The horror of grocery shopping
 

Like most adult Americans, I spend a certain portion of my non-working hours doing various chores to keep my life on track: mailing a check to the electric company periodically, washing clothes, taking the trash out. It's fair to say that I don't consider any of these things to be particularly fun. But none of them inspires in me the same loathing as the weekly trip to the grocery store for food and other items.

Why do I hate it so much? Hard to tell. It's irrational--or is it?

I drag myself out to the store (when I'm alone--doing it with the kids along is a whole other ball of wax). Of course I can't do that till there's been a complete inventory of what we have and what we need for the following week, which includes at least minimal consideration of what we're going to serve for meals.

There are inevitably some things that I want that aren't there--either not in stock, or not carried. God forbid I should ask somebody who works there for help. "Guacamole? I dunno. Hey, Fred, do we have Guacamole? Hmm. Not sure. But if we do it's with the produce somewhere." I could always go to a different store, but it will have a DIFFERENT selection of items I don't want.

After I have made my way around and gotten what I need (a task made harder by presumably intelligent people who will simply sit in the middle of the aisle, oblivious to the fact that they're blocking traffic on both sides), it's time to check out. In this case I'm at the mercy of the store. There may only be one checkout lane open--with four people in line, each with a cart full. The stores generally provide a special lane--or two or three--for those who are buying just a few items, but don't do much that I can see for those of us who may be dropping $150 or $200. On a really bad trip, you may have no bagger, when means you either bag it yourself or you wait while the cashier finishes ringing up your order and then proceeds to bag it. (I usually choose the former just to get out faster.)

And of course once you get home you have to unpack it all and put it away.

Am I just whiny? Or is the weekly expedition to Super Fresh, Acme, Giant, or whatever's in your neck of the woods also the bane of your existence?

I am a big fan of Harris Teeter, and it's not all bad.

Certainly all the aspects you describe are those of the sucking variety, and those are pretty uniform over all grocery stores. But Harris Teeter does a few things to keep the dissatisfaction down.

For one, they have an excellent selection of "different" stuffs - lots of sushi, guacamole, etc - that means that finding something for a meal is relatively easy.

They also have self checkout lanes, which I find to generally be uncrowded (the longest I have ever had to wait is for one person to finish checking out) and fast and easy to use. I'm able to usually get through checkout in about five minutes, including the wait. I don't consider this to be too bad.

Since I bag when I check out, I do a smart job of it and keep all the cold stuff together, freezer stuff together, double bag as appropriate - and this cuts down on my hassles, both with picking up cans from a bag that split in the driveway and in putting things away. Since it's all grouped, once I'm done the freezer, I don't have to run back there. It makes it much less frustrating than putting one thing up here, another down there - hey, this goes over there! - etc.

I certainly don't look forward to going to the grocery store, but my experiences now aren't as bad as the ones you describe.

Timing is critical. Trying to get there with the least customers but the most stock. Of course when the least customers are there is when the asiles are blocked with pallets and stockers. Oh, and the guys cleaning the floors too.
It seems Pathmark and Acme both know what I want and put them as far as possible from each other with lots of stuff I don't want in between.
Once I learn where everything I normally buy is located, they rearange the store.
The person at the desk can help. Just wait for them to take care of the people picking up photos, buying cigarettes, lottery tickets, sending a UPS package and bitching about a bad cart when there's 3000 more to choose from.
One one that gets me is when I buy 10 packages of frozen fish. They're all the same price but the cashier (well, most of them) scrape the ice and frost off the UPC code to scan each one instead of scanning one and punching in 10. Of course it's still faster than catching and cleaning them.;)

     I'm with Bruce on the timing idea. Personally, I solve almost all those problems by going at one am. The hassles of other shoppers is at a minimum and since the only employees actually working are stockers they do know where stuff is. Oh yeah, and since management has nothing better to do the graveyard shift cashiers will demand back-up over the PA if two people get in line. Good stuff.
     You still have to bag it your self, but as Dave pointed out this is a good thing. No eggs under the canned goods, but on top of the bread that way.

