Why Is Kroger the ONLY national "regular" grocery?

Man, I'd kill for a Gristede's supermarket here.

Pathmark or Shopright? Dagostino's anyone? Grand Union? Price Chopper?

When I was younger my Grandmother used to shop at Associated in Queens. (God, I miss New York... )

The Kroger in Middletown is pretty good...I have no complaints. I'm happy about the deli (Boars Head!!) and the produce is far better that what's dealt out at Walmart.

And the point brought up about WHICH Kroger you shop it is 100% correct. The one on Old Lagrange is not as good as the MiddleTown Kroger.

Later,

Steve

We shopped at Pathmark for 4 years in NJ, and it was, without doubt, the worst grocery store I've ever been around--not because all the products were bad, but because the layout was completely counterintuitive. Everyone I knew, from all over the country, found the layout confusing. After 3 years we found Twinings tea there, but it wasn't with the other tea. My wife asked the store manager, why isn't this with the other tea. And his answer was the clue that unlocked the conundrum known as Pathmark: they laid out the store by distributor. So Twinings tea was on the shelf with all the other specialty goods from that distributor.

After four years, we still couldn't remember where things were . . .

I agree that it is a PLEASURE to shop at Wegmans. I adore that grocery.

I don't mind Kroger. I shop between the Dirty Kroger/St Matthews Kroger and Dolls and I can get everything I usually need. I love that in my neighborhood I have access to so many places to shop. Especially when I add the close proximity of Lotsa Pasta. I can get everything I ever need.

My all time favorite grocery stores are the Lunds and Byerly's stores in Minneapolis/St. Paul. And then there is Central Market in Houston/San Antonio/ Dallas-ft. Worth. But here in Louisville, I'm quite happy with Fresh Market and Paul's Fruit Market with occasionally stops at Doll's, Lotsa Pasta and Burger's.

The Middletown Kroger is the closest to me. It's all right. I buy my paper and cleaning supplies there. But within the last month I have stopped at the Prospect Kroger and the one near Westport and Hurstborne. They both seemed to offer more than the Middletown Kroger IMO.

I agree that it is a PLEASURE to shop at Wegmans. I adore that grocery.

How long has it been since you've been to a new Wegmans? I had the pleasure of visiting one of their new stores three years ago in Dulles Virginia. While the older ones are great this store was remarkable. A remarkable food selection, gorgeous produce, a huge deli with an eating balcony area and a wine cellar that include wines up to $1000 a bottle (and the wines were reasonably priced). It was certainly the best grocery store I've ever been to, chain or independent. Unfortunately I don't think we'll ever get one here.

When I lived in St Matthews I enjoyed the Krogers on Hubbards Lane. The one out here on 146 is pretty sorry. I spend most my time at Meijers, Whole Foods and Fresh Market. Never cared for Winn-Dixie but only because their lighting was always so depressing. I miss the old A & Ps and Gateways.

I have actually been to a couple of other Krogers in town: the one in the Highlands on Bardstown, and the one in St. Matthews. To be honest, other than layout, I didn't notice much difference at all in the products or atmosphere.

I didn't mean to say that there aren't other bad grocery stores, or that other cities don't have it worse. I'd rather shop at Kroger than C-Town in New York, no question.

My real issue isn't how much Kroger sucks (and all three I've seen do in fact suck) it's that there's no choice. So much for free market capitalism.

I'll be sticking to my co-op, my CSA, and, for everything else, Doll's, Pauls, and Whole Foods. I'm very happy with the quality and selection I get, and my family manages to eat very well.

And, of course, I'll always miss my corner vegetables stand and cheese shop in Forest Hills. Not to mention the two or three minute drive to Flushing. Now THERE'S the best place to shop for food in America. And the Georgian bakery a couple of more minutes away. Aw, Queens, I miss it.

My biggest problem with Kroger is the meat . . . when a store advertises a special on "Kroger special select roast beef" not everyone realizes that this is "select" grade rather than prime or choice, and I feel that is bait & switch. That said, the Prospect Kroger has a much better selection than Holiday Manor, and we like Meijers.

Also, most of the Krogers & Meijers will order for you. We've asked for particular cuts of meat, for example, or certain specialized ingredients and had some (not all) Krogers & Meijers tell us to come back in two days and they had whatever we wanted. Other Krogers tell us that it's not on their list, or they will not do special orders in case we didn't show up to buy it.

I only shop at Kroger because the one on Goss is so close to our house. If we need to pick up something to complete a meal, or on the way home, it's easy to swing by. In general I find it to be relatively mediocre, but surprisingly it has an okay (not great) beer selection, with (oddly enough) an Ommegang display rack (usually the Ommegang bottles are on sale, I suspect I'm one of very few Ommegang fans who shop there). I'm assuming the better beer selection is a half-hearted attempt to compete with the ValuMarket in Mid-City Mall, which has a great selection (and where we shop more often).

