Albertson's closing in FL (Orlando, Davie: sales, coupons, homes)

[chopchop0]

Originally Posted by kyle19125

Perhaps with out of season/not locally available produce but not with their meats. 5-Step Animal Welfare Rating | WholeFoodsMarket.com

In terms of Whole Foods being more expensive than Publix when dealing with conventional produce, perhaps but not always. One would expect a company like Publix which has more frequent buying power to land better wholesale prices.

The end game for the consumer shouldn't always be about price, especially if one has any inkling as to where their food comes from and how it is produced. Of course being Florida where everything cheaper is better, it's an uphill battle to enlighten. I always swear if anyone has read Fast Food Nation or seen the movie Food Inc. we would be having far fewer of these conversations.

I've seen FFN and Food, Inc. Good movies. Trust me, shopping at Publix isn't akin to killing my system vs shopping at WFM. Monsanto and Cargill probably manage to find their way into both stores

I buy local and I buy organic when I can, but I also have done my research and understand that it's silly to overpay for organic bananas while it's generally a good idea to spring for organic berries.

[gypsychic]

I don't live in Orlando, (am in Sarasota) but thought I would weigh in since all the stores being discussed are here as well.

Re Albertson's: Never did any shopping there, never had any compelling reason to do so. The stores weren't that nice, and they didn't offer anything unique or even better prices than other choices I have.

Re Publix: I do think Publix is a very nice store. I also know they can vary by town and neighborhood as to what they offer. I am very fortunate, in that there are several really fantastic Publix stores here that have an incredible amount of selection including local produce and a lot of organic items. I have never been to a Wegman's, but from what I have read or heard from people, they are virtually the northern version of Publix, probably each store will have it's pluses and minuses, but at the end of the day end up being equal. For a mainstream grocery store (at least in Florida) my opinion it can't be beat.

Re Whole Foods - To Kyle - I just went there yesterday. The store we have here in Sarasota is really awesome - it's large, bright and clean, super-friendly help and clientele. I may start doing some shopping here. They do offer some of the same items as Publix at a higher price; however, for organic options it can't be beat, plus I love the bulk bins they have and their house brand is a good value. The salad bar is out of this world. My biggest beef is the parking garage! It's very tight, and difficult to park and get out of, but of course that has nothing to do with the store itself.

I am a person that shops at a lot of different places for my food. I buy a LOT of staples at ALDI, great quality at the best price, even fresh local produce. I have been buying my organics at my fantastic Super Target, but we are getting Trader Joe's this fall, so this may change. I will have to see if it's worth it or not when I check it out. Publix is not my main store anymore, but there are always some things they have that I can't get anywhere else, and the stores here have a HUGE selection of well-priced wine (the wine guy told me they sell more wine out of Sarasota than anywhere else in the state! ) I do also get my fresh farm eggs and some produce from a local farm-stand.

Bottom line I would say if a person could only choose one store to shop at, Publix would win hands down just for the huge variety they have (they do have great sales, too). For an organic person with the budget Whole Foods is really nice. I am all for lots of options, but here where I live there is absolutely no shortage of places to shop; and realistically how many grocery chains can survive?

It will be interesting to see what happens to all the empty Albertsons. We have a couple of them here that are closing.

[**NoodLes**]

Just like everything else in Floriduh, stops making money and leaves. Floriduh, while nice to live, is a logistical travesty when compared to the rest of the US. Most companies lose money alone on transportation costs coming down here.

I really miss Texas where they have Kroger, Albertsons, Tom Thumb, Wal-Mart Market. We definitely need variety down here, but that's an old drum that's been beaten to death.

[gypsychic]

Originally Posted by **NoodLes**

Just like everything else in Floriduh, stops making money and leaves. Floriduh, while nice to live, is a logistical travesty when compared to the rest of the US. Most companies lose money alone on transportation costs coming down here.

I really miss Texas where they have Kroger, Albertsons, Tom Thumb, Wal-Mart Market. We definitely need variety down here, but that's an old drum that's been beaten to death.

