Philadelphia area grocery stores (Reading, Bryn Mawr: sales, coupons, buy)

[PeeAye Native]

A similar thread on the NE PA forum is what first attracted me to ths site. So I thought I'd start one here to discuss grocery stores the Philadelphia Region.

Prices, quality, availability, crowds, convenience. Discuss your experiences?

For me...
Trader Joes: People really like them a lot. Good prices on almost all items. I like everything there except their fruit and veggies, which almost always seem less than fresh whenever I get them home. Their tomatoes are not very good. Milk is a good buy there.

Whole Foods: A love hate thing with me. Almost universally great stuff in all categories, and usually high prices, too. Occasionally some on sale bargains. Fruits and veggies always top quality. I do love going into these stores, it's a feast for the eyes looking at everything they sell and how they present it. Check out lines are virtually not existent, except maybe at the Art Museum store, which is great for people watching in addition to everything else.

Wegmans: What can you say. Great, excellent, over the top, off the charts good. Whenever there's something I can't find anywhere else, one of their bigger stores will have it. Their Mediterranean olive bar is excellent. Their fruits and veggies are consistently outstanding, you never see stale, brown, damaged or anything less than bright, fresh items. In the same league as WF for this. Prices not the lowest, and not the highest (go to Food Source or Genuardis if you get satisfaction fron paying the highest prices). Their in-house brands for Italian items, pasta sauce, marinated vegetables, olive oil, etc. are better than famous name brands.

Redners: Usually lowest prices on most things. Sort of a go to store for the staples, soups, pasta, salad dressing, frozen foods. They are HQ-ed outside Reading, and I stop in if I ever drive by one, but don't make a special trip out of the way to go to one. Few other stores ever beat their sale prices.

And they sometimes surprise they have some items that Whole Foods or Wegmans do not carry, Alessi Italian soups and breadsticks for example.

Wal-Mart: Occasionally buy some groceries there, if my eating habits for the week have microwave foods or canned soups or that type of thing.

Acme: Occasionally go in, but not for anything special. Some of their stores can be cruddy dirty and sloooooow. And some Wawas are bigger than the Acme stores, the Bryn Mawr Acme for example.

Super Fresh: Seem to be in the upswing, they're fixing up their stores. I don't go in them often. Good in-store rolls and breads, IMO.

Genuardis: The one in Radnor has the slowest check out people in any grocery store I've been in, ever. Consistently and for years it's been this way. Always seem to have the highest prices for the stuff I buy. Every few months I think I'll give them another try, and it's always 'I know this is cheaper elsewhere' and slooooow to check out, even if you're the only one in line. How is that possible?

Others, only once use them in a great moon:
Food Source
Giant
Path Mark
Shop Rite
Aldi

[kyle19125]

Whole Foods overall is probably the best grocery store. Everyone whines about price, but since when does the highest quality anything ever cost less? Besides shopping at farmer's markets, which are also great sources of quality food, it's the only store I feel comfortable knowing the food isn't from some gross Third World mystery source. Supporting American jobs and American farmers is sort of important as well.

People really need to suck it up and think beyond price.

[pman]

worth noting, Genuardi's used to be the premier store here, family run with high quality locally produced private label products and friendly service. It's now owned by Safeway and isn't really differentiated the same way. Safeway nationalized distribution and, perhaps, doesn't run the store as well either

[JHG722]

Genuardi's since it's two minutes from my house. Have been going there since it opened.
Whole Foods, Trader Joe's and ACME as well.

[Shino306]

I like Trader Joe's, Sue's a little off 18th & Chestnut for produce, Whole Food's, and Wegman's. The little Korean-owned produce store in Comcast Center's basement is also nice. Also Reading Terminal Market is always fun to go to.

[PeeAye Native]

I forgot about Reading Terminal Market in this list. It's always worth a browse through, but I'm usually passing by it when I'm in the city for work, and not heading straight home.

[bryson662001]

I have shopped them all and now usually end up at a Shoprite. Aside from having significantly lower prices I like the quality and selection. Superfresh is ok but way more expensive and fewer selections. Pathmark tends to be.....down market? Acme, prices are ridiculous. Whole Foods doesn't stock everything so have to finish at another store. Trader Joe I like milk and eggs and pasta sauce and that's it. Their own frozen foods tend to be hit or miss. Somthing about Giant just rubs me the wrong way. Nothing is where it belongs....and they are no bargain either. I used to like Genurdi when it was family owned but not anymore and besides they aren't in the city. Wegmans I can take it or leave it. They do have a large selection of meats, but again few bargains. When I am in Cherry Hill I would just as soon go to the big Shoprite down the street as go to Wegmans. When you go up and down the aisles and save 50 cents here and $1.00 there the savings add up fast at Shoprite and the quality is still as good as anywhere else.

[PeeAye Native]

Based on this, I'll have to duck in a Shop Rite and check 'em out.

[Sassygirl18]

ShopRite is my main grocery store. They have the best prices and a great selection. Their sales are really good too. Combining coupons with sales, I get some great deals (sometimes even get stuff for free!)

I also shop at Trader Joe's (they have lots of special things and their selection is so unique) - their prices are good too and the Tuscan Pane bread is simply the best bread in the world. That's the main bread we like to eat.

Then there's Aldi - I shop there for things like cereal (which are always under $2/box), baking goods (flour, sugar), packaged cheeses, snacks. I have found the prices on these things are the lowest anywhere. They sell mostly their own brand of groceries (not many national brands), but their brand is just about as good as the national brand. For example, their version of Honey Bunches of Oats cereal is just as good as the national brand but only $1.89/box. Their brand of Doritoes is a dead-ringer for the real Doritoes, but only $1.29/bag. Couple things to be aware of with Aldi...you must bring your own bags (you can buy them there for $.10/piece if you forget) and bring a quarter to get a shopping cart (they keep them locked...you put a quarter in to get a cart, and you get your quarter back when you return the cart to the locking area). Also, you bag your own. This is how they keep costs so low.

For produce, I go to Produce Junction. We eat lots of produce and you can't beat the prices there. Once in awhile, I have ended up with something that is less than fresh, but I'd say 95% of the time, I am very pleased with what I get there.

[MBlueR]

There is some more mainstream grocery store by the South Street Whole Foods. So, I'll go to both for my food needs.
I like Trader Joe's for more the specialty stuff and meat occasionally, their prices are better than Whole Foods too for those items. Although you can get good prices at Whole Foods if you look! I buy a lot of canned foods there which only cost .89-.99 through their 365 brand.