Timing is also important for stock. If you show up on Sunday evening you're going to have your choice of what's left after everybody else picked the place clean from the weekend!

I used to like Harris Teeter too, when I lived in NC. They have self-checkout here too, at least some of the stores do, but I've found it's a bad idea if you have a lot of stuff. For a small number of things, sure, but for me at least very little (if any) time is saved if I've got a whole cartful, and the setup (at least at Super Fresh, where I go most often) is not really big enough to stash that many groceries. And there have been times when there are 6 or 7 people waiting in line to use the self-checkout kiosks.

Maybe it's not me... maybe it's just that the stores around here suck! :cool:

i love grocery shopping. i prefer going early in the morning or late at night to avoid big crowds. but i find it therapeutic, finding the best produce and choosing the right ingredients for the right meals.

i think the nicest thing, for me, is that grocery shopping is a series of very simple decisions. what kind of lunch meat to buy? what kind of cereal? its nice to be presented with a bunch of decisions that require little thought. i spend a great deal of time making difficult decisions at work, so grocery shopping is a refreshing change.

some of my best recipes, especially soups, are found by simply wandering through the store and thinking about the potential of different items on the shelf. i try to write down only the bare necessities, preferring to come up with meal ideas as i move through the store.

but maybe thats just me.

~james

also, although i rarely do it, i much prefer getting produce and meats from whole foods stores. invariably, the produce is better, the meat (especially fish) is fresher and it makes a neat change of environment from my local king soopers.

~james

Local rundown:

* Acme - the local 900-pound gorilla. Decent all-around performance, though relatively no-frills compared to some of the recently-remodeled competitors. Occasionally puts some things on sale without linking the discounts to invasive shoppers-club cards.

* Shop-Rite - Much better than they used to be, but still somewhat second-tier. Pretty good produce section.

* Genuardi's - Formerly privately owned, took a nosedive when Safeway bought them out. Hot-food counters are so-so, though bigger Genuardi's (like the one in St. Davids) are better. Too many house-brand (Safeway) products, though their selection is okay in most areas. I'll go there for specific things on sale or if it's convenient, but they're no longer my first choice.

* Giant - Tons of hot-food and to-go counters, with the Chinese take-out counter being the best. Pretty good produce. Not a bad choice.

* Clemens - bad news. Tons of house-brand products, iffy produce, smaller stores and the same prices. Generally avoidable.

* Super-Fresh - Rapidly disappearing from the area. Can't say that I miss them that much. (Caveat: the local Super-Fresh was somewhat mismanaged and definitely undersized, and others may be better.)

* Wegmans - There's only one in this area, and it's ludicrously OVERsized; its site used to be a Hechinger's hardware center, and you need a golf cart to go from one side to the other. Surprisingly scattershot selection of products for its size (there are lots of things I find at Acme that I don't find there). Average prices in general. Big to-go/hot-food areas. Extensive "world foods" section in the back. Their produce section _does_ rock. Normal-sized Wegmans may vary considerably, of course.

* Zagara's - Used to be Genuardi's high-end outlet, bought by Safeway, then SOLD by Safeway to private investors who are now running it the old way. Specialty groceries -- a massive by-the-bottle soda section, large hot-food/to-go sections, nice meats, but high prices (you get what you pay for). A bit on the foo-foo side, but they carry lots of things that are hard to find elsewhere.

* Whole Foods Market - the king. Moderately high prices on some things, but they excel in many areas -- killer produce, nice meats, unparalled cheese, good hot-food/to-go, the best price around on my cherished Reed's Spiced Apple Brew, GOOD house-brand sodas, and friendly service. If they carried Charmin Ultra instead of only recycled-paper products for my bathroom, I'd go there almost exclusively. (That, and it's a twenty-minute drive.)

