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Grocery stores in Greater Providence

reverand

By reverand
in Providence

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matt Hamlet

matt

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I walked by the old Valueland site on Smith St the other day to find a gentleman taking pictures. I stopped to inquire and he mentioned that a client of his was considering rehabbing the building and opening a market. He had been interested before, but was put off by the opening of the Walmart. Now that Walmart is open and not a super-duper he is considering this location again.

Fingers crossed. I would love a reputable market here!

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basachs Burg

basachs

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I'm just curious, since you are a self proclaimed grocery store snob what are you looking for in your ideal store? Have you every found one that met your needs and if not where there ones which, if combined, would be what you were looking for?

I find both good and bad things in almost all "decent" grocery stores, but I would like to know what a more critical eye is looking for.

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runawayjim Metropolis

runawayjim

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the way i look at grocery stores, especially from what basachs is saying, is that they carry everything. it may not be the best products, but they have it all for those who like to go to one store to get everything. if you want the best quality fish, you go to a fish market that only does fish. if you want the best quality meats, you go to a butcher shop (and even that can get narrowed down to italian, portugese, polish, etc). if you want good health/natural food, you go to a health food store. if you want good cheese, you go to a cheese shop. if you want good bread, you go to a bakery (although i will admit to liking shaw's bakery). you're not going to find the best of everything all rolled into 1 place. while i admit that when i travel, i don't go around looking for shops and grocery stores, and i have only lived in new england, so i don't know much else (although my fiancee lives in philly, so i know what they've got, which isn't much better, except in produce and health foods). she goes a grocery store (super fresh, related to super foodmart) much larger than the shaw's i go to, and they have a smaller selection of ice cream. sure, they have better produce and a larger health food section, but they have a smaller selection in other areas.

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Recchia Town

Recchia

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I stopped at Trucchi's on my lunch break today and am now convinced it is my favorite supermarket. It's clean, the bakery/prepared foods are excellent, all their prices are cheaper than Shaw's, I have never EVER waited long in line and have always had a nice pleasant cashier.

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runawayjim Metropolis

runawayjim

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I stopped at Trucchi's on my lunch break today and am now convinced it is my favorite supermarket. It's clean, the bakery/prepared foods are excellent, all their prices are cheaper than Shaw's, I have never EVER waited long in line and have always had a nice pleasant cashier.
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f1rehead Whistle-Stop

f1rehead

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I'm kind of a supermarket snob (my father owned one and had interest in several others and I grew up in and around them). So... the best supermarkets IMNSHO are Wegman's and Harris Teeter, neither of which are likely to come to RI any time soon. What's great about them? Fresh produce, large selection of staples as well as so-called ethnic foods, lots of prepared foods (doesn't mean much to me, but it matter to a lot of people and I do enjoy the smells), freshly cut meats, clean floors and shelves, good lighting, and lots of checkout aisles. They pay attention to every little detail, even things like having good shopping carts. You just don't see that at Shaws or Stop and Shop.

One additional criteria that I use which is irrelevant here, and likely to remain so, is a large and deep selection of beer and wine.

Wegman's and Harris Teeter are both well-known for being great stores. The Shaws at Chapel View comes closest to this ideal of any store I've visited in RI or Mass, though certainly it falls well short. I've learned to avoid Stop and Shop stores like they are plague-infested (which most of them seem to be -- which is weird since it's the same owners as Giant in the DC area and Giant isn't nearly as grotty as Stop and Shop, though you could probably make a similar comparison between Albertson's and Shaws and reach a similar conclusion).

Both Shaws and Stop and Shop have pretty bad produce and a limited meat selection, no matter where you shop. The Shaws in Eagle Sq. is badly lit and the floors and shelves are dirty, but their food selection is good. I usually go to Chapel View since it's right next to my office, though the selection of 'ethnic' foods isn't as good as Eagle Sq. I also like the 'urban' quality of the Eagle Sq. location better than the suburban vibe you get at the Chapel View store.

Eastside Market, et al, are too small (and often too expensive). I like Whole Foods, but their selection of "conventional" foods is limited and I usually end up going to Shaws anyway. WF is also usually so crowded it's uncomfortable and difficult to shop.

Anyway, those are my loosely-connected thoughts on the issue. What is it about New Englanders that they don't demand better supermarkets?

