Charlotte Supermarkets

[mediamongrel]

what do you mean like a bomb? The few times I've been there everything seemed pretty orderly.

Hmmm...interesting

Harris Teeter has an UNHEARD OF price point on 3 items this coming Wednesday, while I cannot disclose the items or the pricing of the items, let's just say it's a first in company history, and the warehouse is projected to be out of stock on the items by Friday due to the extremely low price point. Get there while you can to avoid rainchecks...

[CLT]

Hmmm...interesting

Harris Teeter has an UNHEARD OF price point on 3 items this coming Wednesday, while I cannot disclose the items or the pricing of the items, let's just say it's a first in company history, and the warehouse is projected to be out of stock on the items by Friday due to the extremely low price point. Get there while you can to avoid rainchecks...

[/quote

Cool........I love a good deal, cant wait!!!!

[DigitalSky]

Hmmm...interesting

Harris Teeter has an UNHEARD OF price point on 3 items this coming Wednesday, while I cannot disclose the items or the pricing of the items, let's just say it's a first in company history, and the warehouse is projected to be out of stock on the items by Friday due to the extremely low price point. Get there while you can to avoid rainchecks...

ok you know, if you're gonna be cryptic about it....

[mediamongrel]

ok you know, if you're gonna be cryptic about it....

I didn't think that was cryptic, because cryptic involves giving a hint or two and I haven't really given any. All I am saying is that the other 3 main supermarket chains (Bi-Lo, Food Lion, and Lowes) wont be able to match this deal. This is a deal that will draw everybody to the store to pick up at least 2 out of the 3 items!!! Harris Teeter (and all other chains for that matter) usually set their sales displays up the day before the sale (Tuesday), which means you can narrow it down on Tuesday on which 3 items they are. If you want a slight idea of the specials I will tell you that they are each in different departments.

[DigitalSky]

I didn't think that was cryptic, because cryptic involves giving a hint or two and I haven't really given any. All I am saying is that the other 3 main supermarket chains (Bi-Lo, Food Lion, and Lowes) wont be able to match this deal. This is a deal that will draw everybody to the store to pick up at least 2 out of the 3 items!!! Harris Teeter (and all other chains for that matter) usually set their sales displays up the day before the sale (Tuesday), which means you can narrow it down on Tuesday on which 3 items they are. If you want a slight idea of the specials I will tell you that they are each in different departments.

So if I am there Wednesday at 12:01 AM...

[mediamongrel]

So if I am there Wednesday at 12:01 AM...

I suppose you would get the deals at the 24 hour HTs.

[DigitalSky]

I suppose you would get the deals at the 24 hour HTs.

Well, I'm back with my Dannon Spring Water, fresh Strawberries and HT Ice Cream.

[mediamongrel]

Well, I'm back with my Dannon Spring Water, fresh Strawberries and HT Ice Cream.

Congrats on getting there quick, you are probably one of the lucky ones because from what I have heard the warehouse may not be able to keep up with the demand on the strawberries and water. The ice cream shouldn't be a problem. If you think about it, you can barely get three 15 packs of water in a shopping cart at the same time.

[DigitalSky]

Interestingly enough, guess who wants to build another grocery store in Hutnersville. This time Harris Teeter wants to build one near Hopewell High School, but residents are trying to stop it from coming hoping that growth won't affect their suburban/semirural lifestyle.

[monsoon]

An update on the BiLo remodeling that I mentioned was taking place at their location in Huntersville.

They are now having a Grand Re-Opening. Their advertisements say this is a "Fresher, Quicker, Easier way to Shop". I got some junk mail from them that said "Come have a Look!" So I couldn't resist and I went and looked at it. They have put back some of the things that I said they had removed earlier as the flowers are back and there is a small area to sit down and eat. There is now a self serve salad bar. They have also added some of those mini shopping carts that FoodLion is putting in Bloome and are in some express HTs.

It looked as if all the BiLo brass was here as there were a bunch of middle aged men standing around with BiLo badges on their shirts. They were giving away some energy drinks and other free food. Some of the standing around management were eating the free stuff. (mainly the ones that were too big to fit in their clothes comfortably) Some kind of radio station was there too with big speakers on this van. And they had big balloons flying above the place in violation of Hunterville's sign law.

Maybe this is the hope for saving BiLo in NC. I will admit the store was clean for a change but that might change once the high ups are gone.

This particular Bilo caught on fire last night as the Huntersville Fire Brigade was there early this morning to put it out.

[DigitalSky]

Interestgingly enough, there's an article about how the lake area is stuffed with grocery stores, speaking about the possibility of the HT at Torrence Chapel become some sort of alternative food market. They didn't mention anything about the Village at Lake Norman though and its grocery possibilities. But again, they do state the obvious that you can literally see one Harris Teeter down the street from another and people are wondering how to choose in this seriously oversaturated grocery market. Additionally they've concluded that Charlotte's grocery prices are 98.8 percent of the national average.

