Hy-Vee grocery store opening in Oakdale on September 22nd.

[atler8]

Exactly & right on target/correct with your analysis, Glenfield.
Co-ops are a grocery concept that exits nationwide.
When I lived in intown Atlanta, one of my favorite stops for specialty & organic foods was a co-op store in a well-known bohemian enclave area. I've run into the co-op concept elsewhere in the south but more often than not in university cities.
The farmer's market concept as exemplified in midwestern cities such as Des Moines & Madison far exceeds any comparative out door market in metro Atlanta with the exception of the state owned/run Georgia State Farmer's Market.
The fact that it is a state facility kind of changes the dynamics of the facility here in Georgia & I much prefer the likes of what is offered in the midwest farmer's markets.
And thanks to backstreetsbackALLRIGHT for running with and clarifying things about the various types of Holiday store concepts that I had discussed earlier way on back in this thread. Wow! That gave me a trip down memory lane!

[ellysbelly]

Originally Posted by lepoisson

I didn't think MSP area lacked choice. I just think the area lacked larger grocery stores with a large selection. For large grocery stores, there is Cub and Lunds/Byerleys. HyVee will be a nice addition because it's a "middle of the line" store with a good selection and decent prices.

A lot of the stores you mentioned are smaller and have a smaller selection or a selection targeted towards a specific audience (gluten free, organic, Asian, Hispanic, etc).

Also, what's up with the "co-op" thing? I've lived in many large cities and have never really heard that term before when describing a small grocery store. I grew up in Raleigh, NC and everyone went to their choice of large grocery stores. No such thing as a co-op grocer down South. We had the little mom & pop convenience stores though.

There is a co-op store (Weaver Street Market) with locations in Chapel Hill, Carrboro, and Hillsborough (NC)-- I don't recall 100%, but I'm almost positive that the store in Chapel Hill and/or Carrboro was there when I was a student in Chapel Hill in the early-to-mid 90s; as already mentioned, co-ops are NOT (necessarily) small stores-- they're just community owned and operated. You can become a member and get a discount, or you can shop there (and pay their regular prices) even as a non-member. Co-ops do tend to carry more local, organic, gluten free, etc options and fewer, if any, conventional packaged foods-- while I might not do ALL of my shopping at a co-op, they're a very welcomed addition to the mix here.

That said, this area could DEFINITELY stand to add a Harris Teeter or Wegman's like store to the mix-- I don't find Lunds/Byerly's to be all that high end (just overpriced, other than their BOGO specials, which are a great bargain)-- and Kowalski's doesn't have nearly the selection that either Harris Teeter or Wegman's does-- plus the fresh bakery, salad bars, olive bar, fresh made sushi, etc, would be very welcomed here and would fit in very well with the demographic in and around the Citites.

[lepoisson]

Originally Posted by ellysbelly

There is a co-op store (Weaver Street Market) with locations in Chapel Hill, Carrboro, and Hillsborough (NC)-- I don't recall 100%, but I'm almost positive that the store in Chapel Hill and/or Carrboro was there when I was a student in Chapel Hill in the early-to-mid 90s; as already mentioned, co-ops are NOT (necessarily) small stores-- they're just community owned and operated. You can become a member and get a discount, or you can shop there (and pay their regular prices) even as a non-member. Co-ops do tend to carry more local, organic, gluten free, etc options and fewer, if any, conventional packaged foods-- while I might not do ALL of my shopping at a co-op, they're a very welcomed addition to the mix here.

That said, this area could DEFINITELY stand to add a Harris Teeter or Wegman's like store to the mix-- I don't find Lunds/Byerly's to be all that high end (just overpriced, other than their BOGO specials, which are a great bargain)-- and Kowalski's doesn't have nearly the selection that either Harris Teeter or Wegman's does-- plus the fresh bakery, salad bars, olive bar, fresh made sushi, etc, would be very welcomed here and would fit in very well with the demographic in and around the Citites.

Chapel Hill is very liberal, green, etc. No surprise that they'd have co-ops there. Would you be able to buy Ramen, Campbells, Stouffers, and most of the other big name brand generic grocery stuff at a co-op?

Maybe that's why I haven't heard of co-ops before. I've lived in Raleigh, Atlanta, New Orleans, and now in Kansas City. All of the places I've lived, people did their shopping at larger chain stores, or if you lived in the boonies, at Dollar General or a mom & pop place. When I first heard the term co-op, it sounded to me like a limited selection place that caters mostly to organic, vegan, etc.

Do most people living in the MSP area do shopping at a mixture of Cub, Lunds/Byerlys, Walmart, co-ops, etc?

I'm not really into organic, eco, or anything like that, so Walmart/Target/ALDI/HyVee is where I do most of my shopping. But I can see how a co-op would be a nice addition. Having a few in KC would be a nice addition to this area.

