Grocery Stores

[Realstreets]

While I like Cub and Target for non-perishables, Seward Co-op is King of the Co-ops IMHO. I'll be less than a mile from their new store on E. 38th St when it opens!

I can't bring myself to step foot in a Rainbow, the one at Minnehaha/Lake is not a pleasant place to shop. I would welcome Hy-vee taking them over.

[mattaudio]

I can't bring myself to step foot in a Rainbow, the one at Minnehaha/Lake is not a pleasant place to shop. I would welcome Hy-vee taking them over.

This must be the reason why SuperValu is keeping this open under the orphaned Rainbow banner along with the Cub across the street.

[mattaudio]

Response to: https://forum.streets.mn/viewtopic.php?f=13& ... 300#p63212

I think going to the grocery a few times a week is fine. It's all about splitting your trips... many people go to the grocery once every week or three. That's fine, but it results in enough groceries where a car is basically required for all of those trips.

I've found an approach I prefer more: We stock up on things in bulk via Costco and Amazon, making a big Costco run every 3-5 months (by car, obviously - the last one was over $700 worth of food). Then we fill in with a variety of walk/bike/transit trips - we have a small SuperValu which we can incorporate into our evening walks. Even in the winter it's relaxing to walk to there and get $25 worth of groceries as part of our evening routine. Or we'll bike to Kowalski's or a co-op, usually getting $25-50 worth. Or my wife now picks up a few items at the St. Paul Lunds over her lunch break and brings them home on the bus. It works out just fine, as long as you can occasionally do the big runs.

[EOst]

It's certainly possible to do it, sure. Between our CSA, a bus trip to the store every couple of weeks, and walking/biking trips to the bodega and the Wedge, my partner and I get by fine. But it's also a lifestyle; you have to be willing to structure a lot of time around going out to get food, and you always have to know what you have at home so that you can plan accordingly. There are people I know--perfectly progressive, urban-friendly people--who would simply refuse to do it.

Incidentally, I don't know if it's just a product of where I've lived in the TCs, but I'm always shocked by the poor quality of the bodegas here. Not to say that they were super nice in New York, but I've never seen so many things rotting on the shelves as I have here.

[FISHMANPET]

I "came of age" in South West Wisconsin, and for all Wisconsin's flaws, I do have to complement Kwik Trip. I find myself buying basically all my milk at the Holiday 2 blocks away from my apartment, since I can just swing by on my bike or get off the bus a stop early. If they had a little bigger food selection, like a Kwik Trip does, my life would be much better. Kwik Trip had fruits and vegetables (at least potatoes, possibly others) as well as a pretty good bread selection, and just a generally good stock of the staples, and not at outrageous prices. It's a shame they'll never be here in the Twin Cities, because I think they'd just destroy Holiday and Super America.

[grant1simons2]

They have kwik trips here. They're just more in the second ring burbs.

[mplsjaromir]

Kik Trip has many locations in the Metro.

[nBode]

I've been to Kwik Trips all over the southwest burbs. I agree—they're great. Definitely my favorite gas station store. They've got a great selection and they have store-made pizzas and donuts which are delicious and fairly priced. I used to stop at one on the way home from school and get glazed donuts and coffee.

[FISHMANPET]

Many locations in the Metro, none in the core, and (at least as of a few years ago, when the guy that picks Kwik Trip locations spoke to my Urban Studies class) no plans to expand into the core. The core is too saturated already, and the traffic makes their business model a little problematic, because they ship in things like Donuts fresh from La Cross every morning.

[FISHMANPET]

Which is not to say that Super America or Holiday couldn't pick up that torch, but they just don't, for whatever reason.

I went to the brand new Kwik Trip in Zumbrota and holy crap it's like a palace, in terms of providing so much stuff.

Maybe it's time for me to check out one of the 5 or 10 ethnic markets that are within walking distance of me, but the last time I tried that I got funny looks from everyone in the store.

[grant1simons2]

Haha who cares about the looks. I went to a russian store in hopkins and I got stared down to pieces. But worth it for the chocolate

[ECtransplant]

I'd venture to guess people who prefer living somewhere like downtown or the downtown adjacent neighborhoods, especially those in "luxury apartments," also prefer eating out more than most people. You don't need a lot of grocery runs if you only cook a couple times a week.

[clf]

There used to be many bodegas in the uptown/wedge area. They all have closed, torn down, or changed into other retail. I wish we could have kept a few around.

[TommyT]

There was one (if it's not still there) at 35thish (maybe 34th) and Dupont I believe. Loved going in there when I lived at 36th and Colfax. Felt very Chicago to me. I also love the small grocer in the basement of an apartment building in Loring Park. We definitely could use more of these neighborhood stops.

