Save-A-Lot Carves Niche Serving Communities That Publix And Others Overlook

Tampa Bay Times ^ | Jan 16, 2017 | Justine Griffin

[Iron Munro]

The Preppers friend.

[Rebelbase]

****FOOD STAMPS BUSINESS MODEL****

[Daveinyork]

There was a Save-A-Lot in inner city York, PA. It closed because there was way too much shoplifting. It was replace by a ctore called C-town supermarkets, which remains open. I haven’t been in it yet. We like BJ’s and the Grocery Outlet.

[dirtboy]

Aldi is much better than Save-A-Lot.

[Nifster]

So the free Ariel works

[southern rock]

The store is located in a mostly empty shopping center with a Family Dollar store next door and a handful of other independent stores. However, the Save-A-Lot store stays busy nearly all hours of the day. In a marked contrast to the atmosphere of a typical suburban supermarkets, an armed security guard stands at the front of the store. "By moving into spaces where other grocery stores have closed or in lower-end centers where others won't go, Save-A-Lot is paying a pretty low rent,"

Sounds absolutely lovely.

[mom4melody]

There’s a New Save-a-lot near me. It’s clean, well organized, the produce is fresh and the meat selection good.

[N. Theknow]

In our town

Publix = Great produce, seafood(on sale), meat( on sale), deli, bakery.

Winn-Dixie = Can't beat their meat. Gasoline credit for spending amounts and special items.

Save-A-Lot = Adequate in most items, outstanding in none. Not financially necessary for me to shop there...yet.

Aldi = Some meats, some produce OK. Not as fresh as Publix or Winn-Dixie.

Local Bodega = Excellent produce! 1/2 to 1/3 the price of Publix. (Still cannot imagine what kind of dish uses cactus, which they offer)

[exDemMom]

I went into Save-A-Lot once, looking for something which I don’t think they had.

It was a little too much of a discount store for me. There is something about the super low price stores that puts me off. The commissary on the military base is further away, but it is decent and the prices are good.

[Dr. Sivana]

SAV-A-LOT is NOT cheaper than Aldi.

[chajin]

In my central FL community, there is a plethora of grocery stores: Publix on the high end, Winn-Dixie in the middle, and Sav-a-Lot, Aldi, and Wal-Mart on the low end. There seems to be enough of a market for them all.

Incidentally, none of them are anywhere near the location of Unity Dr. aka MLK; the closest grocery to there, Albertson’s, shut down three years ago.

[cyclotic]

We shop Aldi weekly. There’s a new competitor called Lidl that’s just starting. They are supposed to break ground in our town this month.

[Dr. Sivana]

Publix = Great produce, seafood(on sale), meat( on sale), deli, bakery.

Winn-Dixie = Can't beat their meat. Gasoline credit for spending amounts and special items.

Save-A-Lot = Adequate in most items, outstanding in none. Not financially necessary for me to shop there...yet.

Aldi = Some meats, some produce OK. Not as fresh as Publix or Winn-Dixie.

Local Bodega = Excellent produce! 1/2 to 1/3 the price of Publix. (Still cannot imagine what kind of dish uses cactus, which they offer)

We live in Columbus Georgia, with those stores plus Walmart Neighborhood Markets, Fresh Market and Piggly Wiggly. Much as I like Georgia, the Rockford, IL Woodman's is MUCH better than Publix/Winn-Dixie in terms of price & selection and Rockford's Logli/Schnuck's better for meat selection except for the Columbus Fresh Market, which is Whole Foods expensive, except for their weekly fresh ground chuck special, best deal outside of a dedicated butcher shop.

[9YearLurker]

Ha! I’ve always wondered that too!

This looks like a decent answer:

http://www.mexicoinmykitchen.com/2009/06/how-to-cook-cactus-paddles-nopales-como.html

[Sisku Hanne]

There are a couple good grocery outlets in the local area. Grocery Outlet Bargain Market in York & Lancaster, D&K in Red Lion. Sharp Shopper in Leola & Middletown. We go to Aldi's quite a bit, too.
I also find good buys at the Dollar Tree - 100% whole wheat bread, 1 dozen medium eggs (and occasionally 18 eggs!), 6 oz. packs cheddar jack cheese, 1 lb. mixed frozen veggies, and, occasionally, shelf-stable quarts of milk or 10 oz. canned chicken.

[RU88]

Each time I go to Save a Lot I’m amazed at what I walk out with for the price. Do they have everything? No. But you really can get some good deals in there. The key to shopping for any thing is knowing what the true cost of a product or service is. Without that knowledge you’ll never know if you’re saving money or not.

[SamAdams76]

Never heard of this chain before. Here are some pictures. They seem to specialize in pre-prepared processed convenience foods that you pop in a microwave, pour in a bowl and dump milk on top, etc.

It just seems to be that those who are pinching pennies would be better off buying raw ingredients in bulk and cooking from scratch at home.

[jalisco555]

Still cannot imagine what kind of dish uses cactus, which they offer

I just came back from a week in Mexico. I ate lots of dishes with cactus.

[metmom]

Publix is expensive.

My husband and I have shopped there when we went to FL to visit his mom, as that’s where she wanted us to shop for her, and it was way over priced.

[dirtboy]

There are prepared foods, but you can find what you need for your own cooking, such as meats, canned tomatoes, beans, spuds, pasta, etc. But Aldi has made a lot of strides in the quality department.