West Coast ladies...Trader Joe's or Safeway?

[...................]

So I settled into our new home in CA and I'm trying to figure out the best place to shop for groceries.  I am not organized enough to keep a price sheet.  I am not one of those people who is up for going to 3 different stores every week.  We have all the usual west coast chains right here in town, including some extras like Walmart Neighborhood Market, Super Target, Safeway, Trader Joe's, and more.  I have already ruled out my Nob Hill, Lundardi's and Lucky's as too expensive or not very nice inside.

 

The Walmart is the cheapest but the meat is really poor quality, and there is no fresh bakery or deli on -site.  I'll be stopping in to fill up on some items there, but not all the time.  The Super Target is not cheap and Super HUGE and Super overwhelming.  I will never go there for groceries. 

 

So I have my Safeway Club Card and a great flyer and my Safeway is beautiful and clean with a Starbucks and more.  But Trader Joe's has such an appeal with all the organics and the fun, small, happy atmosphere.

 

So, what's less expensive? For all of your usual once a week fill- the -cart-to-the-brim and go home shopping, which would you choose?  

[Khselee]

I would choose Trader Joe's every time - that's actually what I usually do, and then I'll stock up on what TJ's doesn't have at Walmart (my Walmart does have a bakery on site, but it isn't worth it anyway). 

[crazyforlatin]

I rarely step into Safeway, maybe once every year for gelatin, so it's always Costco, grocery co-op, Whole Foods and TJ's. I cannot live in an area where there isn't a TJ's - that's how essential this store means to me.

[wingedradical]

Safeway is expensive imo. I shop at Sprouts (do you have one nearby?) and sometimes, Fry's. Occasionally, Bashas', since it is local business. I only to to TJ's once in a while. Too many things there I can't resist that have wheat and sugar.

[Mnemosyne]

TJs is more expensive than Safeway, but much higher quality.

 

I tend to get meats and fresh veggies from TJs when I can, but Safeway isn't terrible (definitely better than Walmart, in my experience).

[Guest]

Safeway is the most expensive of your typical, run of the mill grocery stores that we have here. It is a full grocery store, and should have anything you'd need. I love Trader Joes, but I go more for special items, I didn't know that they sold meat there. I wouldn't expect them to have everything I needed. I hate Walmart because...I just do. Of your choices, I would actually do Target. You get the cheaper paper products, a pretty close to full grocery store, plus you can get that Red debit card that gives you 5% off your total. (It's not a C/C.) We also used to shop Ralph's or Albertson's when we lived in CA.

[Um_2_4]

Yeah, I wouldn't do either. TJs will not have my staples and Safeway is more expensive (here it is called Vons). I would investigate for local ethnic markets for produce etc. CA usually has many. I get most of my produce, all of my meat from there. Fresher (usually local, if you include Mexico as local LOL) and cheaper.

Target would be my goto from your list for household goods, mainly because of selection and the 5% discount. If you learn the layout (most have maps upfront) you can plan your trip and not get "lost" the hugeness of the place. I use to live near 4 Targets and had them all memorized and would just shop my "circuit" when I went and skip the extras.

[tammyw]

I shop almost exclusively at Trader Joe's and Jimbo's (similar to Whole Foods).

 

We have Ralphs, Vons, or Albertsons, and I only buy a few things there, when I need more mainstream items.

 

I find Trader Joe's to be super cheap and pretty high quality!

 

ETA: I don't really buy meat from Trader Joe's (I get it from Jimbos).

[...................]

Oh no! I'm just as confused as before!  LOL!  But I love all your comments.  We actually do have a Sprouts.  What is Sprouts?  Is it a grocery store? I thought it was just produce.

 

We have two farmer's markets that I plan to check out but I just haven't gotten around to it yet.  

 

In my initial price comparison, Safeway was cheaper than Nob Hill or Lunardi's.  

 

Our old Target in FL didn't have ANY Gluten Free products.  I mean like litterally almost zero.  But it was beautifully clean.  I will think about it some more but really, our Target is insane.  It's inside a mini mall, two stories, and so big it's like being in a huge department store with a huge grocery store tacked on.  I have a little bit of sensory issues.  LOL....Not my kind of place.  

