Re: Costco - worth the hype?
 

It just shows the differences province to another province and even within same city!
I much prefer Superstore but the Sobeys store I like is the best experience while the Sobeys I don't like is the worst.

Re: Costco - worth the hype?
 

Similar experience here. A new Sobeys store opened nearby a couple of years back which is their latest design. Lots of fresh fruit and veg, big deli area and huge bakery. Not so much canned and dry goods but the essentials. The older Sobeys a few ksms away feels positively down at heel in comparison, has less fresh produce, less meat but more dry goods. I hardly ever shop there as a consequence. Both are next to liquor stores. :-)

Re: Costco - worth the hype?
 

Re: Costco - worth the hype?
 

I’m quite happy with my local Sobey’s.

Re: Costco - worth the hype?
 

The best chain in BC grocery store wise that I have been to is Save On, their name doesn't reflect the prices but overall all of their stores I have ever been to are nice, modern, clean and their employees friendly, and they have top notch in store baked goods.

I like Safeway for some specific things, but I am finding they keeping going down hill and some Safeway's are now being converted to other Sobey owned brand Freshco.

We shop mostly from No Frills out of necessity, but I hate that store so much, small, crowded, understaffed, no good baked goods/no in store anything.

Re: Costco - worth the hype?
 

Re: Costco - worth the hype?
 

The No Frills closest to us is small & overcrowded, such a horrible shopping experience, no idea what other locations are like. I walked into an IGA once downtown, walked out as soon as I saw the prices lol

Superstore isn't bad, just none on this side of the city, and takes 35-40 minutes on transit, requires a bus and train, so not worth it and hauling it back home.

Re: Costco - worth the hype?
 

Our Safeway/Sobeys has mainly good staff, some appalling, but we do have problems finding things twice, or they'll carry something fro 6 months and you get used to having it then it disappears.

Re: Costco - worth the hype?
 

I spoke too soon.

Just been to my local Sobey’s the fridge shelf is full of bags of salad that have been withdrawn because of listeria. I took a bag to customer services and explained it’s been all over the news today. I was told to go and tell another assistant, which I did. She said she knows nothing about it. A man nearby overheard and said he had heard it too. I wonder if they are still on the shelves?

Re: Costco - worth the hype?
 

FWIW ......... Sobeys bought our Safeway in BC, closed some, but has kept the name of Safeway SO FAR. Some are being changed to the new cheaper fresher (??) brand Freshco

They got rid of all Safeway's own brands and have replaced them with their own, Compliments, which in most cases are not as good as the Safeway own brands were.

Sobeys just declared recently that they are finally making a profit "again" in BC after losing many millions per year from when they bought out Safeway.

I found it very interesting that the guy who was leading Sobeys when they bought Safeway was the same guy who was responsible for Sobeys buying out a major chain in Ontartio, that then proceeded to bleed money like you wouldn't beleive.

He lost his job about 2 years after they moved in to BC when the losses began to mount up.

You should google Sylvain Charlebois, a professor in food distribution and policy at Dalhousie University, Halifax. He has had some very insightful articles on Sobeys, their actions and capabilities.

Re: Costco - worth the hype?
 

We went to Superstore on Marine Drive in south Vancouver once soon after it opened as all the news was how cheap it was and how good.

It was no good for us ............. we ended up getting only half of the items on that week's list and had to go elsewhere (back to Safeway!) to get the rest. Plus we didn't find it that much cheaper.

We have been several times since to get some particular item that wasn't available elsewhere.

It is hard to find your way around, and much of the stock, fresh or otherwise, is heavily ethnic as it is in the centre of the South-East Asian population in Vancouver. You want some Duran fruit??? That's the place to go :nod:

This ethnic emphasis is very common in Metro Vancouver, I don't know about elsewhere .............

if you want Chinese supplies, lots of choice of frozen fish or live fish, etc, go to the Safeway at Oakridge Mall or in Richmond.

The Safeway at 70th and Granville in south Vancouver has an increasingly large stock of various Asian foods (Chinese, Korean, Filippino)

If you want a good choice of kosher foods, go to the Safeway at King Edward and Oak

Don't go to the low income areas to get cheap food .............. many of the stores consider those areas as "tied shopping", because people don't have cars to easily go elsewhere, so they can charge what they want to people who have to buy their food.

In general, grocery stores in the downtown peninsula are either the higher-priced chains or charge higher prices than branches elsewhere. Somewhat similar to what I posted above about low income areas, except that while many people in downtown don't have cars, they also have more disposable income and want more "fancy" foods.

The IGA on 41st at Dunbar had very good comparable prices the last time I went in there (many years ago), but not surprised to hear the one downtown was expensive.

Re: Costco - worth the hype?
 

I'll bet you mean durian fruit, (breadfruit [might as well be] *). You can buy it in Superstore here, have been able to for ages. If it was Duran fruit and you bought 2, you could say Duran Duran. My friends shop on the Drive and get veg at a nice open air market, which isn't expensive, sausage at JN&Z's, which is worth every penny, Asian specialty foods at any Asian grocery, which is cheap, and booze at the liquor store, which is expensive. They like to get their seafood on Granville Island, which costs far more than anywhere, but I don't. When I want to get a quart of oysters or some mussels I go to one of the Chinese fish stores on the edge of Chinatown near the park where the Italians play bocce; it usually costs half as much and they're just as good.
*https://foodstruct.com/compare/bread...an-raworfrozen

Re: Costco - worth the hype?
 

Definitely these ones?
Eat Smart brand 794 G (28 OZ) Sweet Kale Vegetable Salad Bag Kit

Re: Costco - worth the hype?
 

We did start off with Costco, but have not been now for more than 9 months and will not be renewing our card. I am sure it can be great, but we get everything we want at sensible prices elsewhere without buying in bulk (Canadian Tire, Metro, Covent Garden Market, etc.), but then not massively cost-conscious, more interested in quality. We did find it OK for many things, so not being 'sniffy' about it or anything. I used to buy a whole filet of beef and butcher it down myself which is a very cost-effective way of doing it and we found their meats very good I have to say.

Re: Costco - worth the hype?
 

Hell of a carbon footprint though. ;)