Originally Posted by WoodburyWoody

A national directory of Co-ops is at Coop Directory Listing

Minnesota is well represented, but so are many states (if that is current). I am surprised that there are none east of St. Paul until Stillwater or Hastings (Stillwater's co-op is great, btw).

I am glad someone mentioned the ethnic markets as well, they are pretty great here. As are the farmer's markets (MPLS and St. Paul, as well as the smaller community farmer's markets). And there are a number of CSAs going in the metro. Our farm CSA includes swaps with a local egg farm and frozen salmon from Washington state in addition to his own vegetables.

Just as I suspected. Very few of the places I've lived have more than one or two co-ops. The Twin Cities has more than I can easily count.

[ellysbelly]

Without sounding argumentative, if you eat Stouffers, Campbells, ramen, etc-- then all you really need is a Walmart or a SuperTarget (or a Cub)-- the only reason to have variety in stores is for, well, more variety in foods, the things that you CAN'T get at a Walmart:

Amenities such as a real butcher shop with housemade sausages and where they grind their own meat, specialty oils/vinegars, hard to find vegetables/fruit/fresh herbs (jicama, celery root, culantro, jackfruit, etc), ready to eat or made-to-order salads/sandwiches, small/unique/local brands, gluten free/organic/vegan/whatever selections, etc.-- heck, you can buy packaged goods on Amazon for similar to, if not better than, Walmart prices and have them delivered to your front door; no need for multiple grocery stores if most of your purchases are of items that can be found just about anywhere.

[lepoisson]

Originally Posted by ellysbelly

Without sounding argumentative, if you eat Stouffers, Campbells, ramen, etc-- then all you really need is a Walmart or a SuperTarget (or a Cub)-- the only reason to have variety in stores is for, well, more variety in foods, the things that you CAN'T get at a Walmart:

Amenities such as a real butcher shop with housemade sausages and where they grind their own meat, specialty oils/vinegars, hard to find vegetables/fruit/fresh herbs (jicama, celery root, culantro, jackfruit, etc), ready to eat or made-to-order salads/sandwiches, small/unique/local brands, gluten free/organic/vegan/whatever selections, etc.-- heck, you can buy packaged goods on Amazon for similar to, if not better than, Walmart prices and have them delivered to your front door; no need for multiple grocery stores if most of your purchases are of items that can be found just about anywhere.

I think my shopping habits are due to where I've lived. I've never had a local butcher shop (did have a fish shop, which I miss) or anything else like that, so I've had to resort to general selection stores. Having a farmers market is great though. The one in Raleigh, NC is one of the best in the country. I never got into the whole vegan/organic/gluten-free hippie stuff.

When I lived in France, I bought everything at smaller shops, but when I moved to smaller towns in the US, I had to change my shopping habits and start buying things that were available from Walmart, Target, and ALDI. The reason for shopping in small shops in France is because of quality and freshness.

It seems like co-ops target a more educated, liberal, or unique audience. Most places I've lived are sort of the opposite of that. :-( I think the main reason I like some of the unique stores is because they carry international items.

[cielpur]

lepoisson, I agree with you. I shop at large variety of grocery stores (including co-ops, whole foods, L&B, Cub, Trader Joe's and others) in the Metro and I think Hy-Vee fills a much desired niche. Specifically, reasonable prices with a large selection and higher quality products. As you stated, a mid-point between Cub and L&B. I do a lot of my shopping at L&B out of convenience but I actually think Hy-Vee is a good alternative to it; often similar products/selection but more reasonably priced.

[TimtheGuy]

Originally Posted by ellysbelly

That said, this area could DEFINITELY stand to add a Harris Teeter or Wegman's like store to the mix-- I don't find Lunds/Byerly's to be all that high end (just overpriced, other than their BOGO specials, which are a great bargain)-- and Kowalski's doesn't have nearly the selection that either Harris Teeter or Wegman's does-- plus the fresh bakery, salad bars, olive bar, fresh made sushi, etc, would be very welcomed here and would fit in very well with the demographic in and around the Citites.

Check out the Kowalski's in Woodbury.

[WoodburyWoody]

In Oakdale, Cub smacks back ...

10/15/15 PioneerPress: "In Oakdale, it's going to be a Cub-Hy-Vee smackdown

A supermarket smackdown is taking shape in Oakdale.

Three weeks after a $26 million Hy-Vee opened, Oakdale officials said Cub Foods plans a store directly across the street.

Cub officials would not comment, but city administrator Bart Fisher said Wednesday that the supermarket chain already is remodeling the abandoned Kmart at 10th Street and Interstate 694."

entire read at:
In Oakdale, it's going to be a Cub-Hy-Vee smackdown - TwinCities.com