You missed a few that are very popular here in Williamsburg. It’s funny talking about where you grocery shop is like talking about which college or NFL football team you root for. People get very defensive about it..
Wal Mart, while some won’t shop there their prices are usually the best. I won’t buy meat there but if you don’t want to make the trip to Costco or Sams Club in Newport News their pricing is hard to beat on most items. Very crowded, long lines, no customer service, messy but you can save a few dollars.
Trader Joes. I’m amazed that we have one considering the size of Williamsburg. There isn’t one on the Southside yet. It’s hard to describe Trader Joes. Check out their website and you will see what I mean http://www.traderjoes.com/
A somewhat bohemian market full of suprising values.. You can’t shop here for everything but they do have an amazing array of food and good prices. Froozen Tuna Steaks at $4.99 a pound. I know you only eat fresh fish. Try it , tastes as good as most fresh Tuna from other stores. Wine deals and variety. The list goes on. It’s a fun place to shop you just don’t know what you will find.
Fresh Market: A little pricey for me but most swear by their meat department.
Ukrops Grocery: Based in Richmond, the best customer service around. They take your groceries to your car. The best prepared foods around. Prices have come down recently and they are becoming much more competitive. I buy meat there on sale, great deals and great selection/ quality. They don’t sell cigarettes, or alcohol and close on Sunday.
There’s also a lot of loyalty toward Ukrop’s because they’re a VA bases companygreat for specialty items along with the best quality and locally grown produce when available.
Farm Fresh: (3 stores in Williamsburg) Started in Tidewater VA.
Pricing seems a little high to me, although they are reducing pricing as of late. Most of the stores have been remodeled recently. We shop there for specials on meat, salad bar and other items.
Some people swear by Farm Fresh, It seems as if there’s a lot of loyalty toward them in the area because they were locally owned until they were bought out by Supervalu, which is based in Minnesota and owns Save-A-Lot and Albertsons Grocery stores located in other areas. They’re a little expensive on certain items but do tend to run pretty good specials. I was so excited a couple weeks ago because they were running a Double and Triple Coupon special, but was disappointed because their regular price was so high that I only got about half the things I had coupons for.
Food Lion: ( two in Williamsburg) Pricing seems on par with others or a little lower. They recently remodeled two of the local Food Lion Stores into Bloom Stores (two in Williamsburg)in an attempt to take the chain upmarket, hardwood floors, mood lighting, etc.. I have a hard time getting past the fact that they used to be Food Lions..
As for the cheapest groceries and best value I would say Food Lion. The company that owns Food Lion also owns Bloom and Hannaford in the Northeast. They usually run very good MVP specials on many products on a weekly basis. Some claim they have a poor selection of groceries, which I would have agreed with years ago, but to me it seems similar to Kroger and Farm Fresh. They may not carry Skippy peanut butter in 3 different sizes, but they do carry it and it’s usually less per oz. than the jumbo size from other places. The Food Lion I shop at even has a decently sized organic selection which I’ll often get organic fruits and vegetables. As for the quality of their generic brands, I would rate it the same as anywhere else. Generic brands are usually repackaged national brands or at least the exact same thing among different chains. For instance, the Snack Alliance Inc. makes generic chips for Food Lion, Wal-Mart, Kroger, etc. and just changes the packaging. There shouldn’t be any difference between most generic brands from any store. The cons of Food Lion are that their stores aren’t as fancy, and they don’t have the numerous selection of various sizes on many items.
Base Commissaries: I grew up in a Navy Family , so the commissary was the main and almost only place we shopped. Back then the price differences were more extreme, I think. Plus you didn’t pay sales tax. If you are military you most likely still shop at a base commissary.
Harris Teeter is opening a store in Williamsburg. It will be on Rt 199 across from the entrance to Kingsmill. Due to open in 2009. It is under construction. We were all saddened that so many trees had to be cut down to build a grocery store I guess there will be a few on the east side of Williamsburg that will be happy to see it open. We have shopped at the Harris Teeter in Corolla, NC when we go to the beach. To me the prices seemed very high. That could just be a location thing.
We are also supposed to get a Wal Mart neighborhood Market in the New Town area of Williamsburg. It will be located very close to Trader Joes. I haven’t seem them break ground yet so who knows if/ when it will open.
In closing these are my random thoughts. I am one of those rare people who will drive 5 miles to buy Perdue boneless chicken breast for $1.88 a pound. My wife and I pass by all of these stores on an almost daily basis and we will dash in to get those few things that we like at each store.
So let the opinions fly. Check out all of the stores yourself. That’s why some drive Hondas and some drive Chevys, Fords and others.
Commenst welcome below !!
Happy 2009 !
John Womeldorf is Mr. Williamsburg, sharing his thoughts, real estate expertise, and “all things Williamsburg” in an effort to spread the word that Williamsburg and Hampton Roads, Virginia is the greatest place on earth to live!
This informational update provided by Mr Williamsburg.com/ John Womeldorf . A local Realtor assisting home buyers and sellers in the Hampton Roads and Williamsburg areas of Virginia.
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Filed under: Business, Grocery Stores, williamsburg va Tagged: | bloom, farm fresh, fresh market, grocery shopping williamsburg, grocery stores in williamsburg, harris teeter, trader joes, ukrops
