Top 10 supermarkets
1. Wegmans
2. Trader Joe's
3. Publix
4. Raley's
5. Harris Teeter
6. Fareway
7. Costco
8. Whole Foods
9. Market Basket
10. WinCo Foods

Other notable grocers on the 59-store list:

14. Aldi
20. SuperTarget
29. Sav-a-Lot
38. Sam's Club
41. IGA (Independent Grocers Alliance)
42. BJ's Wholesale Club
46. Giant Eagle
56. Wal-Mart Supercenter

Source: Consumer Reports survey of readers

The ratings, in the May issue of the magazine at newsstands Tuesday, ranks grocers according to how often people rated them "excellent" in several key areas, especially service (staff helpfulness and checkout speed), perishables (meat, produce and baked goods), price and cleanliness. Consumer Reports' subscribers graded grocery stores they had recently shopped.

Consumer Reports ranks top supermarkets - Business ? cleveland.com (http://blog.cleveland.com/business/2009/04/consumer_reports_rates_superma.html)

Of the top 10, here in NE Ohio we have 3 nearby. (Trader Joe's, Whole Foods and Costco).

The wife and I shop regularly at Trader Joe's and Whole Foods.

Wegman's is great. I even go to Whole Paycheck sometimes, and Trader Joe's. But Giant is closest, can walk there. A nearby Safeway has a huge selection. And for really big runs, there's always the commissary.

We have none of the top ten around here... We have a regional chain store Albertson's and Wal-Mart Super Center along with a local grocery store...

Fareway is less expensive than anyone around, serves 90+% of our needs and has a top notch meat counter.

Interesting to see Wegman's on the list and the criteria include price! In our market, Wegman's is by far the most expensive, which is the sole reason I avoid it. Shopping at Wegman's is an event, not a chore, so if you want to include the dining and entertainment value then perhaps there's justification. Price is driven largely by all the exotics sold there, but even their "cheap stuff" really isn't. Loss leaders are competitive to get you in the door, but it ends there in my experience.

We have a local chain called Giant that gets the bulk of my money, but AFAIK it is not affiliated with Giant Eagle. (Giant is PA only I believe.) So that leaves me shopping at an unranked chain.

I value convenience and "known entity" over variety and "experience". Showing my age perhaps. But knowing where everything is and being able to get in and out quickly are high on my list of "needs" as far as grocery shopping goes.

I don't know about others, but one thing I still hate is the self checkouts, and they're prolific! I'll use them when I have only a couple of items and the lines are long, but I have yet to process a cart full of goodies at self-serve and not have it hang-up for one reason or another! I still prefer the human interface at check-out. I help with the higher cost of that option by doing most of the bagging myself...

We do all of our grocery shopping at Costco and Wal-Mart. Personally, I can't stand Wal-Mart, but my life loves the place. My mother loves Trader Joe's and does most of her shopping there. If would definitely be my 2nd choice if they had one in our area.

I worked at a local chain for 10 years and they treated their employees *very* well, so now I try to only shop at 1 the 2 locals in my area.

Fareway is even closed on Sunday. How many stores still have a day when everyone gets the day off? I find this refreshing (except when I need something on Sunday :eek: ).

I worked at a local chain for 10 years and they treated their employees *very* well, so now I try to only shop at 1 the 2 locals in my area.

Heinens?

Interesting to see Wegman's on the list and the criteria include price! In our market, Wegman's is by far the most expensive, which is the sole reason I avoid it. Shopping at Wegman's is an event, not a chore, so if you want to include the dining and entertainment value then perhaps there's justification. Price is driven largely by all the exotics sold there, but even their "cheap stuff" really isn't. Loss leaders are competitive to get you in the door, but it ends there in my experience.

We have a local chain called Giant that gets the bulk of my money, but AFAIK it is not affiliated with Giant Eagle. (Giant is PA only I believe.) So that leaves me shopping at an unranked chain.

I value convenience and "known entity" over variety and "experience". Showing my age perhaps. But knowing where everything is and being able to get in and out quickly are high on my list of "needs" as far as grocery shopping goes.

I don't know about others, but one thing I still hate is the self checkouts, and they're prolific! I'll use them when I have only a couple of items and the lines are long, but I have yet to process a cart full of goodies at self-serve and not have it hang-up for one reason or another! I still prefer the human interface at check-out. I help with the higher cost of that option by doing most of the bagging myself...

