Which supermarket is worth my time and money?

[BigDGeek]

Originally Posted by RadiantBaby

HEB proper.

Sadly, they aren't in Dallas... Yet.

When they finally do get here, they'll absolutely obliterate the competition.

They're not coming anytime soon.

Originally Posted by calgirlinnc

Well then maybe specify *your* Aldi's. OP is trying to save money, and I would hate for her to be scared off from Aldi's based on one person's experience at a store that isn't even close to her.

Well la dee da. It's not MY Aldi's, I don't shop there...because it sucks. I've been to other Aldi's locations and guess what? They suck too. Keep shopping there tho.

Originally Posted by Dallaz

HEB isn’t coming to Dallas anytime soon. Walmart is Dallas-Fort Worth’s #1 market in the entire Country. Walmart has made it very tough for HEB to get a foothold into the Metroplex. There’s over 120 Walmart stores throughout the area. A couple of years ago, HEB was rumored to come to Dallas. Walmart began opening even more stores and renovating older ones. Walmart went as far as to open Neighborhood Market stores down the street from their Supercenter stores (literally on the same street). They were trying by any means to deter HEB and to kill off any potential competition.

^^^ This. I swear...if someone would talk I bet you TT, Kroger, and Wal-Mart are all in cahoots to keep HEB out of the DFW market. It wouldn't surprise me one bit if they were cooperating with each other on that.


Then again...do we really want to end up in a situation like San Antonio where there are no regular grocery store chains except HEB? If you don't want to shop at HEB you can go to Wal-Mart or one of the few Sprouts or Whole Foods locations there. That's about it in terms of choice. I know people in south & central Texas love HEB when they move up here but talk to people in SA about it and they'll complain that they miss the competition.

[TheOverdog]

In my opinion the best thing about DFW is that there is so much grocery store competition. I have every one of the stores mentioned in this thread plus even more within a 5 minute drive of my house. No need to pick a single store- go to them all for different stuff.

I swear...if someone would talk I bet you TT, Kroger, and Wal-Mart are all in cahoots to keep HEB out of the DFW market.

It would be a hard case to prove, because there are HEB stores in the southern half of the DFW market - Burleson would be the closest. And HEB owns plenty of undeveloped land where they could build stores including land near downtown and pricey land in the northern burbs. They can buy the land and sit on it, they can build stores.

[GinaVol]

So 5+ years later in DFW and I still pine for Publix which is my ultimate grocery store. Low prices if you follow their sales - no gimmicks (loyalty cards) - super clean stores with in date items. To me it is the gold standard.

You couldn't pay me to shop in Wal Mart. I went in last November looking for a frozen food item for Thanksgiving that my mother had asked me to get (wasn't to be found in Market Street, Kroger or Tom Thumb) and online said Wal Mart had it. (it did not) If I have to go to WM more than once per year, its too much. (once was too much)


But for the OP - I recommend checking out the sales at all of the stores and specifically trying the Market Street tortilla chips in the deli. Something about them is like crack... in the best way possible. :-)

[calgirlinnc]

Originally Posted by BigDGeek

Well la dee da. It's not MY Aldi's, I don't shop there...because it sucks. I've been to other Aldi's locations and guess what? They suck too. Keep shopping there tho.

Typical.

[eastdallasmom]

Originally Posted by calgirlinnc

Right, which is why we had a PP saying he wouldn't shop at Walmart unless (even if?) someone held a gun to his head.

Which doesn't help the OP at all, who specifically asked about savings and one stop convenience.

Someone asked how Tom Thumb attracts customers and who is their core customer, which is what I was responding to. If the core customer for TT is someone who values convenience over price, it sounds like that means it probably isn't the right choice for OP compared to some of the other options suggested above.

[Treasurevalley92]

Originally Posted by BigDGeek

Then again...do we really want to end up in a situation like San Antonio where there are no regular grocery store chains except HEB? If you don't want to shop at HEB you can go to Wal-Mart or one of the few Sprouts or Whole Foods locations there. That's about it in terms of choice. I know people in south & central Texas love HEB when they move up here but talk to people in SA about it and they'll complain that they miss the competition.

Hot take: HEB is way overrated.

Even if Winco and Trader Joes are my favorite grocery stores I still want the options of Kroger, Aldi and Tom Thumb.

I wish we had Publix. Publix > HEB.

[RJ312]

Originally Posted by eastdallasmom

Someone asked how Tom Thumb attracts customers and who is their core customer, which is what I was responding to. If the core customer for TT is someone who values convenience over price, it sounds like that means it probably isn't the right choice for OP compared to some of the other options suggested above.

I was the one who asked that question. I could see convenience as a reason. Tom Thumb's lines are always shorter than Kroger or Walmart's lines.

When I pick a grocery destination, I'm picking about 2/3rds on pricing and 1/3rd on quality of ingredients in the food I'm buying. It is difficult to buy food items at Walmart that are not loaded with chemicals. It is possible to do at Kroger. Sprouts and Central Market have some good items. I can find some good items on sale at Tom Thumb at times. Those Buy 1, Get 2 Free meat promotions that TT does are amazing and I have taken advantage of those.