Grocery Store in VB (Virginia Beach, Norfolk: coupon, how much, home)

[dbartley]

We will be moving to VB this summer (from Canada) and wonder if anyone can tell us what the best grocery stores are? We are looking for everyday regular food (produce, meats, dairy, canned, household items etc) and hoping to find a store that has regular sales, good prices, and is clean and food is fresh. In Canada we go to Save on Foods and once in a while Safeway - not sure if those stores are even in VB. Also, are there any farmer's markets with low cost produce or fish?

Thanks so much!

[Mr Williamsburg]

A topic that is often debated. Everyone has their favorite. Here are most in order for the lowest pricing first : Costco, Sams Club, Wal Mart, Food Lion, Kroger, Farm Fresh, Harris Teeter, Trader Joes and Fresh Market. We shop at Costco for volume purchases, meats, etc as well as Wal Mart which my wife hates but can't beat the prices. Trader Joes for specialty items, I also shop the specials at Farm Fresh and Food Lion...

There is a farmers market in VA Beach at the corner of Dam Neck and Princess Anne Roads decent selections in season..
No Safeways or Save On Foods in our area.

It also will depend on where you live. The most convenient one usually wins !

[Statz2k10]

^^^

Pretty much nailed it. If you're not familiar with Sams, Costco or Bj's keep in mind you'll need to join which usually will run you around 50 dollars. It's good quality but depending on how much you eat you might not need the plus size packages.

Walmart is probably the cheapest but personally I'm willing to spend a couple of extra bucks to avoid the long lines and Walmart atmosphere.

I go to Food Lion and Kroger. Been leaning more towards Kroger just because I think they have a little bit better quality.

[citydweller]

I shopped at Kroger a lot when I was in VB. For me it was convenient, had decent prices and the atmosphere is nice. Food Lion can be a little like Walmart in terms of atmosphere but may have better prices.

[goofy328]

Originally Posted by dbartley

We will be moving to VB this summer (from Canada) and wonder if anyone can tell us what the best grocery stores are? We are looking for everyday regular food (produce, meats, dairy, canned, household items etc) and hoping to find a store that has regular sales, good prices, and is clean and food is fresh. In Canada we go to Save on Foods and once in a while Safeway - not sure if those stores are even in VB. Also, are there any farmer's markets with low cost produce or fish?

Thanks so much!

Sav-A-Lot perhaps? Yes, in Norfolk, Portsmouth and Hampton. Norfolk is right next to Virginia Beach, you would not have that far of a drive. Kroger's is pretty cheap too. Two of those in Virginia Beach both on Virginia Beach Boulevard that I know of.

[goofy328]

Originally Posted by Statz2k10

^^^

Pretty much nailed it. If you're not familiar with Sams, Costco or Bj's keep in mind you'll need to join which usually will run you around 50 dollars. It's good quality but depending on how much you eat you might not need the plus size packages.

Walmart is probably the cheapest but personally I'm willing to spend a couple of extra bucks to avoid the long lines and Walmart atmosphere.

I go to Food Lion and Kroger. Been leaning more towards Kroger just because I think they have a little bit better quality.

WalMart is only cheap on certain items; usually in bulk and usually more than I need. WalMart refuses to sell small quantities they have to sell at a premium in order to recoup. Meat is terrible there as well, nothing cheap about WalMart with respect to food, then again, the hypermarkets usually are not good about that sort of thing anyway.

Only reason I go into BJ's is because they actively court my business. Anyone who gives me a free pass for a month is okay in my book. They weren't the cheapest, but they did have some interesting stuff in there I would have to pay a premium for in the regular grocery store.

Problem with wholesale clubs is that they try to sell the best, highest quality items ever. If your kids love additives and preservatives you can get better deals at Kroger's.

[goofy328]

Did anyone ever shop at Bloom when it was open? I used to see it in Norfolk but never actually went in there.

[dbartley]

Thanks for all your replies. We actually like to eat relatively healthy - fresh produce, meats etc - but the teen does enjoy some pre-packaged foods such as michelanas frozen entrees and pizza pops. Other than that she mostly eats what we do - fresh, healthy, low sodium/fat. Most of the food we make day to day is pretty healthy though. I have purchased foods at WalMart here, but it never seems fresh - I think we will try Krogers - depending on how far it is from where we move to. Is Sam's Club similar to WalMart? We also have a costco here but have not held a membership in years as the family is now down to just the 3 of us - far too few for bulk shopping. Costco was nice when it was 6 of us in the home Thanks again for all of your opinions!