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runawayjim Metropolis

runawayjim

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i'm glad the beer/wine issue will remain the way it is. it allows smaller liquor stores to stay in business and not have to compete with larger chains that can sell stuff cheaper. it keeps a better selection of beer and wine available in the smaller stores. there was a big discussion on it over at beeradvocate.com regarding the referendum in MA in november to allow grocery stores to sell beer. the consensus was that the selection available would be lost as liquor stores would be forced to carry more cheaper beer and wine to compete.

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f1rehead Whistle-Stop

f1rehead

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i'm glad the beer/wine issue will remain the way it is. it allows smaller liquor stores to stay in business and not have to compete with larger chains that can sell stuff cheaper. it keeps a better selection of beer and wine available in the smaller stores. there was a big discussion on it over at beeradvocate.com regarding the referendum in MA in november to allow grocery stores to sell beer. the consensus was that the selection available would be lost as liquor stores would be forced to carry more cheaper beer and wine to compete.
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basachs Burg

basachs

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i'm glad the beer/wine issue will remain the way it is. it allows smaller liquor stores to stay in business and not have to compete with larger chains that can sell stuff cheaper. it keeps a better selection of beer and wine available in the smaller stores. there was a big discussion on it over at beeradvocate.com regarding the referendum in MA in november to allow grocery stores to sell beer. the consensus was that the selection available would be lost as liquor stores would be forced to carry more cheaper beer and wine to compete.
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runawayjim Metropolis

runawayjim

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f1rehead, check nikki's in north providence for selection.

it's been my experience, especially in CT and the places i've been in philly to buy beer, that the grocery stores have poor selection and the liquor stores don't have a whole lot more. the places in philly that sell beer near my fiacee don't even have victory, which is only an hour outside of philly. in CT, at least near my hometown (and even the liquor stores near uconn) have a decent selection, but not a whole lot of good beer. even in NH and ME, the beer selection is pretty poor in most of the places i've been.

so while the little guy might not get hurt (which is the case in CT because grocery stores can only sell beer, not wine or hard liquor), the selection tends to lack a bit because the little guy needs to be able to compete with the big guy, so shelf space for a microbrew might be taken up by some extra bud.

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f1rehead Whistle-Stop

f1rehead

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f1rehead, check nikki's in north providence for selection.

it's been my experience, especially in CT and the places i've been in philly to buy beer, that the grocery stores have poor selection and the liquor stores don't have a whole lot more. the places in philly that sell beer near my fiacee don't even have victory, which is only an hour outside of philly. in CT, at least near my hometown (and even the liquor stores near uconn) have a decent selection, but not a whole lot of good beer. even in NH and ME, the beer selection is pretty poor in most of the places i've been.

so while the little guy might not get hurt (which is the case in CT because grocery stores can only sell beer, not wine or hard liquor), the selection tends to lack a bit because the little guy needs to be able to compete with the big guy, so shelf space for a microbrew might be taken up by some extra bud.

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jencoleslaw Town

jencoleslaw

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WEGMAN's!

i think the closest we come to a decent grocery (big) is the Big Y in Norwich. And that one is right next to a WalMart. Norwich is a bit of a down and out town, and i bet there are even better Big Ys in CT. I think we pass on in Strafford on our way to visit my Gram in Enfield.

I hated just about every minute of my 4 months in Northern Virginia, but the shopping was awesome. What i missed, and what i think we have lots of here which is probably why we put up with crappy grcoeries, are all these little specialty shops, like meat markets, and delis, and fish stores and cheese stores and fancy italian and otherwise bakeries, and all those things that are all wrapped up into one super duper Wegman's or Harris-Teeter.

it was magical though, to have HT, Wegman's, Trader Joe's, Giant, Food Lion, Safeway and Whole Foods all within 10 miles. Food Lion was gross though. and I wasn't a huge fan of Giant. They just didn't try hard enough.

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runawayjim Metropolis

runawayjim

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North Providence? That's just too far, I'm a Rhode Islander now! :)

I disagree that large chain stores by default offer less selection, both supermarkets and liquor stores. The liquor laws in RI are crazy antiquated and there's plenty of evidence in other states that you can have beer and wine in supermarkets, liquor store chains, and still have a thriving independent liquor store. At any rate, supermarkets selling beer and wine doesn't preclude small stores from competing with a better selection. In fact, that might be a good way to get good beer here.

I thought you could only get beer at bars and beer distributors in PA. Has that changed since I moved away (I've lived _everywhere_!).

BTW, one good beer selection in the state doesn't do much to buttress your position... .

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