![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Sprouts Stores (local folks)
Jun. 3rd, 2010 01:09 pmMostly for west coast folks, as they're only in this area so far.
A Sprouts store just opened by me, so I went to check them out. I wanted to go yesterday on their grand opening, but there was a line out the door every time I drove by. They bill themselves as cheaper than Whole Foods, better quality than Trader Joe's. To me, it was a very slightly lesser form of Whole Foods at 100% more reasonable prices. Much, much bigger than TJ, with much better quality. Maybe slightly less (size-wise) than Whole Foods.
If you like fresh produce, this is the place for you. Endless fresh fruits and veggies at totally reasonable prices. (So pretty, even just to look at! Endless colors!)
Lots of specialty stuff, like gluten-free and vegan. Very very limited frozen food section. Lots of fresh baked things (so many cookies tempted me, but I forced myself not to buy any).
Unlike Whole Foods, it was lacking in a hot foods section. They did have "fresh" meals you could take home and microwave. I bought two and tried one (mac&cheese) for lunch. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't to my taste (probably used all sorts of odd cheeses that Whole Foods-type shoppers would love but weren't what I was used to).
Their to-order sandwich area, while a dollar cheaper than most sandwich places around here, was horrible. The bread (french roll) had the taste and texture of a hot dog bun. Will skip next time.
While they had a ton of baked goods, unlike Whole Foods it didn't have a display case where you could buy just one cookie. It was sort of like Trader Joe's baked area, but much bigger.
To me, the best section was the bulk stuff. Row after row of nuts, dried fruits, granola, trail mixes, and smaller things like all sorts of spices. Buy only as much as you need! (I bought various nuts, one trail mix, and one granola, but I haven't tried them yet.) It did kind of worry me a touch that the bulk stuff was in bins: lift a cover, scoop out as much as you want, close the cover. That's well and good for (many) adults, but what if a kid (or rude adult) just stuck their dirty hand in to have a sample?
The prices really were nice and cheap. I walked out with five bags of stuff (and a watermelon) for under $40. That included the sandwich, two ready-to-heat meals, some frozen stuff (including two boxes of chicken nuggets), some bready things, fruit, juice, two bags of popcorn, and five bags of various bulk-item snacky things.
The frozen food section was too small to make this my new grocery store, but I sure will be visiting again.
A Sprouts store just opened by me, so I went to check them out. I wanted to go yesterday on their grand opening, but there was a line out the door every time I drove by. They bill themselves as cheaper than Whole Foods, better quality than Trader Joe's. To me, it was a very slightly lesser form of Whole Foods at 100% more reasonable prices. Much, much bigger than TJ, with much better quality. Maybe slightly less (size-wise) than Whole Foods.
If you like fresh produce, this is the place for you. Endless fresh fruits and veggies at totally reasonable prices. (So pretty, even just to look at! Endless colors!)
Lots of specialty stuff, like gluten-free and vegan. Very very limited frozen food section. Lots of fresh baked things (so many cookies tempted me, but I forced myself not to buy any).
Unlike Whole Foods, it was lacking in a hot foods section. They did have "fresh" meals you could take home and microwave. I bought two and tried one (mac&cheese) for lunch. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't to my taste (probably used all sorts of odd cheeses that Whole Foods-type shoppers would love but weren't what I was used to).
Their to-order sandwich area, while a dollar cheaper than most sandwich places around here, was horrible. The bread (french roll) had the taste and texture of a hot dog bun. Will skip next time.
While they had a ton of baked goods, unlike Whole Foods it didn't have a display case where you could buy just one cookie. It was sort of like Trader Joe's baked area, but much bigger.
To me, the best section was the bulk stuff. Row after row of nuts, dried fruits, granola, trail mixes, and smaller things like all sorts of spices. Buy only as much as you need! (I bought various nuts, one trail mix, and one granola, but I haven't tried them yet.) It did kind of worry me a touch that the bulk stuff was in bins: lift a cover, scoop out as much as you want, close the cover. That's well and good for (many) adults, but what if a kid (or rude adult) just stuck their dirty hand in to have a sample?
The prices really were nice and cheap. I walked out with five bags of stuff (and a watermelon) for under $40. That included the sandwich, two ready-to-heat meals, some frozen stuff (including two boxes of chicken nuggets), some bready things, fruit, juice, two bags of popcorn, and five bags of various bulk-item snacky things.
The frozen food section was too small to make this my new grocery store, but I sure will be visiting again.