[mediamongrel]

Interestgingly enough, there's an article about how the lake area is stuffed with grocery stores, speaking about the possibility of the HT at Torrence Chapel become some sort of alternative food market. They didn't mention anything about the Village at Lake Norman though and its grocery possibilities. But again, they do state the obvious that you can literally see one Harris Teeter down the street from another and people are wondering how to choose in this seriously oversaturated grocery market. Additionally they've concluded that Charlotte's grocery prices are 98.8 percent of the national average.

98.8 % of the national average is an interesting statistic. Even the low end grocery stores in the Charlotte market can be pricey. Bi-Lo is just as high as Lowes and HT on most items. Food Lion is cheaper on grocery items but about the same on produce, meat, and deli/bakery. The most reasonable grocery stores in the Charlotte market are probably the warehouses (however, you must be willing to spend about $200 in one trip) or Aldi's which has a great price on just about everything if you dont mind off brand items. What seems funny about the Charlotte grocery market is the total lack of local product from any of the chains. In the summer you see many corn, peach, strawberry, and other vegetable and fruit stands all over, yet most of the chain stores produce still comes from CA or somewhere out west. You think with the emphasis these companies place on "local" items and their store being a "Farmer's Market" that they would carry more local items. With all the colder weather product now arriving in NC stores, the public should plan to see prices on a lot of produce keep going up in the next few weeks. Last time I looked celery was nearing $3, and most apples are nearing $2 a pound. Also, has anyone noticed meats and salads are outrageous. Salmon is $10-15 a pound on sale, and bagged salads (premium varieties) are $3-4 a bag!!! You can go out to a restaurant and get a good grilled salmon and salad for under $20 at most restaurants, so the incentive to cook at home is defintiely slipping away. The days of it "being cheaper to cook at home" are definitely in trouble. I'd say Charlotte area grocers will just continue to raise prices if people continue to buy the groceries. Personally, I can't see buying luncheon meat for $8.99/lb. at Lowes or a red pepper for $2.99 at HT. These are seriously over the top!

[nmcheese]

^ Check out the Food Bazaar or Mega Food Bazaar and the different Asian specialty grocers around town for a different spin on shopping for food - prices that range from cheaper than HT to really-surprisingly-cheap - along with a more diverse selection of produce (Using the aisle-o-peppers: fresh, dried, roasted you name it at the Food Bazaar stores as an example) - even though they're typically not located in the most convenient neighborhoods it's worth the short drive sometimes to find interesting food and save some cash.

For daily groceries I tend to walk to the local HT, but when it comes time to really cook I'll be driving to the Asian mall on N. Tryon

Anyone have definite dates on when the Trader Joe's will be opening? I'm looking forward to those.

Edited March 1, 2007 by nmcheese

[DigitalSky]

MM, it's interesting you bring up the lack of locally grown products in our supermarkets. I agree, it is an absurd situation to see your strawberries shipped in from Watsonville, California when you know you can get them right down Providence Road. I think in these cases the Farmers Market is an asset to us. There's an emphasis on eating locally grown products (some people say that people should eat locally grown because we should eat according to what grows in the climate in which we live). I honestly wish Charlotte had a grocery co-op store.

Here's a list of other Co-Op's throughout the state

http://cooperativegrocer.coop/coops/index....y&Submit=Go

# Hendersonville Community Co-op - Hendersonville

# French Broad Food Co-op -Asheville

# Durham Co-op Grocery - Durham

# Deep Roots Market - Greensboro

# Tidal Creek Foods Co-op - Wilmington

# Weaver Street Market - Carrboro

# Weaver Street Market - Chapel Hill

# Chatham Marketplace - Pittsboro

# Haywood Road Market - Asheville

Why doesn't Charlotte have a co-op?

[Justadude]

Hispanic groceries are the way to go if you really want to shop cheap. Of course, on certain items you get what you pay for (especially meat), but it's amazing how many items can be half-price or less compared to identical products at the chain stores.

[mediamongrel]

In investigating the point of oversaturation of grocery stores, someone needs to get the figures on whether Mecklenburg County sets a national if not a north american record for grocery stores in a certain county. In some places Food Lion has a lot of stores, but for being a city of 750,000-1,000,000 people, I have never seen a grocery store like Harris Teeter that has 45 (and counting) stores in one county (Mecklenburg), and is planning to build more. I remember there being an area up north near southern Mass. where there were about 10-15 Shaw's supermarkets in one city (with roughly the same population as Charlotte) and I thought that was a lot. What's with the obsession for oversaturation? At some point everyone will start getting pissed at HT, apparently like the people in Huntersville.

[monsoon]

Interestingly enough, guess who wants to build another grocery store in Hutnersville. This time Harris Teeter wants to build one near Hopewell High School, but residents are trying to stop it from coming hoping that growth won't affect their suburban/semirural lifestyle.

Unfortunately the owners of that property have a grandfathered zoning approval that came from the very derelict Mecklenburg country commission before Huntersville gained control over that land in the late 90s. If it was just a Huntersville decision it would not be built but they had to work with the developer since their attempts to stop the development entirely was blunted in court. The organizers of the law suit should be suing the developer instead of the city since that is only going to waste their time.

I think Harris Teeter has become one of the worst businesses for sustainable Charlotte in that they have probably plowed down more greenspace in this county for their strip malls, than any other business in the city.

