chicken is the best we've had from any grocery store.

Sam's Club: I buy bulk T.P, Paper Plates, Paper Towel, beer/wine, hygiene products and most of our meats there. I divide the meats into freezer bags and that eliminates meat purchases for at least a month. Sam's Club rotissiere chicken is out of this world and very cheap. A fully cooked chicken for 5 dollars is a quick meal for the family when time just doesn't allow to do it at home, and it's healthy.

Not familiar with the place called UKROPS.

[Mr Williamsburg]

To PC: You missed a few that are very popular here in Williamsburg. It's funny talking about where you grocery shop is like talking about which college or NFL football team you root for. People get very defensive about it..
Wal Mart, while some won't shop there their prices are usually the best. I won't buy meat there but if you don't want to make the trip to Costco or Sams Club in Newport News their pricing is hard to beat on most items. Very crowded, long lines, no customer service, messy but you can save a few dollars.
Trader Joes. I'm amazed that we have one considering the size of Williamsburg. There isn't one on the Southside yet. It's hard to describe Trader Joes. Check out their website and you will see what I mean http://www.traderjoes.com/
A somewhat bohemian market full of suprising values.. You can't shop here for everything but they do have an amazing array of food and good prices. Froozen Tuna Steaks at $4.99 a pound. I know you only eat fresh fish. Try it , tastes as good as most fresh Tuna from other stores. Wine deals and variety. The list goes on. It's a fun place to shop you just don't know what you will find.
Fresh Market: A little pricey for me but most swear by their meat department.
Ukrops Grocery: Based in Richmond, the best customer service around. They take your groceries to your car. The best prepared foods around. Prices have come down recently and they are becoming much more competitive. I buy meat there on sale, great deals and great selection/ quality. They don't sell cigarettes, or alcohol and close on Sunday.
Farm Fresh: (3 stores in Williamsburg) Started in Tidewater VA. Now owned by Supervalu in Ricmond.
Pricing seems a little high to me, although they are reducing pricing as of late. Most of the stores have been remodeled recently. We shop there for specials on meat, salad bar and other items.
Food Lion: ( two in Williamsburg) Pricing seems on par with others or a little lower. They recently remodeled two of the local Food Lion Stores into Bloom Stores (two in Williamsburg)in an attempt to take the chain upmarket, hardwood floors, mood lighting, etc.. I have a hard time getting past the fact that they used to be Food Lions..
Base Commissaries: I grew up in a Navy Family , so the commissary was the main and almost only place we shopped. Back then the price differences were more extreme, I think. Plus you didn't pay sales tax. If you are military you most likely still shop at a base commissary.
Harris Teeter is opening a store in Williamsburg. It will be on Rt 199 across from the entrance to Kingsmill. Due to open in 2009. It is under construction. We were all saddened that so many trees had to be cut down to build a grocery store I guess there will be a few on the east side of Williamsburg that will be happy to see it open. We have shopped at the Harris Teeter in Corolla, NC when we go to the beach. To me the prices seemed very high. That could just be a location thing.
We are also supposed to get a Wal Mart neighborhood Market in the New Town area of Williamsburg. It will be located very close to Trader Joes. I haven't seem them break ground yet so who knows if/ when it will open.
In closing these are my random thoughts. I am one of those rare people who will drive 5 miles to buy Perdue boneless chicken breast for $1.88 a pound. My wife and I pass by all of these stores on an almost daily basis and we will dash in to get those few things that we like at each store.
So let the opinions fly. Check out all of the stores yourself. That's why some drive Hondas and some drive Chevys, Fords and others.
Happy 2009 !

[PChildres]

Mr. Williamsburg.... now that I think about it, you're the only poster on this forum that deserves the name Mr. Williamsburg based on the informative post you submit on anything and everything about Williamsburg.... between that and the fact that you're the only GUY in Williamsburg on here...