* Trader Joe's - deliberately idiosyncratic. Tons of house-brand products (the majority of their offerings), yet most aren't bad. They dropped two products I used to go there for (the Reed's line and non-diet Hansen's Natural Sodas), so minus points for that. Meat section is quite small, presumably for freshness purposes. Lots of organic stuff. More of a curiosity/impulse stop than a dedicated supermarket.

VSP, I've been buying recycled paper products fromSeventh Generation for years. First by mail then online. Excellent products and excellent people to deal with. Delivered to my door means a lot more room in the grocery bags from the market.:D

For most paper products, I won't argue against recycled paper... but when it comes to things that come into direct contact with my anus, I am VERY particular. There's soft, and then there's declawed-six-week-old-kitten-with-no-teeth soft. Said kittens are hard to come by, hence I use Charmin Ultra.

Fuck that ultra-soft toilet paper. Leaves too many dingleberries. I like a nice rough toilet paper, where you can actually feel that it's doing its job.

Of course, my wife likes the soft shit, and since she uses toilet paper in more areas (and more often) than I do, I concede to her on this issue.

OK but don't let her put the roll on the wrong way. You have to take a stand sometime.;)

I went camping with my dad and my uncle near Mt. St. Helens last year, and my uncle tossed me a pack of baby wipes. They worked great! I felt pretty darn clean.

I have not lived in Austin, TX since 1997 and I still miss Central Market. A beautiful grocery store concept of the HEB mega chain, it was designed to take on the homegrown Whole Foods juggernaut. And they rock. It is like a playground for grownups, oh yeah, and you can pick up your French Roast beans and a carton of milk. Great produce, organic and conventional, meat, fish, cheese, (yet the regular store stuff you need like Charmin). Samples out the yingyang. Fresh breads, great fresh tortillas, sushi, flowers, a massive good hot food take out area, a cafe with a zillion food choices that are family friendly, Beer, wine, live bands- an occasional jazz combo playing in a loft area inside while you browse, a rock/folk/blues/country band outside on the shady patio, cooking classes.....I imagine it has only continued to thrive and spawn new stores.
Sigh. I love Central Market.

I concede to YOU on this Tissue!:D

Yes, I did put my foot down on that one. She put it on wrong once or twice, and then I called her into the bathroom and explained to her the logic of having it come off the top.

She actually had the first valid, logical explanation for putting it on upside-down that I'd ever heard. She said they did that at her house growing up so the cats didn't unravel the whole roll when they would bat at it. But since that isn't an issue with us, she gave in.

I'm well aware of the benefits of baby wipes! They are an essential item to have when you're gonna be in the middle of some barren desert wasteland with no running water, and baths/showers are few and far between. I recommend the antibacterial kind for that extra-fresh feeling.

Boy, did this thread go down the toilet.:rolleyes:

My grocery shopping experience
 

Is much the same as everyone else's.

I make lists of what I need, and buy it. I use coupons when available and I remember them, I check circulars for the best prices on whatever it is I need and plan my shopping trip accordingly.

I tend to do most of my shopping at the commissary, and only buy those things that they don't carry at the local grocery stores. Like Rosati's Water Ice. The only problem I have with that is the surcharge they put on it. Five percent around here. Six in Penna. Conveniently the same as the local sales tax (which I do not pay) and since the surcharge is on the total, I pay the equivalent of the sales tax on EVERYTHING. That and the baggers blatantly want tips. It's the opnly pay they get so I don't mind five or six bucks to bag and truck my groceries to the car. I just hate that surcharge. That and the lines on payday. I see a line halfway across the store those days.

So count your blessings with the four people in a line.

Oh, the commissary doesn't do much in the way of store-brand items so I tend to buy name brands. I only buy store brands if I *have* to use a "regular" grocery store. I also buy certain things at BJs. Things like potty paper and trash bags and soda. And Ellio's frozen pizza.

Now that I think of it, grocery day is a half-day event.