[seanrichardryan]

Louie's Food & Deli

[xandrex]

It's certainly possible to do it, sure. Between our CSA, a bus trip to the store every couple of weeks, and walking/biking trips to the bodega and the Wedge, my partner and I get by fine. But it's also a lifestyle; you have to be willing to structure a lot of time around going out to get food, and you always have to know what you have at home so that you can plan accordingly. There are people I know--perfectly progressive, urban-friendly people--who would simply refuse to do it.

I sort of fall into this category. I shop once a week primarily at Target and Lunds, though my purchases really only total about $30-50 depending on what I'm buying.

I'd love to make several smaller trips per week to get fresh produce and stuff for the meals I'm making that day (obviously making one trip larger for staples and stuff that I know I want to keep on hand), but it's honestly such a hassle. It means constantly having to know exactly what I want and what I have available at my house, which is minor, but doable. The real issue is time. There is a fixed time cost associated with grocery shopping - namely, transportation there, check out (the difference between a large and small grocery shopping trip checkout time is really marginal), and transportation back. And that's all before needing to prep all the food and cook it.

That means that several small shopping trips really do add up to significantly more time. Even as a single guy with no kids to haul around or too many activities, I still am constantly on the go between work, trying to get to the gym, running other errands, and trying to have half a social life. Multiple trips would probably mean a trade off of something (and honestly, it would probably be the gym...haha).

I've found an approach I prefer more: We stock up on things in bulk via Costco and Amazon, making a big Costco run every 3-5 months (by car, obviously - the last one was over $700 worth of food). Then we fill in with a variety of walk/bike/transit trips - we have a small SuperValu which we can incorporate into our evening walks. Even in the winter it's relaxing to walk to there and get $25 worth of groceries as part of our evening routine. Or we'll bike to Kowalski's or a co-op, usually getting $25-50 worth. Or my wife now picks up a few items at the St. Paul Lunds over her lunch break and brings them home on the bus. It works out just fine, as long as you can occasionally do the big runs.

This sounds like a great system. The only issue is that it definitely is a fairly privileged way of shopping. For such a system to work, you have to: own a car, have a Costco membership, set aside a day for shopping (I assume it takes at least a few hours to do this), have a bank account balance that can drop $700 on food purchases all at once, and--quite important--have the space to store all that stuff.

That doesn't make it a bad way to shop, of course. It's just that many people probably can't do it.

[l12]

Response to: https://forum.streets.mn/viewtopic.php?f=13& ... 300#p63212
we have a small SuperValu which we can incorporate into our evening walks. Even in the winter it's relaxing to walk to there and get $25 worth of groceries as part of our evening routine.

Where is this SuperValu you speak of? The one in the Lake St. Kmart plaza?

[mattaudio]

Where is this SuperValu you speak of? The one in the Lake St. Kmart plaza?

Bergan's at Cedar and Minnehaha Parkway. We stopped by there on our walk around the neighborhood last night, and ran into some friends on the way back. $26 worth of groceries, two bags, an easy carry back for two people.

The only issue is that it definitely is a fairly privileged way of shopping. For such a system to work, you have to: own a car, have a Costco membership, set aside a day for shopping (I assume it takes at least a few hours to do this), have a bank account balance that can drop $700 on food purchases all at once, and--quite important--have the space to store all that stuff.

Priviledged, maybe, but not as much as you make it sound I'd say. We live on the southside where nearly every household has at least one car. Even if we didn't have one, we could rent a car or use car sharing, or borrow a car from a friend/neighbor. Costco membership is $45/year I think. Chest freezer was a $200 initial investment, and 5 linear feet of basement shelving took me a couple hours to build. An average Costco run takes maybe 90 minutes at the most, but it takes another 60+ minutes once we get home to "butcher" the meat into reasonable portions and get all of the stuff into storage. And $700 per run is rather unusual. I'd say the average run is $200-400. But food costs money, and it's what we put into our bodies so we buy the best we can find. We cook all but maybe one or two meals a week at home, from scratch. It's actually an excellent way to save massive amounts of money while actually eating healthier compared to going out to eat frequently.

[FISHMANPET]

It assumes room for a chest freezer, which basically assumes a basement, which assumes SFH, which means lots of people can't participate.

When I shared an apartment with 4 other guys we had a coat closet big enough for a chest freezer, but even now in my 1000 sq ft 2 Bed apartment I share with my wife, we wouldn't have room for even a tiny one.

[IllogicalJake]

Living downtown, I frequently fill up a foldable cart with groceries and other goods via skyway. Usually supplemented with a car trip to a bigger box store every month or so for bigger bulk stuff. I live in a 650sqft 1-bedroom apartment with no additional freezer space or anything like that.

The Thrasher development is right near my workplace and will likely be a go-to for on-the-way-home grabs.

Just my habits as a downtown worker & resident, if it makes any difference.