I was happy when the Grocery Outlet opened on Hickey last year,
because I'd heard such good things about it both here and on FB.
Unfortunately, they are all individually owned franchises and one
isn't necessarily like another... so you can only imagine my
disappointment when I realized what a cruddy store the one and only
one within a somewhat reasonable distance to me is.

Today, we went across the Bay to Fremont/Newark (to watch our GS's
basketball game) and chatting with DIL - I found out there was a great
Grocery Outlet near her. She said they had organic olive oil and lots
of other good finds scattered around the store at a good price. It
happened to be on our way home, so we stopped in to take a look and
walked out with $40 worth of groceries. We did the perimeter first.
The first great find was avocados at 2 for $1 and they weren't tiny.
Over in the meat case, we found bacon in full pound packages... Oscar
Mayer was $2.99 and a no name (but meaty) for $1.99. The bread
section had our favorite cracked wheat sourdough bread (same brand,
same everything) that we usually buy at Trader Joe's. We needed
bread, so we bought it there. Moving on, the candy section was to die
for. It had our favorite junk at a good price, so we walked away with
Nestle's Crunch and orange jellies coated in dark chocolate (which are
fresh and delicious). There were classier chocolates around the
corner, like 85% Lindt, but we had enough. Going up and down the
interior aisles, I found a product I hadn't heard of until last week
called Shellie Beans (I guess it's an East Coast thing), which are
canned green beans and canned pinto beans mixed together in one can...
so I thought "what the heck" and bought one. I'll figure out what to
do with them later.

The checkers are cheery and the store has various incentives for
customers - drawings twice a month where the customer and the person
who checked them out get a gift cart of $100 and if your purchase is
$75 or more, there's a wheel to spin and if you win, you get $30 off
your bill. Obviously, I like that store! We'll be sure to return
when we're over there. It's clean, easy to maneuver around and I felt
like I was on a treasure hunt!

That's a grand total of two that I've been in. Are most Grocery
Outlets like that one or is the other more typical?

--
Food is an important part of a balanced diet.

"sf" > wrote in message
...
>I was happy when the Grocery Outlet opened on Hickey last year,
> because I'd heard such good things about it both here and on FB.
> Unfortunately, they are all individually owned franchises and one
> isn't necessarily like another... so you can only imagine my
> disappointment when I realized what a cruddy store the one and only
> one within a somewhat reasonable distance to me is.
>
> Today, we went across the Bay to Fremont/Newark (to watch our GS's
> basketball game) and chatting with DIL - I found out there was a great
> Grocery Outlet near her. She said they had organic olive oil and lots
> of other good finds scattered around the store at a good price. It
> happened to be on our way home, so we stopped in to take a look and
> walked out with $40 worth of groceries. We did the perimeter first.
> The first great find was avocados at 2 for $1 and they weren't tiny.
> Over in the meat case, we found bacon in full pound packages... Oscar
> Mayer was $2.99 and a no name (but meaty) for $1.99. The bread
> section had our favorite cracked wheat sourdough bread (same brand,
> same everything) that we usually buy at Trader Joe's. We needed
> bread, so we bought it there. Moving on, the candy section was to die
> for. It had our favorite junk at a good price, so we walked away with
> Nestle's Crunch and orange jellies coated in dark chocolate (which are
> fresh and delicious). There were classier chocolates around the
> corner, like 85% Lindt, but we had enough. Going up and down the
> interior aisles, I found a product I hadn't heard of until last week
> called Shellie Beans (I guess it's an East Coast thing), which are
> canned green beans and canned pinto beans mixed together in one can...
> so I thought "what the heck" and bought one. I'll figure out what to
> do with them later.
>
> The checkers are cheery and the store has various incentives for
> customers - drawings twice a month where the customer and the person
> who checked them out get a gift cart of $100 and if your purchase is
> $75 or more, there's a wheel to spin and if you win, you get $30 off
> your bill. Obviously, I like that store! We'll be sure to return
> when we're over there. It's clean, easy to maneuver around and I felt
> like I was on a treasure hunt!
>
> That's a grand total of two that I've been in. Are most Grocery
> Outlets like that one or is the other more typical?

Same in my area, used to be one in my town but they closed. It was clean and
nice (is a Smart and Final now) Then there was the one in Stockton which was
dirty and really didn't have much of a selection at all. I didn't go back
after the first couple of times. I really wish they would bring one back to
my town.