Brian

With e-commerce, I am not used to having to go retrieve the things I want. Normally I select them from the screen and give them some bit of information and a few days later the things are on my front step. I just look out the front door and there they are.

I'm willing to haul ass down to the local distribution center to get stuff that goes bad, like bread and meat and milk. But they're gonna have to figure out how to get peanut butter to my front step.

      Huh, with a name like BrainR I thought you were a dude!:eek:

     Tobiasly, certainly you aren't suggesting putting the toilet paper in the incorrect 'overhand' position? Properly it should come out the bottom it's much easier to rip off that way.

88% of the population says you're wrong.:p

I personally thought Genuardi's got better after Safeway took over, though I know a lot of folks were unhappy with it. I always liked shopping at Safeway in DC, and I used to like the looks I got when I used my Safeway Club card at Genuardi's. Of course, that's gone now...got stolen with my wallet.

There's one near me in Bensalem, and I go there on occasion (though I've been frequenting them more in the past few weeks). I like the layout of the store, though they could use a bit more variety.

I live 3 blocks from an Acme, so it's convenient. It's a small one though, and I've never met such unfriendly assholes. At first, I thought it was because Rho and I were a mixed couple, but then I started going in there by myself and discovered that they're just like that with everybody. Okay, that's not completely true. They're very friendly with ugly people with accents that scream "I'm from Northeast Philadelphia!!!"

There's a Super Fresh up at Franklin Mills, and I shop there on occasion. It's huge though, so to run in and out is a pain. But they have self checkouts, which I love. Saves me attitude.

You forgot Pathmark, Jeff. Rho and I were going there frequently for a while, but quit going. For some reason, that Dateline special on their meat tactics scared us away--even though they also featured Super Fresh/A&P, Albertson's (Acme), and Safeway in that episode...and they were almost as bad. Plus, Pathmark is ghetto fabulous by nature. Though I like their selection.

I live near a Shop-Rite and a Giant...and I think there's a Super G by me too (DC/Baltimore folks: What we call Giant up here, though Giant of MD and Giant of PA are owned by the same company now.). I've only been to each of them maybe a handful of times.

And you can't forget Aldi. Jesus Christ, when things were tough back home, my mom would shop there. They actually have some great bargains, if you can stand dealing with the thugs that generally shop there. Although, I haven't been to one in some time...definitely not since I moved to Philadelphia. One time, we were doing some shopping for a dorm function at SEMO. And the woman we were dealing with was the ultimate cunt. In being such a bitch, she forgot to scan the hot dogs on the bottom of the cart...$20-30 worth. Don't ask, don't tell.

(To the Office of Residence Life: You're welcome.)

As far as grocery shopping itself, Rho and I have not done a standard week's worth of grocery shopping in over a year. Not sure why, but we generally only pick up enough stuff for 2-4 days. We don't spend any more than we would in a week, but for some reason, I never feel a real desire to pick up that much stuff.

Maybe part of it is because I wind up having to do all the carrying. Rho can't lift anything heavy anymore, so if I buy it, I'm the one that has to carry it up to the third floor.

I don't necessarily dislike shopping...sometimes, I quite enjoy it. I think I just get irritated by asinine employees, bratty kids and their stupid parents, and dumbass people that just gawk. Goddamnit, get the fuck out of my way.

And to think, for a time, when I lived in DC, I would do all our laundry at the laundromat, then go do 2 weeks of grocery shopping, all on a Friday night.

As far as TP, I go with Northern. It's on sale quite a bit, and Charmin leaves fuzz. When I was in college, I stocked up on Soft n' Gentle. $1 for 4 rolls, and it lived up to its name.

Easier to rip off?! What is your TP made of, reinforced titanium? You yank it, and it rips. When you feed it through on the bottom, you have to fish around for the end since you can't see it. When it comes over the top, it's just right there.

If the toilet paper roll were six feet up on the wall, so as to be above me while I'm sitting on the throne, then I'd agree it should come from the bottom. That just makes sense, man.