Na. We've got Giant Eagle's in NE Ohio. They're all over the damn place as a matter of fact.

We have Costco and trader joes, have never been there but heard alot of good things about trader joes.

Though I dont know if I would consider Costo a grocery store....

I'd like to see the whole list, because I only go to 1 on the list semi-regularly (Costco.) Before I met my wife I mainly just went to Stop & Shop all the time. Then she pointed out how expensive they were and I expanded my horizons, but I'm curious as to how places like Xpect Discounts or Shop Rite did. They have good prices, but Costco is great in terms of meat deals.

The only thing I care about is price and a clean store. That's it. Good luck finding a Trader Joes store. Ha. And while Publix is a nice store I'm not going to pay extra money because the person behind the counter talked nice to me. Give me a break. The fat free Ice Cream I purchase at Walmart is $2.32 higher at Publix for the exact same thing. The Walmart I go to is very nice . And in this economy they can really save you money.

Whole Foods is very expensive. I can order many of the products they have online from other stores at a lower price. They should have broken it down having national stores with at least 500 stores and then the other guys. Many don't have the choice of a Whole Foods or a Trader Joe's.

The only thing I care about is price and a clean store. That's it. Good luck finding a Trader Joes store. Ha. And while Publix is a nice store I'm not going to pay extra money because the person behind the counter talked nice to me. Give me a break. The fat free Ice Cream I purchase at Walmart is $2.32 higher at Publix for the exact same thing. The Walmart I go to is very nice . And in this economy they can really save you money.

Whole Foods is very expensive. I can order many of the products they have online from other stores at a lower price. They should have broken it down having national stores with at least 500 stores and then the other guys. Many don't have the choice of a Whole Foods or a Trader Joe's.

While I can understand cost being a factor to people, I also like having the option to purchase a greater quality food. The meats and produce I've purchased at Whole Foods has been superior to anything I've been able to find at any of the other stores. They also have a wide variety of foods you can't find at the other big-box chains.

The people there are also extremely helpful. Personally, I don't mind paying for the slightly higher fee if the experience and food is also superior. I can't even begin to tell you of all the horror stories and clueless butchers I've talked to at some of the other places. I dunno, maybe it's the foodee in me, but I love Whole Foods.

And btw, not "everything" is more expensive at WF. If you're comparing organic ice cream to regular ice cream, yeah. Generally organic is more expensive. But, they do have their own line called "360" that is very reasonable.

Heinens?

Yep. A+ company.


While I can understand cost being a factor to people, I also like having the option to purchase a greater quality food. The meats and produce I've purchased at Whole Foods has been superior to anything I've been able to find at any of the other stores. They also have a wide variety of foods you can't find at the other big-box chains.

The people there are also extremely helpful. Personally, I don't mind paying for the slightly higher fee if the experience and food is superior. I can't even begin to tell you of all the horror stories and clueless butchers I've talked to at some of the other places. I dunno, maybe it's the foodee in me, but I love Whole Foods.

And btw, not "everything" is more expensive at WF. If you're comparing organic ice cream to regular ice cream, yeah. Generally organic is more expensive. But, they do have their own line called "360" that is very reasonable.

I'll be a shill for Heinen's now :) (disclaimer: I left the company 4 years ago).

I'd put Heinen's beef and pork up to anyone's....never any antibiotics and they regularly visit the ranches where the meat comes from. Unlike most chains, they actually have relationships with the ranchers and know the conditions in which the beef/pork is raised.

Unless you're shopping later in the evening, Heinen's stores have butchers that know their stuff. :)

Yep. A+ company.



I'll be a shill for Heinen's now :) (disclaimer: I left the company 4 years ago).

I'd put Heinen's beef and pork up to anyone's....never any antibiotics and they regularly visit the ranches where the meat comes from. Unlike most chains, they actually have relationships with the ranchers and know the conditions in which the beef/pork is raised.

Unless you're shopping later in the evening, Heinen's stores have butchers that know their stuff. :)

Heinen's is 1A on my list Sky. The only knock I have on them is they don't always have the selection I can find at WF. The other thing is that most of their meats are prepackaged and you are limited in choice to what the butcher cuts that day. At WF, you can walk in and ask for a 1.5" thick ribeye and they will cut it for you.

