Favorite Supermarket (Springfield, Leesburg, Fairfax: marketplace, Lowes, Whole Foods)

[Flamingo13]

Originally Posted by ChristineVA

I exclusively shop at the Woodbridge Wegman's. I went to the Fairfax store twice and I still haven't recovered from it.

So, I rarely have a crowd at "my" Wegman's but I always go either Saturday or Sunday morning prior to 10AM. It's fine. The worst times are any day around 3:30-5PM.

Parking is rarely a hassle there, even when it's busy and the shopping center there is easy enough to get in and out of.

One really good thing about them (and I hear it's true even in the superbusy Fairfax store), they are very good about no lines. I have never really had more than 1 other order in front of me.

Wish I could say that about Safeway. At any given time, there's about 20 people in the whole store, they have two registers open (on a good day) and I *always* have several people in front of me and the checkers are miserable.

I agree about Safeway, they seem to have decided that two registers open are enough...

[Carlingtonian]

Originally Posted by Flamingo13

I agree about Safeway, they seem to have decided that two registers open are enough...

You guys must be going to the one sort of near me near Ballston (Wilson/George Mason)--never, ever more than one register open. And no self-checkout. Yet the other one near me (Seven Corners) is completely the opposite, despite being in a far dumpier location.

The way people in this thread are talking about Wegmans, I'm gonna have to make a point to hit the one on Telegraph sometime after work. Maybe I should wear a video camera, to capture my reactions:

"But what it the price of this toilet paper per pound?"
"How is there no store brand of this?"
"But I don't believe in organic! I want regular!"
"Where are they hiding the Franzia?!"
"What do you mean you don't carry cage-free beef?"
"Come on, lady--we both know that's the asking price. Meet me halfway here."
"I don't care if she's 90; this is the express lane, and that is definitely 12 items she unloaded from her electric scooter."
"Sorry, man--I thought your Hawaiian shirt meant you worked here."

[Carolina Knight]

Originally Posted by LynchburgLover

Detest Wegmans -- too big.

Carolina Knight -- love Ingles but doubt they'll ever come into NoVa market. Too small a chain.

Ingle's is mostly concentrated in western North Carolina, upstate South Carolina, eastern Tennessee, and northern Georgia. I do not see it expanding beyond its footprint.

Publix could be in Virginia in several years. It established its Charlotte Division in 2013, entered North Carolina, and is further expanding in North Carolina and South Carolina. Publix is competing with Kroger's Atlanta, Mid-Atlantic, Nashville, and Harris Teeter divisions in Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee.

[Megadell]

Trader Joe's all day.

[YourGoToGal]

Originally Posted by The Dissenter

Guess I'm not the only one whose been to the new Kingstowne location.

Too funny - I remember when the first Wegmans opened in the area out in Dulles. You couldn't park for hours! I think it's a hit with the quality and the overall 'feel' of the stores. There's a few more in the pipeline around here

[fcyolo]

The most terrible are Safeway and giant which are
Unionized.

Wegman is the best and is non union. Lesson learned unions are terrible.

[Carolina Knight]

Originally Posted by fcyolo

The most terrible are Safeway and giant which are
Unionized.

Wegman is the best and is non union. Lesson learned unions are terrible.

I have seen non-unionized stores that were terrible operations, and have been to a unionized store that was an excellent operation.

[RiotAct41]

Originally Posted by ChristineVA

I exclusively shop at the Woodbridge Wegman's. I went to the Fairfax store twice and I still haven't recovered from it.

So, I rarely have a crowd at "my" Wegman's but I always go either Saturday or Sunday morning prior to 10AM. It's fine. The worst times are any day around 3:30-5PM.

Parking is rarely a hassle there, even when it's busy and the shopping center there is easy enough to get in and out of.

One really good thing about them (and I hear it's true even in the superbusy Fairfax store), they are very good about no lines. I have never really had more than 1 other order in front of me.

Wish I could say that about Safeway. At any given time, there's about 20 people in the whole store, they have two registers open (on a good day) and I *always* have several people in front of me and the checkers are miserable.

Oh Lord, the Fairfax Wegmans... make sure you remember which sector and sub-sector you parked in, or else you'll have a 25-minute walk to backtrack to the correct location!

[SteelCityRising]

When I lived in Reston I'd do most of my shopping at the Giant at the Northpointe Village Centre. I found the store to be clean; the deli folks started to know me after a while (I always went in right after church); and the employees were friendly. It was also at this store that I was mistaken for Clay Aiken.

If I had some extra time on my hands and wasn't in a particular rush I'd skip Giant and instead head up Route 7 to the Wegman's in Leesburg. I know there's one in Sterling, but when the one in Leesburg opened I fell in love!

[Mnseca]

I love Trader Joe's. I can't get everything I need there, unfortunately, but what they do have I really like. And I love the prices.

I shop at Wegmans and Safeway, but I hate them. Wegmans is too big and disorganized and it's always frustrating and too expensive. Safeway is dirty and doesn't have good produce or enough organics. I only go to those stores out of convenience or necessity, because TJ's doesn't have a few things I need.

And speaking of only opening two registers...that's Safeway Burke, for sure, and most of the time the two registers are manned by the world's slowest cashiers. I mean, I've just never seen women move so slowly. The other day I watched one of them pick up and comment on every single item she rang up, slowly turning them over and looking at them. It took 20 minutes for her to ring up one person with about 10 items. Yesterday I avoided her line, I think she must be mentally disabled or something, but the other cashier was also very slow. This place just has the worst staff and very high turnover. Must be an awful place to work.