Is your go to grocery store a mega sized, tiny, or specialty store?

[firefly_ris]

I'm all over the place... after a while when you buy the same items regularly you start to remember where they are cheaper.

So one week I'll do an Aldi & Wegmans run, they are right across the street from each other. I get as much on my list as I can at Aldi, then head over to Wegmans to finish up the list. I buy mostly Wegmans brand items and only a few name-brand things (like Chobani yogurt or whatever). Our Aldi was recently re-modeled and they have more selection now. I can get about 95% of my fruit and veg there, and I also like getting "special" once-in-a-while things from there like smoked salmon or prociutto, much cheaper.

On the weeks that I don't do Aldi/Wegmans, I see what's going on in the Tops (our local chain) flyer, circle any BOGO, Meal Deal, or coupon items and go there ONLY for those things (Tops is generally more expensive than Wegmans otherwise, so only useful for the BOGO stuff). I'll also briefly stop at Walmart, as there are a few items that are a lot less there (lately, Morningstar Buffalo "Chik'n" patties... they're like $7 at Tops but only $3.67 at Walmart!).

Then lastly, my DH is in charge of Sam's Club which we use for TP, paper towels, kids lunch snacks, shampoo, etc. He has to go there usually every 2 weeks to stock up the office so while he's there he'll grab stuff. If it's dead of winter he can get good deals on meat and fish since it's OK to leave that in the truck the rest of the day when it's -10 out...

 

[L&Lfan]

I go to Acme, just a regular sized grocery store. I prefer it to Shop Rite which is nearby.

 

[TipsyTraveler]

My go-to grocery store is having AmazonFresh delivered to my door. Should I have to actually go to a store in person, I would end up at Food Lion, Giant, or Whole Foods depending on what I needed to buy.

 

[Belle_1989]

We shop at Aldi 95% of the time and the other 5% we shop at Kroger for produce because the quality tends to be better.

 

[mnrose]

Between Costco and Aldi, we spend 99% of our food dollars. The other 1% is at a local grocery store for things those two places don't sell. The one exception is that we buy the vast majority of our meat (chicken, pork and beef) from a local farmer. And, my husband raises of lot of vegetables in his garden. So, Costco and Aldi serve our needs nicely most of the time for things we buy in a store. I can't even remember the last time I was in a Cub of Hyvee (the two big regular grocery stores near me).

 

[cabanafrau]

I wonder if Aldi in our area has remodeled or expanded since I checked them out? When I did I really didn't find much to recommend them, lots of processed foods mainly.

 

[amberpi]

We go a butcher/farmer's market a lot when available, but we love Aldi too (Instacart of course!). We'll grab a couple of things at Target sometimes if we need a Target run and just need beer and radishes or whatever. We go to World Market often and about once a month I Instacart from Kroger for a few things I don't like from Aldi.

Weird thing about different Aldi's I guess, the one next to us is quite large actually and has a lot of decent produce (fruit more than vegetables, but the fruit is quality and CHEAP, the vegetables are as good as Kroger). It's fairly new though, so perhaps that's the difference?

 

[mrodgers]

Grocery store? Nope, way too expensive. I can't afford that. Walmart? Nope, their meat and produce is disgusting, and besides the shelves are completely empty every time I'm in there. Aldis? Maybe, for salad and vegetables, but I'm a meat eater. Sam's Club? No freezer and no room for a freezer and it's usually just me.

Pizza Pie, Wendy's, Firehouse Subs, I grocery shop at a lot of places, LOL.

 

[kaytieeldr]

It is a pain sometimes that you have to buy an entire bag of onions when you only need one, but that bag is the same price as just one at Publix.

Wash, peel, chop, bag, freeze. You may nevrr ever need to buy another onion!

 

[BrinkofSunshine]

I do 98% of my shopping at Trader Joe’s, supplemented by Publix. Soon I’ll be moving closer to a Lucky’s Market and a local grocery store that carries only meat and produce, so I’m excited to start shopping at those more. But I do love my TJ’s!

 

[Southernmiss]

Neighborhood Walmart except meats. So easy to get in and out of. Everyone shopping or working there is there with a purpose and not dawdling in the aisles.

Meats come from local store with a butcher cut to order in bulk and divided to servings or Winn Dixie which will do the same.

 

[cvjw]

Tried Aldi’s a few times, but just didn’t like it. The line to check out was always horrendous and it just had a cheap Walmart vibe to it.

We had a sprouts open up in my neighborhood last year, and that is where I do most of my shopping. Everything is so fresh and healthy - I just love the whole shopping experience.

I still run to Kroger or Publix once or twice a week to purchase the items I can’t get at sprouts.

Oh, and we also shop at Costco for items that we can buy in bulk.

 

[Minnesota!]

HyVee, Target, Aldi. Target is closest, so that gets the most usage.

 

[hereyago]

I sometimes go to Walmart,ugh.

Kroger and Publix are my usual places.

Aldi, not a fan.
Haven't been to Lidl yet.

 

[Kitty 34]

just normal size if there's a normal anymore........

 

[Meriweather]

Fry's and Costco are my go to stores

 

[J'aime Paris]

Living in a suburb of a large city, we have them all! And I like to bum around, so I hit up several weekly.
Costco, Woodman's, Piggly Wiggly, Sendik's, Aldi, Outpost Foods, Metro Market, Target, WalMart, etc., etc.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Walmart for most things, Costco for other things and Aldi for other things. Aldi isn't as close to us as it used to be when my husband lived in his one apartment (I lived across town in another apartment) so it's a bit more of a trek.

If I'm going to Costco though I can more easily go to Aldi because they are close enough to each other. Walmart is less than 3 miles from my house.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Weird thing about different Aldi's I guess, the one next to us is quite large actually and has a lot of decent produce (fruit more than vegetables, but the fruit is quality and CHEAP, the vegetables are as good as Kroger). It's fairly new though, so perhaps that's the difference?

Not all of our Aldi locations are the same size.

I think newer ones or more recently remodeled ones might be going in favor of larger aisles, wider selection, less restricted movement throughout the store, etc. The main location we go to is a smaller older style one.

 

[bigbabyblues]

No mega stores around here. Our town has a Super Walmart and an Aldi and that's it for grocery stores. We do most of our weekly shopping at Walmart on the weekends. We much prefer Kroger, but the nearest one is 45 miles away near where my husband works. On weeks that he works Friday (24 hour shift), he shops there on Saturday mornings when he gets off work. We don't go down there just for Kroger weekly.