[FL Beaches]

Originally Posted by Mr Williamsburg

To PC: You missed a few that are very popular here in Williamsburg. It's funny talking about where you grocery shop is like talking about which college or NFL football team you root for. People get very defensive about it..
Wal Mart, while some won't shop there their prices are usually the best. I won't buy meat there but if you don't want to make the trip to Costco or Sams Club in Newport News their pricing is hard to beat on most items. Very crowded, long lines, no customer service, messy but you can save a few dollars.
Trader Joes. I'm amazed that we have one considering the size of Williamsburg. There isn't one on the Southside yet. It's hard to describe Trader Joes. Check out their website and you will see what I mean http://www.traderjoes.com/
A somewhat bohemian market full of suprising values.. You can't shop here for everything but they do have an amazing array of food and good prices. Froozen Tuna Steaks at $4.99 a pound. I know you only eat fresh fish. Try it , tastes as good as most fresh Tuna from other stores. Wine deals and variety. The list goes on. It's a fun place to shop you just don't know what you will find.
Fresh Market: A little pricey for me but most swear by their meat department.
Ukrops Grocery: Based in Richmond, the best customer service around. They take your groceries to your car. The best prepared foods around. Prices have come down recently and they are becoming much more competitive. I buy meat there on sale, great deals and great selection/ quality. They don't sell cigarettes, or alcohol and close on Sunday.
Farm Fresh: (3 stores in Williamsburg) Started in Tidewater VA. Now owned by Supervalu in Ricmond.
Pricing seems a little high to me, although they are reducing pricing as of late. Most of the stores have been remodeled recently. We shop there for specials on meat, salad bar and other items.
Food Lion: ( two in Williamsburg) Pricing seems on par with others or a little lower. They recently remodeled two of the local Food Lion Stores into Bloom Stores (two in Williamsburg)in an attempt to take the chain upmarket, hardwood floors, mood lighting, etc.. I have a hard time getting past the fact that they used to be Food Lions..
Base Commissaries: I grew up in a Navy Family , so the commissary was the main and almost only place we shopped. Back then the price differences were more extreme, I think. Plus you didn't pay sales tax. If you are military you most likely still shop at a base commissary.
Harris Teeter is opening a store in Williamsburg. It will be on Rt 199 across from the entrance to Kingsmill. Due to open in 2009. It is under construction. We were all saddened that so many trees had to be cut down to build a grocery store I guess there will be a few on the east side of Williamsburg that will be happy to see it open. We have shopped at the Harris Teeter in Corolla, NC when we go to the beach. To me the prices seemed very high. That could just be a location thing.
We are also supposed to get a Wal Mart neighborhood Market in the New Town area of Williamsburg. It will be located very close to Trader Joes. I haven't seem them break ground yet so who knows if/ when it will open.
In closing these are my random thoughts. I am one of those rare people who will drive 5 miles to buy Perdue boneless chicken breast for $1.88 a pound. My wife and I pass by all of these stores on an almost daily basis and we will dash in to get those few things that we like at each store.
So let the opinions fly. Check out all of the stores yourself. That's why some drive Hondas and some drive Chevys, Fords and others.
Happy 2009 !

Ditto on the hilighted part! We have Farm Fresh at one entrance to our community, and Kroger at the other entrance. There are some things I won't buy at Farm Fresh, ie, yogurt. Way too expensive at over 80 cents each. But Kroger doesn't carry Boar's Head at the deli, so it's Farm Fresh for turkey and for their salad bar. When I have a bunch of things to get including frozen vegetables, canned goodes, hot dogs, paper products, etc., it's around the corner to Walmart since they're always the least expensive place. Produce it's usually Kroger since Farm Fresh seems to be more limited and more expensive. And I just don't like buying produce at Walmart. Where does that stuff come from? I'd much prefer a fresh roadside stand for fruits and veggies.

I was at Bloom once in Richmond. LOVED that store!! Very unique items in the bakery. Of course I had to splurge on an amazing cupcake for darling son on his birthday when we were on the road.