 

IDK if Trader Joe's has meat. I just assumed they did, but now that I scan my memory, I don't recall seeing fresh meat.  I will add that money is an issue.  We need to keep our grocery/paper products/cleaning products bill under 250 a week.  For a family of four with several severe allergies that cost a little extra.  So if the store is wonderful and everything is fresh but it's just not Organic that's ok with me.

[Miss Peregrine]

Im in CA and I havent heard of half the stores you named, lol. We don't have a Safeway anywhere near here. I love Trader Joe's.

[...................]

OK wow I checked out sprouts. Looks amazing.  Ours is right next to TJ's

[Tap]

I buy the bulk of my items at TJs.  Fill in with some trips to Safeway for quick items.  I do a monthly trip to Winco to stock the pantry with necessities that TJs doesn't carry (dds favorite pasta, frozen juices etc).  

[...................]

I know!  My head is spinning.  Within 2 miles we have:

Sprouts

Trader Joe's

GIANT Super Target

Walmart Neighborhood market

Lunardi's 

Lucky's

Safeway

Nob Hill

Not to mention Whole Foods 3 or 4 miles away...

 

I can't even decide where to shop.

FIrst World Problem.  LOL>

 

But actually I really do need to find the best store at the best price.  It is actually an important decision.  Thank you ladies for weighing in. Kind of fun.

 

[Arcadia]

Safeway prices vary a little by location but they are bigger and have more items. Starbucks inside Safeway has free wi-fi. Trader Joes is more cosy and their items are msg-free which help as we have one less ingredient to check for. Their sushi to go tray is cheaper than Safeway.

I'll go to both and make a list of what you can get where for your family's allergies needs.

 

Also Tj sells these teeny tiny bags of rice...when we go through ten pounds in a month. .

We buy the 25lb size of rice at asian supermarkets. Safeway rice is too pricy as well.

[Photo Ninja]

I go to both every week. Trader Joe's doesn't have everything I buy at Safeway, and Trader Joe's has a lot I like that Safeway does not sell. They are only a block away from each other. So going to both is no problem and is part of the grocery shopping routine. 

[Amber in SJ]

We are on a tight budget so my grocery shopping routine looks like this:

 

Tuesday I get the ads for Safeway, Luckys & Sprouts & I make my meal plans around the loss leaders.

Wednesday I take my AM walk to Luckys and get only the loss leaders.

Wednesday evening my children go to a church activity & Sprouts is very close by.  Wednesday is the day they honor both last week and this week's sale prices.  That is where the bulk of my produce comes from.

Thursday I go to Safeway next door to my children's TKD and buy the loss leaders and any other staples that need re-stocking that I can not get at Costco.

Once a month on a Friday I go to Costco and stock up on the things I get there and since TJs is in the same shopping center I drop by for the specialty items.

 

Yes it sounds like I am always at the store but I am pretty disciplined about only purchasing the items on my list.

 

Amber in SJ

 

 

[Shamzanne]

You will never find EVERYTHING you need at Trader Joes, so by sticking with your criteria I would shop at Safeway. I have found their prices to be more reasonable in my area. I would get in the habit of going to both, however. You can get the majority of items at TJs and pick up any leftovers at Safeway. TJs DOES have fresh meat, it is just quite expensive. Pretty soon, you'll get the hang of what each store carries and could do an every other week thing.

[...................]

Well I know that TJ's isn't going to have a lot of stuff we need as staples, like UDIs pizza and bread.  And I have to be careful with cross contamination because my wheat allergic child is also seriously allergic to peanuts.  So many times, a smaller store doesn't work because out of every 100 breads, cereals, pastas, or cookies, there are 1 or 2 that are BOTH peanut and wheat free.  

 

So right now I am either thinking TJ's/Walmart Market (my Walmart Market isn't big but has tons of GF products, and cheap paper, cleaning etc.)

 

OR Just Safeway.

