Best bang for your buck grocery store? (St. Louis, Rock Hill: sales, credit card)

[tdagarim]

So we're on our second day after moving to the Rock Hill area. We have a plethora of shopping options in short driving distance, more than we've ever been used to. Right now we are on a budget and trying to figure out where our money will go the furthest. I absolutely hate Wal-Mart so that is not an option. I wish there was a Kroger here. I love the variety and quality of Trader Joe's but am unsure if it will save the most money in the long run. I know there are plenty of Schnucks here, have seen Aldi, Shop n Save, Target, Dierburgs, and of course Trader Joe's. So, what in your opinion is the best bang for your buck grocery store?

[glamatomic]

I agree about Wal-Mart (I hate and despise it!). I've found that if time is on your side, you can actually get the most bang for your buck by shopping at a couple of locations.

I personally shop at Aldi and Schnucks- for staple / pantry products / paper products etc, Aldi is great but not necessarily always cheaper if Schnucks is doing a sale on certain items (you have to keep up with the weekly circulars online). I wouldn't ever buy produce again from Aldi though, it's definitely subpar for the most part. Schnucks is where I buy the majority of my 'fresh' foods and more specific items not carried by Aldi.

Dierbergs often has similar sales to Schnucks- but their daily prices on regular items seem to be a bit higher (and they don't have the same selection of cheaper store-label products).

Trader Joe's is a bit out of my way so it's only on a rare occasion that I shop there- they do carry a lot of neat products, some are definitely cheaper whereas some of the more unique products are more expensive (again, like with Aldi, you really need to know your prices to know whether you're getting a good deal or not). It's definitely cheaper than Whole Foods though yet carries some similar products.

Target I usually don't shop at for groceries- for the most part I've found that their selection is less than other grocery stores, and even though Market Pantry and Archer Farms (store label) products are fantastic, they're not exactly the most affordable.

As for Save-A-Lot and Shop'n'Save, I haven't checked either of them out so can't judge, sorry!

So anyway, to summarize, my advice is to go for Aldi & Schnucks for the most part, but stay on top of your prices and keep an eye on the specials at both to get the biggest bang for your buck! Hope that helps! Good luck!

[flynavyj]

We tend to shop at Shop n' Save. It's normally a cheaper option over Schnucks, and keeps you from having to deal with Walmart. My wife keeps an eye out for the ads that come in the newspaper (we're old school, and still get that delivered) and then plans accordingly. If she see's a great deal at Schnucks on something that we need, we'll plan it into the routine, if not, it's Shop N Save...purchases over $25 get you $0.03 off of the gas station (10% ethanol...not worth it for gasoline), $50 (our normal weekly purchases) gets you $0.06 off, and that serves well for diesel fill ups

[jlawrence01]

While Schnuck's and Dierberg's are among the best supermarket chains in the Midwest, I think that you get the best "bang for the buck" with Aldi.

[momgag]

I moved to STL from Texas a couple of years ago and I am still shocked how high grocery prices are here. Schnucks is way overpriced and Dierbergs is even worse. And after the credit card fraud situation at Schnucks and how they treated their customers, I try not to shop there. I've shopped a bit at Shop N Save and I really don't find their prices to be much better on many of the things I buy. I try to shop Trader Joes and Costco as much as I can, but have to admit I do go to Walmart for the things I can't get at TJs and Costco. I agree...we desperately need a Kroger here. They would provide competition to drive the prices down and would show folks what good customer service is!

[billiken]

Are we really wanting Kroger in STL? Schnucks & Dierbergs are both locally owned and the quality of the produce/meat far supasses the crap you get at the big national supermarkets. I am less price sensitive when it comes to groceries, but those who are all about price will end up at Walmart anyways. I used to live in Rock Hill and I love the Dierbergs in Warson Woods

[glamatomic]

Correct me if I'm wrong, I believe that Kroger used to exist in the St. Louis area but couldn't compete with the locally owned and operated Schnucks & Dierbergs so pulled out.

The whole Schnucks issue was frustrating (I had fraudulent activity on my card so had to cancel and am being reissued a new one) but it's not going to prevent me from shopping there in future. When we're using our card anywhere there is some degree of risk involved. I do agree that Schnucks didn't handle the situation in the best possible way, but it's also possible that they didn't realize how widespread the issue had become- hence the reason they did not tell the public earlier.

Schnucks still offers quality products and still has good sales / deals. Like I said in my post, all of my fresh produce comes from Schnucks or Dierbergs as they're superior to Aldi in this regard (and I don't / won't shop at Walmart).

[momgag]

I totally disagree on the quality of meat/produce being better at Schnucks than Kroger. The meat at Schnucks is so overpriced...$6 for ground beef that is supposed to be lean but looks like the cheapest, fattest ground beef. I used to get a trimmed brisket at Kroger for 99 cents a pound...it's about 7 times that price at Schnucks.

[jlawrence01]

Originally Posted by glamatomic

Correct me if I'm wrong, I believe that Kroger used to exist in the St. Louis area but couldn't compete with the locally owned and operated Schnucks & Dierbergs so pulled out.

Kroger's closed their stores in St. Louis in 1986 and sold them to Canada's Loblaw. Loblaw's operated the stores under the National Supermarket banner.

I believe that they closed their St. Louis stores - much like they did in Detroit and several other markets - in that they could not negotiate a reasonable labor contract.

I wouldn't be so sure that people would flock to Krogers over the local chains or that they would be competitive. Krogers pulled out of Rockford, IL where their main competitor was ... Schnuck's.

[jlawrence01]

Originally Posted by momgag

I totally disagree on the quality of meat/produce being better at Schnucks than Kroger. The meat at Schnucks is so overpriced...$6 for ground beef that is supposed to be lean but looks like the cheapest, fattest ground beef. I used to get a trimmed brisket at Kroger for 99 cents a pound...it's about 7 times that price at Schnucks.

In what YEAR? You are NOT buying 99 cent brisket anytime recently.