Supermarketsweep
Find your personal grocery store with this brief guide by Andrew Vaupal, Jayplay writer
Think about it. You can name your favorite restaurant, clothing store, gym, movie theater, bar or music venue. But where do you go when the pantry's bare? Only trial and error can answer that question.
can answer. To save you the trouble, I rolled my cart through seven grocery stores in search of the best.
***
At Aldi, 3025 Iowa St., the first thing you will notice is that you have to deposit a quarter into a cart to use it. You walk into
the store and think you've entered a small prison facility. Sturdy metal bars block the closed cash register lanes.
closed cash register office.
But forget that feeling. Aldi is stocked with generic Aldi items at the lowest overall prices in town. Aldi keeps prices low by providing minimal services. The store is open six days a week, 10 hours per day. Products are stacked on the store floors in the cardboard boxes they were shipped in. Just make sure when you get to the register that you have cash, debit card or food
On the opposite end of the grocery store spectrum is Community Mercantile, 901 Iowa St. When you first walk into "The Merc" you may think you've walked into a gigantic coffee shop. As you take your first steps onto the multi-color floor tiles a designer's influence can be seen throughout the store.
stamps. Credit cards and checks are not accepted in this discount haven.
It lines much of its shelves with environmentally-friendly and often vegetarian-friendly foods. Most produce is not only labeled organic, but also includes the country of origin. The Merc also carries Lawrence-based breads from Great Harvest and WheatFields.
Mary Keily, Lawrence resident, says she likes to support local businesses and the staff is very knowledgeable. "Weekends can be bad at other stores, because high school kids are running the stores," Kelly says. "The staff here
knows their stuff, even on the weekends."
But don't expect The Merc to be cheap. The Merc's organic offerings and knowledgeable staff result in higher costs.
equitable store with Checkers and Food 4 Less both operate on a lowest-cost grocery model. You may know Checkers, 2300 Louisiana St., by its giant American flag or its TV commercials. This 24-hour, bag-it-yourself operation keeps costs low by keeping some of its storage on its shelftops. But this warehouse feel doesn't take away from the shopping experience.
Food 4 Less, 2525 Iowa St., has fewer customers than Checkers and many times operates with just one checker. Food 4 Less' generic brands, Best Choice and Always Save, offer some of the lowest prices in town. The bright, uncovered fluorescent lighting shines on a clean store including extraordinarily precisely stacked rows of fruit.
rows of fruit.
Sophie Blackwell, Salina freshman, was out picking up snack items and drinks. Although she wasn't familiar with Lawrence she says she went to Food 4 Less because it sounds cheaper. "I never went to Food 4 Less at home," says Blackwell. "But this time it is my money."
Super Target, 3201 Iowa St., houses a fully-stocked grocery store in the northern third of its building. Super Target, with its wide aisles, offers shoppers the bonus of going grocery shopping after picking up those pruning shears and vacuum bags they needed.
they needed.
Kristen Bast, Overland Park doctoral student, comes to get groceries when she needs something else. "It's convenient," Bast says. "Everything is in one place. It seems nicer and cleaner than most other places. And the atmosphere is definitely better."
After shopping seven stores it was obvious to me that Dillons and Hy-Vee offer the biggest selections and variety in town. Dillons, 1740 Massachusetts St., 1015 W. 23rd St., 3000 W. Sixth St., and 4701 W. Sixth St., has the most locations in Lawrence. Most of the Dillons
are open 24 hours and all have installed Express Self Checkouts. Dillons' biggest features are price per unit on all items and directories of all aisles to help you find what you want. Purchasing items without the Dillons Plus Shopper Card can be significantly pricier.
While Dillons locations are spread throughout the city Hy-Vee, 3504 Clinton Parkway and 4000 W. Sixth St..has both of its stores in western Lawrence. The 24-hour stores are remarkably wellstocked and clean.
stocked and clean.
Dillons and Hy-Vee offer a full range of extra services. Dillons, Hy-Vee and Checkers offer the biggest bread selections in town. Each store offers over 100 different varieties of prepackaged bread, not including their in-house bakery offerings.
***
AndrewOwings, Lenexajunior and Joel Switzer, Overland Park junior, are in the produce section of HyVee, 4000 W. Sixth St.
Owings says he only shops at Hy-Vee. "It's employee-owned, you don't have to have a card and it is always cheaper." Seconds after, Steve, who is dressed in manager garb, asks Owings if he needs help finding anything. Owings quickly adds, "And great service too."
And great service. Owings and Switzer's cart is halfway full and they have barely left the produce section. Switzer predicts they will spend up to $100 this afternoon.
$100 this afternoon.
Owings and Switzer's cart has continued to fill and there items are overflowing to the bottom rack. "Hy-Vee is where my parents shop," Owings says. "My mother is the penny pincher of all penny pinchers, so Hy-Vee must be cheap if she goes here."
When the guys unpile all of their groceries onto the conveyor belt and all the scanning is done a foot-long receipt creeps out of the cash register. Owings and Switzer owe $142.35. They pull out their wallets and split the cost with$ 20 bills.
and sprint the Owings and Switzer predict this trip's food will last 10 to 14 days. Then they'll be back at Hy-Vee for more.
Student ID or Letter of Acceptance required.
Student ID or Letter of Acceptance Required
*Buy an iPod and a PowerBook or iBook (excluding iPod mini and 12-inch iBook with CD-ROM) from a participating Authorized Campus Reseller between July 7 and September 25, 2004, and receive a $200 mail-in rebate. Terms and Conditions apply.
© 2004 Apple Computer, Inc. All rights reserved. Apple, the Apple logo, Apple Store, iBook, iPod, and PowerBook are trademarks of Apple Computer, Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries.
4
Jayplay 9.16.04