They are closing stores in Texa$$ too, it's national not just Florida. As for competition, just in my little city we have:

Publix
Sweetbay
Winn Dixie
Super Target
ALDI
Save-a-Lot
Bravo
Trader Joe (this fall)
Super Target (full grocery)
Walmart
Walmart neighborhood store

That's heck of a lot of competition if you ask me. Are you saying a big city like Orlando doesn't have the same? Of course you weren't happy in Texas when you lived there either and found plenty of fault with that state. But if you miss it so much, you should just go back.

[kyle19125]

Originally Posted by chopchop0

I've seen FFN and Food, Inc. Good movies. Trust me, shopping at Publix isn't akin to killing my system vs shopping at WFM. Monsanto and Cargill probably manage to find their way into both stores

I buy local and I buy organic when I can, but I also have done my research and understand that it's silly to overpay for organic bananas while it's generally a good idea to spring for organic berries.

Good to hear....though you left out the most endangering, antibiotics in meats.

[**NoodLes**]

Originally Posted by gypsychic

They are closing stores in Texa$$ too, it's national not just Florida. As for competition, just in my little city we have:

Publix
Sweetbay
Winn Dixie
Super Target
ALDI
Save-a-Lot
Bravo
Trader Joe (this fall)
Super Target (full grocery)
Walmart
Walmart neighborhood store

That's heck of a lot of competition if you ask me. Are you saying a big city like Orlando doesn't have the same? Of course you weren't happy in Texas when you lived there either and found plenty of fault with that state. But if you miss it so much, you should just go back.

They've been closing stores very slowly for the past few years everywhere, but this right now is almost a full scale "get outta dodge" scenario all at one time. With fuel costs now at $4 a gallon, I see many more operations scaling back, but you dont hear nearly a fraction of the uproar of gas prices like last year or the year before. Funny how the media pretends it doesn't matter. I predict Winn Dixie to soon follow.

[beachmouse]

I really don't get Winn Dixie. We've got one about two blocks from my house but I almost never shop there because their produce section is sad and their prices are about 20% higher for our typical grocery cart of goods than what we spend at Publix.

At this point, we've lived in a bunch of places in the US, and I'd take Publix any day over Kroger, D&W, Feldpasuch, Walmart, Excel, Busch's, Albertson's and Safeway. Meijer's is a little bit closer of a comparison, but it's probably not so much for product quality/price as a nostalgia sort of deal.

These days, we split our grocery shopping about 2/3rds to Publix and 1/3rd to Fresh Market. (Love it when chicken breasts are part of FM's $2.99/pound Tuesdays monthly specials, and they've got some good bakery stuff.) I'd love to get a Whole Foods up here, but it doesn't make sense from a supply chain perspective unless you were going to do a mass opening of stores from Panama City to New Orleans. As it is, we can't even get Costco to the northern Gulf Coast.

[totsuka]

I never went there, but I'm happy with Publix and Walmart. I wish Wynn Dixie would close too.

[HomesickFloridian]

Originally Posted by totsuka

I never went there, but I'm happy with Publix and Walmart. I wish Wynn Dixie would close too.

That's silly the less options the more Publix et al do become monopolies and manipulate prices accordingly. There are quite a few people who do shop W/D you know? Keeps Publix and the others honest, the one thing I don't like in a similar vein is how the drugstores all offer the same things with few options..

[beckycat]

Originally Posted by OrlFlaUsa

Oh man that is bad news. Truly. I enjoyed having Albertsons in Lake Mary by my job for grabbing a quick deli lunch or some groceries on the way home. Actually that plaza in Lake Mary will have 2 very large empty spaces as the K-Mart is also closing soon. Good thing I'll still have an Albertsons in Altamonte where I live though.

I was wondering what they were going to put in both of those spaces. As I said before, I'd like to see a Walmart or Walmart Neighborhood Market. I know people will disagree with me but that's just my opinion. Maybe a Whole Foods or Trader Joe's? I've never shopped at either but I've heard people rant and rave about them.