Heinen's is 1A on my list Sky. The only knock I have on them is they don't always have the selection I can find at WF. The other thing is that most of their meats are prepackaged and you are limited in choice to what the butcher cuts that day. At WF, you can walk in and ask for a 1.5" thick ribeye and they will cut it for you.

WF definitely crushes Heinen's in organics and prepared foods. You're right about the meats....about 10 years ago they started cutting their meat at the warehouse instead of in-store. But, if you want a 1.5" ribeye, they'll break open a rib roast and cut you a steak. They'll basically do anything to make you happy......something other retailers could learn from.

I'm probably biased, but I always try and talk the place up. They've been local for 80+ years, have reasonable hours (which is good for employees), and actually have full-time employees who make enough money to support themselves.

The only thing I care about is price and a clean store. That's it. Good luck finding a Trader Joes store. Ha. And while Publix is a nice store I'm not going to pay extra money because the person behind the counter talked nice to me. Give me a break. The fat free Ice Cream I purchase at Walmart is $2.32 higher at Publix for the exact same thing. The Walmart I go to is very nice . And in this economy they can really save you money.

Whole Foods is very expensive. I can order many of the products they have online from other stores at a lower price. They should have broken it down having national stores with at least 500 stores and then the other guys. Many don't have the choice of a Whole Foods or a Trader Joe's.

There are many grocery items at Walmart that are lower then our grocery stores in our area. Some Walmarts are not as clean as others. The ones that are near me are kept up. Though I have noticed that are "meijer" grocery sotres have brought there prices down.

How can they fairly rank these stores when Wegmans only has like 14 stores in a small part of the country and Publix and Walmart has many stores? I smell a rat here folks. How could they ask all these people to a rank store that they never went to? . And for all the bashing that Walmart gets for putting other stores out of business I can tell you about one Health Food Store that closed here because of a Whole Food store opening about a mile away from them.

Na. We've got Giant Eagle's in NE Ohio. They're all over the damn place as a matter of fact.Giant is not part of the Giant Eagle chain. The second link below is for the ones we have locally. The nearest Giant Eagle to me is about 25 miles to the west in Altoona.

Giant Eagle - Your Neighborhood Supermarket - Grocery Store and Pharmacy, Combined (http://www.gianteagle.com/Article.aspx?cntid=199005)

GIANT Food Stores (http://www.giantfoodstores.com/?CFID=28425605&CFTOKEN=17269603&jsessionid=1c30ed175e76726195f6TR)

The only thing I care about is price and a clean store. That's it. Good luck finding a Trader Joes store. Ha. And while Publix is a nice store I'm not going to pay extra money because the person behind the counter talked nice to me. Give me a break. The fat free Ice Cream I purchase at Walmart is $2.32 higher at Publix for the exact same thing. The Walmart I go to is very nice . And in this economy they can really save you money.

Whole Foods is very expensive. I can order many of the products they have online from other stores at a lower price. They should have broken it down having national stores with at least 500 stores and then the other guys. Many don't have the choice of a Whole Foods or a Trader Joe's.

I would never buy meat or produce from Walmart....you can be sure its supplied by the lowest bidder.

I don't want to get political in a What's Cookin forum, but it could be argued that the proliferation of Walmart is a contributing factor to "this economy."

How can they fairly rank these stores when Wegmans only has like 14 stores in a small part of the country and Publix and Walmart has many stores? I smell a rat here folks. How could they ask all these people to rank store that they never went to?

The grades were from people who recently shopped at these stores. They only graded on the stores they shop at.

I would never buy meat or produce from Walmart....you can be sure its supplied by the lowest bidder.

I don't want to get political in a What's Cookin forum, but it could be argued that the proliferation of Walmart is a contributing factor to "this economy."

Amen Brother Sky. :up

I'm probably biased, but I always try and talk the place up. They've been local for 80+ years, have reasonable hours (which is good for employees), and actually have full-time employees who make enough money to support themselves.

And that's why I try and support Heinen's whenever possible, for the primary reason they're local. I continue to only hear good things about this store too. Thanks for the first hand account. In reality, WF and Heinen's come close to splitting my grocery dollar.

As for Heinen's bakery... Oh my! Best in the area. Hands down.