Cheri

On Jan 12, 5:07*pm, sf > wrote:
> I was happy when the Grocery Outlet opened on Hickey last year,
> because I'd heard such good things about it both here and on FB.
> Unfortunately, they are all individually owned franchises and one
> isn't necessarily like another... so you can only imagine my
> disappointment when I realized what a cruddy store the one and only
> one within a somewhat reasonable distance to me is.
>
> Today, we went across the Bay to Fremont/Newark (to watch our GS's
> basketball game) and chatting with DIL - I found out there was a great
> Grocery Outlet near her. *She said they had organic olive oil and lots
> of other good finds scattered around the store at a good price. *It
> happened to be on our way home, so we stopped in to take a look and
> walked out with $40 worth of groceries. *We did the perimeter first.
> The first great find was avocados at 2 for $1 and they weren't tiny.
> Over in the meat case, we found bacon in full pound packages... Oscar
> Mayer was $2.99 and a no name (but meaty) for $1.99. *The bread
> section had our favorite cracked wheat sourdough bread (same brand,
> same everything) that we usually buy at Trader Joe's. *We needed
> bread, so we bought it there. *Moving on, the candy section was to die
> for. *It had our favorite junk at a good price, so we walked away with
> Nestle's Crunch and orange jellies coated in dark chocolate (which are
> fresh and delicious). *There were classier chocolates around the
> corner, like 85% Lindt, but we had enough. *Going up and down the
> interior aisles, I found a product I hadn't heard of until last week
> called Shellie Beans (I guess it's an East Coast thing), which are
> canned green beans and canned pinto beans mixed together in one can...
> so I thought "what the heck" and bought one. *I'll figure out what to
> do with them later.
>
> The checkers are cheery and the store has various incentives for
> customers - drawings twice a month where the customer and the person
> who checked them out get a gift cart of $100 and if your purchase is
> $75 or more, there's a wheel to spin and if you win, you get $30 off
> your bill. *Obviously, I like that store! *We'll be sure to return
> when we're over there. *It's clean, easy to maneuver around and I felt
> like I was on a treasure hunt!
>
> That's a grand total of two that I've been in. *Are most Grocery
> Outlets like that one or is the other more typical?
>
> --
> Food is an important part of a balanced diet.

I've only been to 2 of them, and the one nearest to me in Tacoma is
the better of the 2. I was getting Serrano ham for 2.99 a package, but
it was only there a short time. I have also bought Pomi brand pasta
sauces for .99 a box! Their stock seems to change weekly, so maybe
your next visit will be better?

"sf" > wrote in message
...
>I was happy when the Grocery Outlet opened on Hickey last year,
> because I'd heard such good things about it both here and on FB.
> Unfortunately, they are all individually owned franchises and one
> isn't necessarily like another... so you can only imagine my
> disappointment when I realized what a cruddy store the one and only
> one within a somewhat reasonable distance to me is.
>
> Today, we went across the Bay to Fremont/Newark (to watch our GS's
> basketball game) and chatting with DIL - I found out there was a great
> Grocery Outlet near her. She said they had organic olive oil and lots
> of other good finds scattered around the store at a good price. It
> happened to be on our way home, so we stopped in to take a look and
> walked out with $40 worth of groceries. We did the perimeter first.
> The first great find was avocados at 2 for $1 and they weren't tiny.
> Over in the meat case, we found bacon in full pound packages... Oscar
> Mayer was $2.99 and a no name (but meaty) for $1.99. The bread
> section had our favorite cracked wheat sourdough bread (same brand,
> same everything) that we usually buy at Trader Joe's. We needed
> bread, so we bought it there. Moving on, the candy section was to die
> for. It had our favorite junk at a good price, so we walked away with
> Nestle's Crunch and orange jellies coated in dark chocolate (which are
> fresh and delicious). There were classier chocolates around the
> corner, like 85% Lindt, but we had enough. Going up and down the
> interior aisles, I found a product I hadn't heard of until last week
> called Shellie Beans (I guess it's an East Coast thing), which are
> canned green beans and canned pinto beans mixed together in one can...
> so I thought "what the heck" and bought one. I'll figure out what to
> do with them later.
>
> The checkers are cheery and the store has various incentives for
> customers - drawings twice a month where the customer and the person
> who checked them out get a gift cart of $100 and if your purchase is
> $75 or more, there's a wheel to spin and if you win, you get $30 off
> your bill. Obviously, I like that store! We'll be sure to return
> when we're over there. It's clean, easy to maneuver around and I felt
> like I was on a treasure hunt!
>
> That's a grand total of two that I've been in. Are most Grocery
> Outlets like that one or is the other more typical?

I went to the one in Oakland once and only once. Only thing I bought was
some canned beets. It wasn't really dirty but it wasn't a pleasant place to
be in. Packed! And you had to stay in line next to forever.

The one here in Lynnwood is pretty dirty and seems to be teeming with
unsavory people. However I think that's partially a location thing.
Because the Old Country Buffet that is located in the same strip all also
has some odd characters. I didn't mind it so much although there really
wasn't much that we bought there aside from a liquid margarine that we no
longer use. They had a much cheaper price there. I didn't mind going into
that store so much but my mom and daughter severely disliked it and could
not be paid to set foot in there.

I have not been into the one in North Seattle but my friend has. She
avoided it for many years because she said the smell of sour milk whapped
you in the face when you walked in the door. But apparently it's not as bad
now because she is shopping there again. I have another friend who lives
somewhere in the vicinity of Monroe so not sure what store she shops at but
she shops there a lot. But... I think even if it were a nasty place she'd
continue to shop there because she is no longer working, has quite a few
kids and her husband doesn't ear a lot of money. So she has to buy cheap
things.

Sorry, I meant to post that to a local ng - not here.



--
Food is an important part of a balanced diet.

On Sat, 12 Jan 2013 18:38:25 -0800 (PST), merryb >
wrote:

> I've only been to 2 of them, and the one nearest to me in Tacoma is
> the better of the 2. I was getting Serrano ham for 2.99 a package, but
> it was only there a short time. I have also bought Pomi brand pasta
> sauces for .99 a box! Their stock seems to change weekly, so maybe
> your next visit will be better?

I've gone to the one I don't like twice, Merry and I had the same
impression both times which is probably why I'm so amazed at the other
one.

--
Food is an important part of a balanced diet.