State of the big chain grocery stores

[Roy G Biv]

You know, I have to retract my earlier statement. My wife and I needed some groceries this morning after dropping off the kids at Winchester Public School, and she said let's go to No Frills. Turns out she shops there all the time. So, I went in, and was very pleased with the super clean and polished floors, quality of produce and products and overall cleanliness. So, there you have it, the Admiral was wrong....yes...again, I know.

I admire the store in an odd way. Everything is going against it: wacky customers, overcrowding etc, but they manage to keep it together. It's not anything special, but it's solid.

 

[Mustapha]

Anyone grocery shop at Wal-Mart?

(Just asking, because it's supposedly the big industry bogeyman.)

it's good only for frozen and shelved items. Meat would be of the vacuum sealed kind, bacon, ham, baloney, etc.

Prices are on par with no frills.

 

[nfitz]

I confess there are several of the President's Choice items that will keep me at Loblaw's, and No Thrill's (the one on Coxwell is normally pretty clean, given the building is so old).

But it is bizarre how much bigger the Loblaws have gotten, and how much smaller the choice of products has become. They just don't stock many common items any more - not even in the big Superstores. An example - Breton crackers with sesame seeds - you can find them easily most places except Loblaws. But they used to have them, and they all disappeared. And then it seems to be increasingly hard to find the shelves stocked at any time of the day.

 

[Skeezix]

But it is bizarre how much bigger the Loblaws have gotten, and how much smaller the choice of products has become. They just don't stock many common items any more - not even in the big Superstores. An example - Breton crackers with sesame seeds - you can find them easily most places except Loblaws. But they used to have them, and they all disappeared. And then it seems to be increasingly hard to find the shelves stocked at any time of the day.

Agreed. I mentioned the same thing in my earlier post. It isn't simply a problem keeping things in stock. But they are also simply not stocking as many products. Over the course of last year, they just stopped selling several varieties of products that we had always bought.

Very annoying, since one of the anticipated benefits of shopping in a monster-store is that they have a monster-selection. Not the case with Loblaws.

 

[Chuck]

Here's the golden rule of grocery shopping:

If it comes in a can, buy it at No Frills. If it was alive last week, buy it at Loblaws.

 

[Mustapha]

Here's the golden rule of grocery shopping:

If it comes in a can, buy it at No Frills. If it was alive last week, buy it at Loblaws.

Did you come up with this? Very good. A memorable piece of advice.

 

[Urban Shocker]

And don't buy anything at Dominion because some of it is still alive.

 

[Admiral Beez]

And don't buy anything at Dominion because some of it is still alive.

Are you referring to the lobster and fish tanks?

 

[BuildTO]

Dominion seems to love cramming it stores into tiny spaces. I have no idea how people can shop at the College Park store. It's so tiny and so busy!

That store is the closest to me, and I have tried numerous times to shop there, but it makes me crazy. I hate it; it is cramped, has poor selection, and most staff seem indifferent. I swear it raises my blood pressure. The last time I went in there was in the afternoon rush hour, and it was so crowded I left immediately (although not before running into another UrbanTO forumer!). I opt for the Gould Street Dominion, where at least there's room to breathe.

 

[CDL.TO]

Hey Jonny5. Look like you and I are in the same neighbourhood. I agree about the No Frills on St. Clair. The produce is terrible and it's always so busy that I feel that the money I am saving is quickly cancelled out by the time I spend waiting in line at the cash.

I don't mind Forest Hill Loblaws. The produce section is huge and has some great selection. But I totally relate to the complaints about empty shelves (so it's not just me noticing it!), which seems totally inexplicable.

There's a couple more alternatives in the nabe that you might not be familiar with. There's a Loblaws at Christie and Dupont which is just as big as Forest Hill market, but both times I've shopped there it's been far less busy.

There's also a Sobey's at Shaw and Dupont. It's smaller than the Loblaws locations and fairly expensive, but it's open 24 hours and usually has some good sales.

There's a place called Fiesta Farms on Christie 3 blocks south of Dupont. It's an independent full grocery store. I've never been in, but I've seen their canvas bags in the hands of many people in the St. Clair neighbourhood.

My favourite No Frills is the former Knob Hills at Dundas and Lansdowne. It's really busy, but has practically every department that a Loblaws location does (Fresh Seafood, Pharmacy, Bakery) and far superior selection for grocery items. They did a great job on the conversion.

 

[CDL.TO]

Oh, and going off on a tangent...

I've bought a packaged of smoked fish on 3 occasions from Forest Hill Loblaws. The label states that the package contains:

SMOKED STEELHEAD SALMON
TRUITE ARC-EN-CIEL FUMEE

So the French section of the label states that it's smoked rainbow trout. It's a good price and is very tasty, but the label continues to perplex me.

 

[Admiral Beez]

So the French section of the label states that it's smoked rainbow trout. It's a good price and is very tasty, but the label continues to perplex me.

Ah, my training in the fish feed biz in New Brunswick finally comes in useful. Rainbow trout and Steelhead Salmon are in fact the same salmonid fish. The term Steelhead Salmon is used for the subtype of the Rainbow Trout that makes it to the ocean to breedm and then returns to spawn in the fresh water rivers. Rainbow Trout do not leave the fresh water at all. Both are farm raised for supermarkets, so they're the exact same fish.

 

[unimaginative2]

Well that ruins a perfectly hilarious story! Haha... Tell us more of your fish knowledge, Beez!

 

[CDL.TO]

Ah, my training in the fish feed biz in New Brunswick finally comes in useful. Rainbow trout and Steelhead Salmon are in fact the same salmonid fish. The term Steelhead Salmon is used for the subtype of the Rainbow Trout that makes it to the ocean to breedm and then returns to spawn in the fresh water rivers. Rainbow Trout do not leave the fresh water at all. Both are farm raised for supermarkets, so they're the exact same fish.

Very interesting. Thanks, Beez.

 

[Observer Walt]

Well you learn something or other every day; thanks for that tidbit!