 

Because they are on opposite sides of town.  TJ's/WM on one side and Safeway on the other.

 

 

[...................]

We are on a tight budget so my grocery shopping routine looks like this:

 

Tuesday I get the ads for Safeway, Luckys & Sprouts & I make my meal plans around the loss leaders.

Wednesday I take my AM walk to Luckys and get only the loss leaders.

Wednesday evening my children go to a church activity & Sprouts is very close by.  Wednesday is the day they honor both last week and this week's sale prices.  That is where the bulk of my produce comes from.

Thursday I go to Safeway next door to my children's TKD and buy the loss leaders and any other staples that need re-stocking that I can not get at Costco.

Once a month on a Friday I go to Costco and stock up on the things I get there and since TJs is in the same shopping center I drop by for the specialty items.

 

Yes it sounds like I am always at the store but I am pretty disciplined about only purchasing the items on my list.

 

Amber in SJ

Wow you go girl.  You are doing an awesome job.

[KungFuPanda]

My Trader Joe's carries Udis breads.

[KungFuPanda]

My Trader Joe's carries Udis breads.

[LucyStoner]

TJs is more expensive than Safeway, but much higher quality.

 

I tend to get meats and fresh veggies from TJs when I can, but Safeway isn't terrible (definitely better than Walmart, in my experience).

 

For comparable items here TJs beats Safeway price wise.  

 

I buy a lot of our food from places like Cash and Carry, Costco and local farm etc but often go to both TJs and Safeway.  There is a Safeway basically across the street from us so they get our "we need an onion and milk" business quite a bit. :)

 

I couldn't get everything I needed at TJs alone.  

[twoxcell]

We shop at a local grocery store that is part of a small chain in our state, Walmart, Costco, and occasionally Fred Meyers. Safeway is really expensive around here and I rarely go there. We do not have a Trader Joe's.

[gardenmom5]

we do multiple stores.  Costco, cash-n-carry (restaurant supplier), (whole foods for *very* specific items for dudeling), and a few other's that are occasionally in the rotation for specific items or sales.

 

I think of trader joe's as a high end gourmet health food store that has very little produce or meat that carries mostly their own products.  my mother occasionally went there (when I took her), but I'd never shop there for myself.

 

eta: I consider trader joe's as on a level with whole foods - only not NEARLY as well stocked.  we also have another local health food grocery chain to chose from  (I stopped going there when I realized whole foods was cheaper).  we have lots of options here.

[gardenmom5]

 There is a Safeway basically across the street from us so they get our "we need an onion and milk" business quite a bit. :)

 

that's a cheap 7/11 with better quality stock and more choices.   Ours is a QFC, a local chain that can be more expensive than safeway.  but it's only 1/2 mile away.

[...................]

This has been very helpful. I think I have settled on Safeway, with a once a month visit to Walmart and Sunday afternoon visits to the farmer's market when we are in the mood. It looks online like Trader Joe's doesn't really carry a full meat department, but just has featured packages of meat every week.  

[LucyStoner]

that's a cheap 7/11 with better quality stock and more choices.   Ours is a QFC, a local chain that can be more expensive than safeway.

 

Yeah, QFC (owned by Kroger's for those not in the PNW) is way more expensive than Safeway IME too.  

[LucyStoner]

Trader Joes has some things so cheap they are worth the special trip- olive oil, coconut oil, maple syrup, cooking wine, table wine, dark baking chocolate, any sort of cheese etc.  Though any savings can easily be eaten up by impulse buying their candied pecans and Jo's Os.   :laugh:

[...................]

Back in FL, I was a Walmart girl for so many years.  Then I moved on to Super Target but had to leave them b/c they had no GF and their paper and grocery and cereal are very expensive!  THen, I don't know.  Walmart just got dirtier and dirtier and more and more crowded and I hated going to Costco because of the huge packages that I couldn't store.  I ended up being a Publix shopper for years- the most expensive overall store in FL.  But I actually didn't spend that much more because I loved shopping and went every 5 days and never threw ANYTHING out...and watched for sales on meats and veggies...