Dude Pepod by Giant is a god Send.. Give them your grocery list they bring you every thing you need(you can request non store brand) and if the distribution center doesn't have what you want then they replace it with something about the same. all you have to do is pay out the nose.

So where do you get your groceries??

I'm not sure if I'm willing to pay for delivery to my door. But I'd damn well pay to make my selections on a web site and have it all bagged up ready for me to take home when I get to the store. I'd probably give Peapod a try if they were doing their thing here.

the Hairry Teet is my favorite place

      I find this somewhat disconcerting, I thought the idiot percentage was higher than that. Not saying that improper instalment of TP makes a person an idiot per se, just that the percetage of people that seem to be idiots would be a bit higher...
     Hey, I'm poor, so what if I use John Wayne style TP?

I haven't seen a Pathmark in several years. The last one I knew of (Wilmington, just over the Delaware border) got knocked down to make room for a Barnes & Noble/Best Buy complex. (They also took out the only "artsy" movie theater that didn't have the word 'Ritz' in its name, the bastards -- swapping it for Best Buy, the Black Hole of Customer Service was not a fair trade.)

I guess you missed out on seeing the new one down south in the Westgate shopping center. I think Austin is the only city with 2 stores now. yipee! I'm there at least once a week without any complaints. I have a friend that has dubbed it "Gucci-B."

Pathmark locations
 

There is one i NE Phila as well as one in Langhorne (I have a friend who works there).

Brian

Broomall, Brookhaven and Ridley Twp that I know of.

We'll have to wait for the word from Radar as to which way the paper goes.;)

Pathmarks seem to be mostly in the city and in Jersey. I live by two--Knights Rd. in Bensalem, and Frankford Ave. in Holmesburg.

Harris Teeter is our choice here in NC. I like the Whole Foods market too, but I can't afford to shop for everything there - way too pricey. But it's good to know it's there if you want something unusual or special.

So y'all can use the self-checkout for any amount of groceries where you are? Our H-T stores limit it to something like 12-16 items. Any more than that, and you'll be seeing the cashier.

I like the free stuff they give away too - buy groceries every week for (usually) 12 out of 14 weeks, collect the weekly coupon, and cash in the coupons to get free stuff at the end. The latest stuff they gave away was a stainless steel grill and some bbq utensils. I saw a smaller version of the same grill in Brookstone for $75! Sometimes they give away store gift cards too.

Our other local stores include Lowe's (yep, we've got a grocery store version by that name) and Food Lion.

Food Lion sucks. The stores are almost all too small, lousy selection, and some of them are dirty. No way am I buying food from a dirty store.

Kroger is nice too (and a blast from the past - I grew up in Cleveland, they're everydamnwhere up there) but too far away for me to shop at on a regular basis. I've also heard there's Winn Dixie in this general area, but I've not seen one.

I don't mind grocery shopping, but I try to take as little time as possible. I go in with a prepared list, get only what's on that list, and get the hell out. I also try to go when the hub will be at home, so he can help put everything away. That's the part I hate, having to unpack everything and stow it.

And commissaries? Yeah, they're cheaper, but when I was a military wife I stayed far, far away. Commissaries in a military town are hell on earth, especially on weekends. So many people would be in there, there'd be no carts left anywhere and the checkouts would be stacked up halfway back into the aisles. The Exchange and the package store were wonderful, but I did my food shopping elsewhere.

See what happens when you hang the roll the wrong way.:D

     What? You don't have to worry about running out? By the by, that's the right way. :blunt:
     For any who may doubt, I refer you to the Simpsons episode where the child welfare people check out the house. Homer and Marge were sited for having the roll in the improper 'overhand' position. Surely you don't question the Simpson's? :eek3:

If I ever come over to your house, you'll find I'm the guy who inconsiderately uses the spare roll on top of your shitter instead of the sadly underhanging roll next to it.