How can they fairly rank these stores when Wegmans only has like 14 stores in a small part of the country...Wegman's has 71 stores in 5 states, but agreed it is very regional. However you can say that about a number of the stores on the list...

Company Overview| Wegmans (http://www.wegmans.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/CategoryDisplay?categoryId=281152&storeId=10052&catalogId=10002&langId=-1)

:mad:
The grades were from people who recently shopped at these stores. They only graded on the stores they shop at.

That's the problem. How many people were asked about each store? 10 for the number one rated store and like 3000 for Walmart? I don't read Consumer Reports but it would be interesting to see the numbers. If they rated cable number 1 and asked 10 people compared to 5000 people that sub to Directv or Dish I wouldn't trust the survey. And Walmart is not always the lowest price store . I don't buy any of my electronics at Walmart for the most part but they do have the lowest priced food.

:mad:

That's the problem. How many people were asked about each store? 10 for the number one rated store and like 3000 for Walmart? I don't read Consumer Reports but it would be interesting to see the numbers. If they rated cable number 1 and asked 10 people compared to 5000 people that sub to Directv or Dish I wouldn't trust the survey

I guess you'd have to read the latest Consumer Reports to find the grading criteria, but I don't see how a weighted poll like you suggest would be legit. I'd imagine it's gotta be pretty equal.

How can they fairly rank these stores when Wegmans only has like 14 stores in a small part of the country and Publix and Walmart has many stores? I smell a rat here folks. How could they ask all these people to rank store that they never went to? . And for all the bashing that Walmart gets for putting other stores out of business I can tell you about one Health Food Store that closed here because of a Whole Food store opening about a mile away from them.
I think it is a little questionable when they put up stores that most of the country can't even get to in the top 10. Of the Top 10, only 3 of the stores are within driving distance, and not exactly convenient driving distances either.

That being said, 2 of the places in the top 10 I've never been to and am now interested to see. I question how good Whole Food's meat is versus Costco/Shop Rite/Stop & Shop meat and if the added price is validated by the supposed added quality, but I won't know until I try it. My wife and I will be going shopping this weekend, so we'll probably find out then.

I guess you'd have to read the latest Consumer Reports to find the grading criteria, but I don't see how a weighted poll like you suggest would be legit. I'd imagine it's gotta be pretty equal.
If you have a subscription (like my dad does) you can read the full report now on their website. Here's what they say:

Ratings are based on 32,599 responses to the Grocery Store Shopper Survey conducted by the Consumer Reports National Research Center. Respondents told us about their experiences at one or two supermarkets, supercenters, or warehouse clubs between April 2007 and April 2008. The survey covers a total of 48,831 visits. Findings reflect the experiences of our readers, not necessarily those of the general population.

Source (http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/magazine-archive/may-2009/food/supermarkets/ratings/supermarkets-ratings.htm)(membership required)

Actually, I was surprised that prices at Wegman's weren't even higher. They're more, but not that much more, around here. Yep, shopping there is an event. Good food court. Very wide selection at the butcher, fish, deli and bakery counters. AND- they know their stuff. You can ask questions and get answers. Employees are not low wage "IDUNNO" types. I had a great chat with a butcher over the use of bone marrow, and the deli guy was very proud of his ability to slice prosciutto so thin you could see thru it. Baguettes to kill for. Probably more bread choices than Great Harvest, even. And the black diamond cheddar.........

Yep, Giant (http://www.giantfood.com/) is widespread. Good day to day store. Of course, any store I can walk to (now have our own little tow behind cart for groceries) is gonna get a lot of my business.

Your Giant is different yet than the 2 I linked above! Common name in the grocery "market"...

Of the top 10, here in NE Ohio we have 3 nearby. (Trader Joe's, Whole Foods and Costco).

The wife and I shop regularly at Trader Joe's and Whole Foods.

We've got Trader Joe's, but I wish we could get a Whole Foods on the West Side.

We've got Trader Joe's, but I wish we could get a Whole Foods on the West Side.

Yeah, as an East Sider, I'm lucky with all my shopping choices. As for the West-side, I think the Westlake/Crocker Park area would be a good location.

Yeah, as an East Sider, I'm lucky with all my shopping choices. As for the West-side, I think the Westlake/Crocker Park area would be a good location.

I'd prefer Westgate. But Whole Foods continues to overlook us.