 

I don't know if I'm lazy now or what but Safeway is sounding better and better.  Has everything I need in one spot.

[...................]

THe thing about Trader Joe's is that it is small, and super fun and super nice and super clean and just oh so lovely.  So...I can actually see myself "stopping in" to get this and that.  :o)

[ocelotmom]

I'd have to do price comparisons to be sure. Haven't had regular access to TJs in years.

 

But from memory...

 

Safeway has the best prices for grocery store meat where I live. Not necessarily their everyday prices, but they always have plenty at 30-50% off.  Probably also for produce - I don't recall being impressed with TJ's produce selection most of the time. Where I live, Walmart generally has the cheapest produce.

 

Trader Joe's for anything packaged. I think the quality is better enough to be worth it, and the prices generally decent. I love TJs and would not skip it entirely just because I didn't want to go to more than one store. 

 

[...................]

Great post ocelotmom.  Thank you.

 

[Shamzanne]

I'd have to do price comparisons to be sure. Haven't had regular access to TJs in years.

 

But from memory...

 

Safeway has the best prices for grocery store meat where I live. Not necessarily their everyday prices, but they always have plenty at 30-50% off.  Probably also for produce - I don't recall being impressed with TJ's produce selection most of the time. Where I live, Walmart generally has the cheapest produce.

 

Trader Joe's for anything packaged. I think the quality is better enough to be worth it, and the prices generally decent. I love TJs and would not skip it entirely just because I didn't want to go to more than one store.

All true . . . this made me remember that Safeway is continually said to have the best meat department of the regular stores.

[Sparkle]

I won't shop at Safeway because I hate stores that basically force you to use their shopper's card.

 

My shopping basically is between Winco (not my most favorite store but definitely the cheapest prices), Trader Joe's and Target. Winco for when I want to do a big shopping trip; Target for cleaning supplies, cat food, odds and ends, ran out of something and need a replacement trips, Trader Joe's for meat, seafood, yogurt, snack items and other things I can't find elsewhere.

[...................]

OK here's an update:

 

I used the circular and shopped a lot of sales at Safeway.  I did well with my budget and was very pleased.  They had all my gluten free necessities except Bob's Red Mill GF Oatmeal but I can get that on Amazon prime cheap, so that's fine.  They carried Sunbutter, they stocked Safeway brands on many items that worked for us (like pharmacy, paper products, etc.) and I think all of the produce I bought was grown here in CA.  Quite a few items were cheaper Organic with the Club Card (hate that but oh well) than the regular without the card.  They had fantastic sales on meat so I stocked up two weeks worth.  

 

I noticed that there were things that were sky high expensive, but I was able to skip those.  If I had NOT used the ciruclar to write down sale items ahead of time, I would definitely be in trouble shopping there.  But it worked out OK.  The bag boy was polite and helped me to my car and did not accept a tip.  The carts were clean and the meat guy brought me fresh meat when I asked which was on sale.  They provided sanitary wipes at the meat counter and where the carts were. 

 

I'll need to go to Walmart for paper products, some pharmacy, and some cleaning supplies, but my big Safeway is definitely going to be my main store.

[...................]

And, yes, their meat department was gigantic with tons of sales and everything looked extremely fresh and clean. You could see the butchers working in the back and see that it was very clean and sanitary.  

[briansmama]

Well, seeing as how any time we've had to shop at Safeway (out of town) I've had to avoid 90 percent of the store at least due to added chemicals in most of their foods, I'd go with TJ's every time, hands down. We were out of town recently and were limited to Safeway and couldn't even find mustard without artificial coloring.

[PachiSusan]

Do you have an Albertson's around? I have found them to be very competitive in their pricing and have great meat and produce! 

 

[mathnerd]

We go to TJ's and Costco a lot. Check out the range of organic products sold in CA Costco stores and they can give the organic produce in the supermarkets a run for their money. We buy the following organic products from Costco: Coconut oil, tomato ketchup, Blueberries, Strawberries, apples, salads, Spinach, Carrots, milk, String cheese, butter, Z bars, Annie's organics in bulk, pasta, pasta sauces, nut butters (i can't remember any more right now).

