Why Is Kroger the ONLY national "regular" grocery?

No one has mentioned Aldi yet...They have GREAT buys on produce and they have some interseting offerings from time to time.

Kroger's is terrible. The only reason I shop there is "location, location, location". They have all of the prime real estate. I normally shop at the Holiday Manor store early on Sunday mornings. As late as 10:00 in the morning, sometimes the butcher's case is still empty. I guess they figure everyone sleeps in on Sunday's ? And they promote their private label stuff like crazy which is usually inferior and takes away shelf space for the better brands. Except for a rare few, most of the staff could care less about customer service. We need a Pulbix !!! Or better yet, a Ukrops from Richmond, VA.

I think Kroger is fantastic, but I'm probably easy to please.

No one has mentioned Aldi yet...They have GREAT buys on produce and they have some interseting offerings from time to time.

The Aldi love-in was a few weeks ago: http://www.wineloverspage.com/forum/hotbytes/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=5146&p=50592&hilit=Aldi#p50534

I'm starting my day tomorrow at Aldi, as I know what they offer.

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!

The fact that you can compare, contrast and critique four traditional style grocery stores was kinda Eliza's point I think. We only have one.