The Miracle of the Internet
 

This is my grocer of choice. The prices are somewhat steep compared to the local warehouses (Cub and Rainbow are the locals with large foreheads and grim looks), but the food is excellent. The pre-packaged stuff is suprisingly easy and tasty most of the time, the produce is top notch (none of that damnable picking out of fruit) and so is the meat (their 85% lean is typically leaner than the warehouses' 98%). Plus, the customer service is tremendous (when their servers went down [for three days!], they started taking orders over the phone, and didn't have that service before that point or after, for a long while). Throw in that it's a local business, and I've got it made. You may begin being jealous.

     UT, if you ever come half way across the country to use my shitter, I'll let you use the spare roll. ;)

     By the by, all this reminds me of an old joke:
How does a man put the toilet paper on the roll?
Nobody knows, it hasn't happened yet!

No, I don't question the Simpsons. The Simpsons place their TP on correctly. It's those do-gooder child welfare people who are wrong.

Was that the episode where Homer wanted to keep Maggie from playing with the electrical sockets by drawing bunny-rabbit faces on the outlets?

Marge: "But Homer, Maggie isn't afraid of bunny rabbits!"

Homer: "She <I>will</I> be."

Now I heard a rumour, it's just a rumour mind you, that O J Simpson hangs his tp under. Same for Hitler and Manson and Nixon and Osama and.....:rolleyes:

Um ... didn't this start out as a grocery shopping thread? I'm confused now.

Anyway, what I was gonna say is that I HATE shopping. I'm in Vegas, and the cheapest place to buy the type of groceries I get is the Super-Duper-open-24-hours-has- everything Wal Mart. It's hell to go during the day, because of all the people and the 115 degree (F) heat. It's hell to go at 2am because of all the pallets and lack of on-the-shelf stock and the 100 degree (F) heat.

Everywhere else is way more expensive, or doesn't have the stuff I buy.

Babywipes were a definite item in backpacks when we went to the field(camping w/ guns) in the military, so useful to wipe arse, clean face and body, and clean equipment. Gotta love baby wipes

I hope it wasn't in that order... :D

If the Babywipes are the ones with alcohol, you can start a fire with them too.;)

When i get my own place i'm gonna only stock it with baby wipes, no wussy TP for me

Ya gonna keep the plumber on speed dial too? :)

Dags

i thought you could buy water soluable ones now days

I agree. I loved Safeway too growing up in Baltimore. Nice selection, good service, etc.

I live 3 blocks from an Acme, so it's convenient. It's a small one though, and I've never met such unfriendly assholes. At first, I thought it was because Rho and I were a mixed couple, but then I started going in there by myself and discovered that they're just like that with everybody. Okay, that's not completely true. They're very friendly with ugly people with accents that scream "I'm from Northeast Philadelphia!!!"

Heh, I *still* think it's because of "us", but like you said, they seem to be equal opportunity assholes. Hmmm..wonder where that black manager disappeared to? ;)

You forgot Pathmark, Jeff. Rho and I were going there frequently for a while, but quit going. For some reason, that Dateline special on their meat tactics scared us away--even though they also featured Super Fresh/A&P, Albertson's (Acme), and Safeway in that episode...and they were almost as bad.

Ugh, thinking of that still gives me the creeps. :(

I live near a Shop-Rite and a Giant...and I think there's a Super G by me too (DC/Baltimore folks: What we call Giant up here, though Giant of MD and Giant of PA are owned by the same company now.). I've only been to each of them maybe a handful of times.

The Giant on Street Rd. is cool.

As far as grocery shopping itself, Rho and I have not done a standard week's worth of grocery shopping in over a year. Not sure why, but we generally only pick up enough stuff for 2-4 days. We don't spend any more than we would in a week, but for some reason, I never feel a real desire to pick up that much stuff.

Ah, the joy of no kids to shop for, perhaps? :)

Maybe part of it is because I wind up having to do all the carrying. Rho can't lift anything heavy anymore, so if I buy it, I'm the one that has to carry it up to the third floor.

*swoons* My big, strong may-yan...lol!