[DigitalSky]

^you might just be right.

In investigating the point of oversaturation of grocery stores, someone needs to get the figures on whether Mecklenburg County sets a national if not a north american record for grocery stores in a certain county. In some places Food Lion has a lot of stores, but for being a city of 750,000-1,000,000 people, I have never seen a grocery store like Harris Teeter that has 45 (and counting) stores in one county (Mecklenburg), and is planning to build more. I remember there being an area up north near southern Mass. where there were about 10-15 Shaw's supermarkets in one city (with roughly the same population as Charlotte) and I thought that was a lot. What's with the obsession for oversaturation? At some point everyone will start getting pissed at HT, apparently like the people in Huntersville.

I think Atlanta is the same with Publix/Kroger though. I know there are people pissed at HT just as there are people waving signs that say "Bring HT to my neighborhood!"

[monsoon]

Couple observations about the grocery store situation at the lake.

Eckerds Drugs is redeveloping a former Lowes supermarket in downtown Cornelius. This store was once the only Lowes in Mecklenburg county. What is interesting about this is that Eckerds apparently is getting into the grocery business as this location plans to sell groceries much like a grocery store. This is the first time I have seen this with an Eckerds but it may not be the first time they have tried it. It will be interesting to see how this works out since there is one of those FreshLook Food Lions across the street. For reference, this is right where the proposed Cornelius train station is supposed to be built.

The new Harris Teeter in Davidson looks like it could be a two story facility. This is because of the very tight development requirements that Davidson correctly made HT follow with becoming part of this development. It's one of the only new developments in the county, or NC for that matter, that actually is built as part of the existing town without looking like an island of new urbanism stuck in the middle of sprawl. Because of the tight space, all of the buildings are two stories including the new HT. It remains to be seen if they will actually have the store on two levels.

[mediamongrel]

I know there are people pissed at HT just as there are people waving signs that say "Bring HT to my neighborhood!"

Not being sarcastic, but who is saying that?

[Neo]

Eckerds Drugs is redeveloping a former Lowes supermarket in downtown Cornelius. This store was once the only Lowes in Mecklenburg county. What is interesting about this is that Eckerds apparently is getting into the grocery business as this location plans to sell groceries much like a grocery store. This is the first time I have seen this with an Eckerds but it may not be the first time they have tried it.

Wasn't Eckerds recently purchased by RiteAid? Perhaps they have some influence in them offering groceries now?

[grodney]

My wife did an item-by-item price comparison of Wal-Mart vs. Harris Teeter in Sep 2005. I thought some here might be interested. I don't think there's anything surprising here, it's just fun to look at actual figures sometimes.

http://www.rodneygardner.com/grocery.jpg

http://www.rodneygardner.com/grocery.xls

Notes:

- HT has VIC specials from time-to-time. These are not included in the comparison.

- My wife readily acknowledges some quality differences on meat/produce.

- It is 32 miles round-trip to the Galleria Wal-Mart vs. having 3 (or 4 or 5!) HT's within a very short drive. Thus more gas money is spent getting to and from Wal-Mart.

- This is a price comparison only, and doesn't take into account the obvious tangibles and intangibles of the shopping experience. (Say, for instance, my wife being half-way through checkout (juggling our 3-year old and 6-month old) and having the Wal-Mart checker ask her to return to the back corner of the store to get a different carton of eggs due to a missing bar code sticker.)

[mediamongrel]

My wife did an item-by-item price comparison of Wal-Mart vs. Harris Teeter in Sep 2005. I thought some here might be interested. I don't think there's anything surprising here, it's just fun to look at actual figures sometimes.

<a href="http://www.rodneygardner.com/grocery.jpg"'>http://www.rodneygardner.com/grocery.jpg" target="_blank">http://www.rodneygardner.com/grocery.jpg

</a>http://www.rodneygardner.com/grocery.xls

Notes:

- HT has VIC specials from time-to-time. These are not included in the comparison.

- My wife readily acknowledges some quality differences on meat/produce.

- It is 32 miles round-trip to the Galleria Wal-Mart vs. having 3 (or 4 or 5!) HT's within a very short drive. Thus more gas money is spent getting to and from Wal-Mart.

- This is a price comparison only, and doesn't take into account the obvious tangibles and intangibles of the shopping experience. (Say, for instance, my wife being half-way through checkout (juggling our 3-year old and 6-month old) and having the Wal-Mart checker ask her to return to the back corner of the store to get a different carton of eggs due to a missing bar code sticker.)

Interesting stuff, it's funny no one ever thinks of gas to get from place to place. What money do you really save when you drive cross town as you noted.

[grodney]

Interesting stuff, it's funny no one ever thinks of gas to get from place to place. What money do you really save when you drive cross town as you noted.

Well, she gets near 30 mpg, so with a 32 mile round trip, she's barely over a gallon. So somewhere around 3 bucks extra in gas, depending on current prices. Not huge, but it does dip into the savings on groceries.

[peaceloveunderstanding]

Well... How much is your time worth?

If you mostly buy what's on sale, the difference isn't too great.