Ukrops, again, only once when we were in Richmond. It seemed to be a good store. Wish we had both those stores here. I think we have to go to Williamsburg for Ukrops and to Carrollton for Bloom.

[imayBmoving]

hands down, without a doubt, UKROPS!! I would drive an hour to shop at Ukrops. and I miss them. used to live in Richmond, moved to Va. Beach, and now I just moved to Ohio.... I hope I find something comparable.

p.s. if you go to ukrops and need a quick dinner, try the premade chicken pot pies in the prepared section. they are to die for!! take it home and heat it up.. enjoy : )

[Mr Williamsburg]

Thank you PC

[Trevor92]

As Mr. Williamsburg hit on, each grocery store in the area offers something a little different and each one may appeal more to certain subsets of customers. So I really don't think there's a "best" choice. But as for my opinion on the chains I'm most familiar with...

Some people swear by Farm Fresh, especially older individuals as Erma mentioned. It seems as if there's a lot of loyalty toward them in the area because they were locally owned until they were bought out by Supervalu, which is based in Minnesota and owns Save-A-Lot and Albertsons Grocery stores located in other areas. They're a little expensive on certain items but do tend to run pretty good specials. I was so excited a couple weeks ago because they were running a Double and Triple Coupon special, but was disappointed because their regular price was so high that I only got about half the things I had coupons for.

There's also a lot of loyalty toward Ukrop's because they're based in Richmond. I live on Southside so they're a little far for me to shop there regularly and I've only been a couple times. By reputation, I've heard they probably have the best selection, even for specialty items along with the best quality and locally grown produce when available. The fact that they're closed on Sundays, don't carry alcohol/tobacco products, and are a priced higher in general are the turn-offs of Ukrop's.

As for the cheapest groceries and best value I would say Food Lion. The company that owns Food Lion also owns Bloom and Hannaford in the Northeast. That's where I do most of my shopping. They usually run very good MVP specials on many products on a weekly basis. Thanks to a freezer I'll stock up on 93% lean hamburger meat one week if it's on sale, chicken breasts the next week, pork chops which are on sale this week, etc. Some people claim they have a poor selection of groceries, which I would have agreed with years ago, but to me it seems similar to Kroger and Farm Fresh. They may not carry Skippy peanut butter in 3 different sizes, but they do carry it and it's usually less per oz. than the jumbo size from other places. The Food Lion I shop at even has a decently sized organic selection which I'll often get organic fruits and vegetables. As for the quality of their generic brands, I would rate it the same as anywhere else. Generic brands are usually repackaged national brands or at least the exact same thing among different chains. For instance, the Snack Alliance Inc. makes generic chips for Food Lion, Wal-Mart, Kroger, etc. and just changes the packaging. There shouldn't be any difference between most generic brands from any store. The cons of Food Lion are that their stores aren't as fancy, and they don't have the numerous selection of various sizes on many items.

Kroger is a decent all-around chain, but probably not worth an 18 mile drive. I wouldn't rate their quality better than Ukrop's nor their prices better than Food Lion. They're the largest supermarket chain in America and a big-box store in certain respects. Their prices seem high at times but they also have good sales.

Wal-Mart is another low-priced option if you're brave enough. It's just the crowds, and horrible parking lots, and flies and gnats around the produce that drove me away from doing any grocery shopping there.

That's just how the different chains strike me. Maybe this extra opinon will help. As others have mentioned, shop around and try them all and you'll find the one that appeals best to you.

[damian]

there is a fresh market coming to Newport news

[Erma]

I hear what you're saying about Blooms Market. There's one near where we keep our RV and when I went there one day to pick up a few things, it was kind of "yuppy-ish" to me. There prices were higher than the Food Lions. Also, Food Lion has another market called "Bottom Line" which is inventory from the other stores that doesn't sell well. Prices are much cheaper and seem to be utilized well in the neighborhoods with less income.
Sometimes I find some great canned food deals at Dollar Generals as well as cleaning products and detergents. The name brand plastic storage/microwavable containers are much cheaper as well.