I don't necessarily dislike shopping...sometimes, I quite enjoy it. I think I just get irritated by asinine employees, bratty kids and their stupid parents, and dumbass people that just gawk. Goddamnit, get the fuck out of my way.

I don't dislike shopping either, espeically if the store is neat and clean, has a good selection and the service is top rate.

I always enjoy reviving a dead thread when I think of something relevant...

I normally do my shopping at Acme, primarily because it's convenient (just up the street from the apartment). But I've never liked the service there...and it's a rather small store.

This week, I think I finally had enough of it. Two months ago, they installed 4 self checkout lanes...but they rarely open all 4 of them, they don't always work properly and the staff closes them up early (before 9pm in a store that's open 24 hours). And the store seems to be short-staffed lately...maybe they had to cut payroll back...

Fuck that. I drive right by Super Fresh on the way home from the train station at night, their prices for the items I buy have been cheaper than Acme recently and they have self checkout lanes that are almost always open...and no lines.

Tuesday night, Rho wanted me to pick up some chicken. I walked in, grabbed the box of chicken, walked up to the self checkout, scanned, bagged, paid with my debit card and walked out the door...total time was maybe 5 minutes. No muss, no fuss...just let me get what I want, pay and get the fuck out. Nice.

Too bad they're not open 24 hours anymore. That's alright though...I don't shop late at night that often anymore anyway.

i hate the ultra bright flourescent lights and the people who walk too slow in front of me... i am also strange in that i hate the cashier or the bagger to bag my stuff. I want to do it. i can't stand the way they bag things, as if i can't carry a bag heavier than 1.5 pounds. if i let them bag it, everythiong flies out all over the trunk of my car, i have hairspray and eggs in one bag, another bag will have ant traps and roast beef, another bag will have a loaf of bread and cans, another bag will have hot rotisserie chicken and ice cream...you get the point.

Well, you don't want the ants getting on your roast beef, do you?

Followup report, nine months later:

* Clemens did pleasantly surprise me the other day by having wide-mouth Mason jars at one of their local outlets (three guesses who got a FoodSaver for Xmas). That saved me a trip down to KitchenEtc. in Delaware.

* Zagara's of Glen Mills -- RIP, which is a big bummer. They weren't the cheapest on anything, but they had a pretty eclectic selection, and were the only game in town for Jones Soda and Chile Today-Hot Tamale products. (Now I'll have to mail order the latter, as I'm not driving into New Jersey for groceries without a court order.)

* Trader Joe's picked up and then dropped my Spiced Apple brew. Feh! I've only bought one house-brand item that disappointed me there, however (their Jalapeno Pepper hot sauce, which was tasteless; their Tena Pepper sauce rocks). I bought a ton of stuff from there the other night.

More thread necromancy!

The former site of Zagara's in Glen Mills is becoming a FoodSource. The full title is apparently "FoodSource by Clemens," the latter part of which made me wary, but I checked out the Bryn Mawr FoodSource anyway.

Plusses:
* Very nice-looking produce.
* They had Jones Soda, including the elusive Strawberry Lime and Lemon Drop flavors, and carried the Joe Tea line (the lemonade of which is very good).
* Their "hot case" of prepared foods looked good, priced like Whole Foods with a bit more selection.
* Helpful staff.

Minuses:
* Generally high-priced, even on house-brand items. I'd have tried a jar or two of their store-label salsas if they hadn't been six bucks apiece. (Granted, this is a specialty store, and it's supposed to be high-end goods. But for $33.99 a pound, their Scottish Salmon ought to come stuffed full of savings bonds or something.)
* A bit scattershot on their snacks section, and I was hoping for Chile Today Hot Tamale products and didn't get 'em.
* Bad parking situation (small lot, hard to access). The Glen Mills store won't have that problem.)

When the new store opens, it won't make me forget about Whole Foods or Trader Joe's, but it'll be a nice alternative when I don't feel like driving all the way to Devon for the former.