[Ryan W Ferebee]

Originally Posted by dbartley

We will be moving to VB this summer (from Canada) and wonder if anyone can tell us what the best grocery stores are? We are looking for everyday regular food (produce, meats, dairy, canned, household items etc) and hoping to find a store that has regular sales, good prices, and is clean and food is fresh. In Canada we go to Save on Foods and once in a while Safeway - not sure if those stores are even in VB. Also, are there any farmer's markets with low cost produce or fish?

Thanks so much!

welcome to the area. The best all around supermarket in the area is Farm
Fresh with all the qualities that you seem to value and they even sell gas . You may want to join Sam's Club . The saving are tremendous! Food Lion is a somewhat distant second but is still a viable option.

[thorntonm]

Not including discount clubs... Wal-Mart, Kroger and Food Lion are the cheapest, and pretty comparable in price. You will be missing out on selection and variety. The meat selection at these stores is feed lot quality. These stores are for those concerned strictly with money and savings. Kroger and Food Lion have discount cards which are particularly good. Kroger has self check-out, Food Lion does not. Kroger stores are a little brighter and bigger than Food Lion, but still pretty basic.

The next tier up is Harris Teeter and Farm Fresh. They are relatively expensive stores, but if you are willing to shop carefully and use Harris Teeter's discount card, and shop Farm Fresh's specials (they don't offer a card), you can still do very good. You can get more specialty item selections at these stores, as well as higher quality meats and fish. Harris Teeter is a national chain, and has self-checkout. Farm Fresh is a local chain. I don't really get why people are so enthusiastic about them, other than some kind of local's pride. Their produce is weak, they have no self-checkout, and if you do weekly shopping there and don't coupon or pay attention to specials, you will end up spending more money than any other major. They do have Boar's Head meats, but Harris Teeter now carries them as well.

Trader Joe's is unique. They are small stores with mostly pre-packaged ready to go, shelf and frozen meals. Their niche is all-natural, no preservative, colors, etc. etc. foods. So they are ideal for busy people who want to eat as naturally as possible. Their produce selection is not worth bothering with (it can actually be pretty bad at times). Whether they are expensive or not depends on the kind of person you are. This isn't Wal-Mart. There is nothing to compare the prices to, as most of their items are private labeled. But if you like gourmet cheeses and wines this is going to seem like a bargain heaven to you.

Fresh Market, an east coast chain, is purely high-end. This is top of the line produce and specialty items. They are small stores. Large meat and fish counters where everything is actually displayed behind a counter, and you get to choose what you want. A large section of barrels of all kinds of fresh nuts and snacks you bag up and pay for by weight. There is not really a focus here on organic, all-natural like Trader Joe's. In fact, look around and you will see all sorts of chemicals and additives in their foods. This is stricly high-end, gourmet food. They are extremely expensive. I go here once a week just to get things to make a nice meal, but I could not afford to shop here regularly.

A Whole Foods is coming to Republic and Laskin (in front of the Kroger) next spring. They are already buidling it. For those who have never been in one, imagine a Fresh Market the size of a regular grocery store, but with the all-natural focus of Trader Joe's. Prices are as bad as Fresh Market.

There is a great, small farmer's market on Great Neck across from the hospital area that also sell N. Carolina shrimp and dry scallops.

As Mr. Williamsburg said, a larger farmer's market is at Dam Neck and Princess Anne. It is closed from around Jan-March, I think. Four or five produce stands, a small dairy (selling Oberweis milk, a glass-bottled, low-temp pasteurized, non-organic milk from the mid-west), a great butcher (mid-west sourced, I think it's grass-fed/grain-finished stuff), an excellent organic market in back that sells the meat (frozen) from the farm featured in the movie Food, Inc.

An excellent buther is also in Hilltop (Village butcher). A little smaller, but grass-fed beef.

Best fish market (Dockside) up on Shore right by Bubba's. All kinds of fresh, locally caught fish.