Saturday, October 24, 2009

hunting and gathering around town

Why you should shop at Stater Brothers and not Vons:
1. The large bottle of Grey Poupon is THREE DOLLARS CHEAPER. Unfortunately, I discovered that in the bad way, not the good way.
2. If you buy two bags of Doritos (I learned from the woman ahead of me in line), the cashier will say, "Are you sure you don't want to get a third bag? It's buy-two-get-one-free, you know." I've never seen that at Vons.

I stopped by the PBC to pick up a loaf of bread on my way home from errand-running this morning. I've never been there on a saturday (usually I'm a 7am-on-weekdays girl), but the place was thronged. I had to wait outside for 10 minutes. Dan & Jess report that business is booming, in large part due to the Western U folks. Who doesn't love a tale of local business success that doesn't begin with negotiation through a car window?

7 comments:

Andrew said...

did you know that supermarkets still take rain checks on sale items that are sold out? My wife does it all the time. She totally schooled me on that.

Goddess of Pomona said...

Wife? Did you get married Anduhrew?

K said...

I've totally run into at least on cashier there who not only points out what's on sale, but is ready to dig up a coupon for it on the spot for you. Yow! That's so cool!b

Pride in Garfield Park said...

I feel like a bad neighbor for saying it, but I avoid Stater Bros whenever possible. It seems I can never find what I'm actually looking for and the crowds and lines are overwhelming.

We do most of our shopping at the Saturday farmers marker, Winco, and the Claremont Trader Joes.

Stew doesn't mind Stater Bros, so he'll go there for solo trips. I'm generally happy with Cardenas and Hoa Binh, but I rarely go to either for staple products.

Anonymous said...

We are believers in Fresh & Easy and Trader Joes (Claremont).
Sometimes the budget can also push us twords Big Lots.
Mark & Mike

Skrip said...

Every month I drive across Pomona diagonally for about 3.5 miles to Food 4 Less on Garey. No market can beat their prices, I get so much food for so little! Of course, I usually go on a Tuesday or Wednesday in the morning. No crowds and everything is fast. We used to have 2 Food 4 Less out here in the Northeast, one on Indian Hill/Holt and the other in Montclair(both closed).

The next market is usually Albertsons. Either the one on Foothill & Garey (which is rumored to be closing soon) or the one in Upland on Mountain/Foothill. We had one here on Indian Hill but it also closed a few years back. Their prices are getting 'VONS'ish though, and I'm staying away more than ever. (But they've got some good beer sales!)

As for others, we do the Mex-Ranch markets for specialty stuff (carne, seafood, mex veggies etc) as needed. Trader Joe's we do when we have extra cash and crave wine and silly goods.

And always, the bi-monthly Costco trip in Montclair.

robin said...

I tried Cardenas market after reading a comment here. I could not read the signs, why no english translation? I live here too, ya know. I was very disappointed with the service. Checkout ook forever, and there was only one person ahead of me. The cashier did not even say hello or anything else to me, not one word. My parting words were "I don't think I'll ever shop here again".

I found some produce at a very good price, but some other items I sought were expensive with only one choice.

I prefer Stater Brothers by far.