Publix vs.Kroger: The dueling grocers (Atlanta, Tucker: transfer, buying, pharmacies)

[GeorgiaLakeSearch]

Publix.

Prefer Whole Foods or The Fresh Market.

[Sound of Reason]

Why would anyone shop at Publix? They have the highest priced products of any grocer in the region. Unless you want to pay substantially higher prices, it makes no sense to shop there. Who cares if you get a better deli or bakery, the prices on the typical products that most people purchase is way too high. Oh, everything is nice and clean you say? Honestly, with Kroger redoing their stores, their stores look nicer. Most Ingles stores look nicer inside than your typical Publix. It's the customer friendliness, right? The few times I've been, I didn't perceive the clerks being that much more friendly.

Publix is overrated.

Many of you need to realize that.

Wal-Mart offers you the best value, though you might not want to purchase their produce, which has been picked over more than you can imagine. Ingles and Kroger offer the best prices in the nicest stores. Publix is simply out of its league when it comes to price.

[coolieandre]

I just moved to Sandy Springs area and IMO Citi Center Kroger off Roswell and Hammond is the best in the neighborhood. It reminds me of the Sugarloaf Kroger when I lived in Suwanee. There are 3 Publix off Roswell Rd and they are all medicore. Overpriced, not as attractive and service is not what Publix prides itself on. Only issue with Kroger is the quality of meats. But you can go to a specialty store for that stuff...

[No2Monsanto]

Originally Posted by thrudaluknglass

With these two leading grocers nearly on every corner in GA, please give some of your customer insight on your preference. Please include pros and cons of your overall shopping experience and for those of you that use their pharmacy services, please give your overall experience of the two. Thanks!

Publix all day every day and twice on Sunday!!! Although, 80% of my groceries come from Whole Foods and Trader Joes; so Publix (and for now, Harris Teeter) tend to be supplement purchases. I get the best organic and local produce selection at Whole Foods unless I catch a good farmer's market. I used to work there and also know the fish is fresh, because it's turned over every 48 hours.

Pros of Publix:
Well lit
Organized shelves and produce
Friendly staff and management
Clean
Free Samples!
Decent amount of health/organic food choices
Good coupon days (store & manufacturers coupons can be used simultaneously)
Ability to return items you're dissatisfied with & get store credit or a full refund
Fresher meats and seafood

Cons:
*Can be a bit pricey at times, but that's why you gotta work the coupon angle.
*Everybody talks about the great bakery, but all that stuff comes in frozen like most grocery stores.
I was a baker at Whole Foods where just about everything came in fresh from out central bakery in NC, or I baked it from scratch right there in the kitchen. So, I'm pickier than most about commercial baked goods.
*Yes, the deli is great with it's yummy sandwiches, but since learning how unhealthy deli meat is, I've laid off. Last week I went into Whole Foods and paused while going by the deli, only to discover they had whole turkeys that they actually bake there and sell in the deli to be sliced like the rest. JUST LIKE THANSGIVING!! Plus, I don't have to worry about it being super processed, full of sodium, etc. I can actually see the GRAIN of the turkey! And, at Whole Foods, I ask where everything is sourced from, and they can tell me.

Kroger Pros:
*Great to have if there's nothing else near me
*The cashiers share their Kroger Plus cards if you don't have one

Cons:
*Looks dingy (unless it's brand new to the neighborhood)
*Can't use manufacturers & store coupons simultaneously
*Not well lit, has a shadow-ee appearance
*Dated Aesthetic
*Meat and seafood not fresh or ethically sourced
*Not in the same league as Publix
*I did some comparing, don't find their prices as cheap as everyone claims they are. **shrug**

[Carolina Knight]

Publix and Kroger directly competing with each other in the Atlanta market is the sign to come for other markets in Tennessee and North Carolina.

A third major chain in the market, Ingle's, may be struggling. Two stores closed recently:
#415, 4400 Hugh Howell Road, Tucker, GA 30084-4905
#421, 4815 Rockbridge Road, Stone Mountain, GA 30083-4250

Ingle's owns both shopping centers. I wonder if there are plans to build new stores in its place, or costs operating underperforming stores will be transferred to improving existing stores.

[Wayr2go]

Anybody here familiar with Market Basket in MA/New England Area ? They have, in my experience, the best pricing on commonly sold branded items that you'd find at whole foods or other supermarkets. Larger selection than most supermarket stores around.

Is there an equivalent of that in Atlanta?

[maybetoday]

I only buy produce at these stores and Kroger knocks Publix out of the park on prices everytime.

[No2Monsanto]

Originally Posted by Carolina Knight

Publix and Kroger directly competing with each other in the Atlanta market is the sign to come for other markets in Tennessee and North Carolina.

A third major chain in the market, Ingle's, may be struggling. Two stores closed recently:
#415, 4400 Hugh Howell Road, Tucker, GA 30084-4905
#421, 4815 Rockbridge Road, Stone Mountain, GA 30083-4250

Ingle's owns both shopping centers. I wonder if there are plans to build new stores in its place, or costs operating underperforming stores will be transferred to improving existing stores.

They've opened the first Publix in Raleigh; now a second one, not too far from my door will open soon!

[Carolina Knight]

Originally Posted by No2Monsanto

They've opened the first Publix in Raleigh; now a second one, not too far from my door will open soon!

It will be interesting to see how Publix competes against now Kroger-owned Harris Teeter in central and eastern North Carolina. Both chains will greatly impact Lowe's Foods and Food Lion. Lowe's Foods is pulling out where Publix is opening. Food Lion brought on its own demise.

I would keep an interest on upstate South Carolina and western North Carolina. Ingle's is a dominant chain here along with Bi-Lo and Publix. Kroger operates a bakery in Anderson, South Carolina and a floral distribution center in Simpsonville, South Carolina. I would not be surprised to see it acquire an existing chain to enter the market like it did with Harris Teeter. Could Bi-Lo/Winn Dixie be in Kroger's future?

[ElleKaye]

All things considered including the different locations where I have shopped, I prefer Publix over Kroger. I think that Publix has better veggies, Kroger has better meat, but neither rarely has anything to write home about when it comes to seafood.

I admit I like the Kroger discount card thing beciause it pleases me to see the money saved. However, I also like the buy one get one free thing at Publix and as a result will probably never need to buy pasta again.

Oh, I dont know if they both do it, but Kroger will give you an item free if they ring it up at the wrong price. I discovered that when buying a roast among other things one day and thinking something was just not right about the total. Now, I keep totally quiet if I think something is wrong.

I absolutely hate self check out and I have only gotten a prescription filled at Kroger not Publix. I'm not altogether sure I knew Publix had a pharmacy. At any rate, I did not have a bad experience getting the prescription filled.