We lived in St Louis for 17 years before moving here in 2005. There, you really had two local chains that dominated the market - Schnucks and Dierbergs, both owned by local families in STL. Schnucks was like Kroger, but Dierbergs was like Fresh Market, only with slightly lower prices. I had a choice in my neighborhood of either one, and it was great. They also had a few Walmart Supercenters and Targets with groceries, but not too many. There weren't any Krogers any more (I think they pulled out of that market a long time ago), or Safeway. There was another chain called Shop N Save, where you bagged your own groceries, but the meat, deli, bakery, and produce was not as good as either Schnucks or Dierbergs. I had a hard time when we moved here, really missed my grocery stores! Now I shop at either Kroger in Holiday Manor or Prospect. Not terribly impressed with either one, though.

Don't forget Straub's, Mary. They remind me a lot of the Valu-Market idea, but just a little more upscale.

All this talk of favorite groceries lead me to wander off to the website of my favorite grocery (Dorothy Lane Market in Dayton, OH). I soon came across this: http://www.dlmmailorder.com/viewitem.pl?id=149&category=69&sort=featured. I'm not much of a chocolate person, but I'm already considering buying some Killer Brownies via mail.

My only argument not to (other than I don't have the money) is: But it's such a treat to get one(or six) whenever you go to Dayton. So far, that argument is not moving me not to order. I've now moved on to the "but the mail ones will never be as good as the fresh ones" argument. I'm trying hard not to hit the order button...

We lived in St Louis for 17 years before moving here in 2005. There, you really had two local chains that dominated the market - Schnucks and Dierbergs, both owned by local families in STL. Schnucks was like Kroger, but Dierbergs was like Fresh Market, only with slightly lower prices. I had a choice in my neighborhood of either one, and it was great. They also had a few Walmart Supercenters and Targets with groceries, but not too many. There weren't any Krogers any more (I think they pulled out of that market a long time ago), or Safeway. There was another chain called Shop N Save, where you bagged your own groceries, but the meat, deli, bakery, and produce was not as good as either Schnucks or Dierbergs. I had a hard time when we moved here, really missed my grocery stores! Now I shop at either Kroger in Holiday Manor or Prospect. Not terribly impressed with either one, though.

Don't forget Straub's, Mary. They remind me a lot of the Valu-Market idea, but just a little more upscale.

Oh, yes, I did forget about Straubs - there was one in Webster Groves that I went to when I wanted something special - like their house-made chicken salad! It's legendary in STL! I kind of compare it to more to Fresh Market than Valu-Market, though. It was kind of like a baby Dierbergs!

Yeah, maybe closer to Fresh Market, but what I was getting at was that Straub's tends to tailor their stores to the local demographic. I lived in the CWE, and that Straub's had a lot of pre-made and made-to order food, and a smaller section of produce and normal food items (but a fantastic butcher). You could do your grocery shopping there, but it was more geared to getting pre-made or ready-to-cook meals. In that regard, it reminds me of ValuMarket, i.e., the Highlands ValuMarket is similar to the CWE Straub's and the Hurstbourne ValuMarket is probably more like the Webster Grove Straub's.

I've often wondered that too. For instance, the in-laws retired to Tucson, AZ a few years ago and I noticed on our visits there the number of larger grocery stores. They have:

Fry's (Kroger affiliate, I think)
Albertsons
Safeway
Bashas

They also have a Trader Joe's and a number of smaller indepedents I am sure.

Tucson has about the same population as Louisville so it is strange that we don't have a least one major traditional grocery store competitor to Kroger. Winn Dixie obviously was it before.

I've often wondered that too. For instance, the in-laws retired to Tucson, AZ a few years ago and I noticed on our visits there the number of larger grocery stores. They have:

Fry's (Kroger affiliate, I think)
Albertsons
Safeway
Bashas

They also have a Trader Joe's and a number of smaller indepedents I am sure.

Tucson has about the same population as Louisville so it is strange that we don't have a least one major traditional grocery store competitor to Kroger. Winn Dixie obviously was it before.

Fry's is owned by Krogers (but I always thought of it as a little dirtier).
Albertson's is too expensive and a lot of them have closed.
Safeway is decent, but honestly, it really is where ALL the old people shop, including my grandfather.
Basha's, the cheapest grocery of them all out there, but they really have little to no selection. It's a local chain, pretty much in Tucson and Phx and maybe a few of the outlying areas.
Funny, I always shopped at Frys out there, and now I shop at Kroger. They do have Trader Joe's though, and that was fantastic!