The rest, we buy from TJs and go to Whole Foods once a month. We love TJ's because most of their products have good quality, the service is super friendly and we can get things without MSG, artificial coloring etc. Their health supplements are also good quality.

We have a "produce stand" near our home that carries fruit and veggie grown locally, some of them organic most of them without pesticides and we get a lot of fruit from there. I avoid Safeway and Albertson's (most of the stuff there is too expensive except the sale items) and go there once or twice a year.

[...................]

I definitely will try Trader Joe's.  It's nice being able to avoid chemicals for sure!

 

But I hadn't thought of Costco...I might really be missing out. Your list of organics is really enticing ashleyf.  

 

We don't have Albertson's here.  We had some in FL but the only thing I liked there was their amazing meat sales.  I had a deep freezer just for Albertson's meat.  :o)

[MistyMountain]

If I lived in California I would definitely hit Trader Joes. You don't have to go weekly. You can alternate weeks. I do half my grocery shopping at Costco and the other half at Fred Meyers. When I lived in California we did Trader Joes and Food 4 less. If we went to a Grocery store we went to Ralphs. Maybe you can do Walmart one week, then Costco the next, followed by Trader Joes and Safeway. I don't like to go to more than one store a week either so I alternate weeks. Costco does have gluten free stuff and it seems like they are adding more all the time. Trader Joes has a great price on sun butter and they had yummy pumpkin butter. The prices are Trader Joes are good for natural products.

[garddwr]

When we lived in California I did all my regular shopping at Trader Joes. The prices were good for the quality of food, and I liked the smaller store size and not having to choose between 20 different brands of everything.

[...................]

Hey I thought it would be fun to update this zombie thread and tell everyone after 3 years of CA life, you guys were right.....I was shopping at TJ's all the time, several trips per week and then safeway once a week or every other week for all the stuff TJ's didn't have and my budget was looking good.  TJ"s is such a low stress experience I just didn't mind going there twice a week, and my kids walked there too.

 

THEN I MOVED and there is no TJ"s anywhere nearby!!! WAAA WAAA WAA

 

So I go to Safeway, and save a lot in comparison to Nob Hill, but not as much as TJ's.  And I Use GOOGLE Express for my costco orders of anything and everything they will deliver.  

 

BUT I email TJ's and begged and begged for a TJ's

 

 

[IfIOnly]

Oh, bummer!! We just got ours several years ago, and more and more, I'm finding new products We enjoy there.

 

I just made a delicious and simple fig and balsamic pork loin using TJ's fig butter.

 

*ducks*

Edited August 30, 2016 by ifIonlyhadabrain

[rdj2027]

Where we lived in California, our Sprouts was great; it is a cheaper version of Whole Foods.  I went there for produce, meat and some specialty items.  I went to Trader Joes for other things and bought the rest at the commissary.  I really miss Sprouts.

[Renthead Mommy]

In the two years we have been in CA, I have just given up, abandoned my groceries and walked out if Safeway more times than I have completed a trip there! And they NEVER have more than two lanes open!

 

No thank you! I will drive the ten minutes and go all the way over to the wonderful Nugget! Love that place!

 

Anytime I end up in Safeway I ask myself how did we get here again? Why didn't we just drive to the good store!

[StephF]

I think you are literally talking about my town.

I go to that Target 3 times a week (but not for groceries) but I shop mainly at TJ, never been to the Sprouts and go to Costco twice a month. Our Safeway is so huge that I rarely shop there.

[MercyA]

BUT I email TJ's and begged and begged for a TJ's

 

I've begged, too, to no avail. Apparently the rural midwest is not their target market. I miss you, Trader Joe's!  :crying:

[maize]

Trader Joe's all the way!

 

The closest to me is nearly an hour away :(

[vonfirmath]

When we lived n Washington state, Safeway was the cheap grocery store. In other areas of the country, there are cheaper alternatives. Not sure where California falls