The new Crest

[andimthomas]

Things went down hill once Homeland took over.

Amen.

[Bunty]

The main reason I choose crest over wal-mart, regardless or price, is because I never have to stand in line for 20 minutes, and the stores are much cleaner.

And you're like me you don't want to use the self check counters. Because how the hell do you imput a price on an item without a bar code, such as produce without looking like a clueless idiot?

[andimthomas]

And you're like me you don't want to use the self check counters. Because how the hell do you imput a price on an item without a bar code, such as produce without looking like a clueless idiot?

You go through that ridiculous catalog with the pictures that always seem to have a different price than what you saw on the aisles.

[andimthomas]

And then the machine says there's weight on the baggage area that's not supposed to be there and the whole session pauses so one of the workers can come over and check to see if you've stolen something.

[JerzeeGrlinOKC]

Well I'm just torn as to what my final opinion is....

store looks nicer. Its BIG (but with the crowds and huge shopping carts they give you, the aisles felt cramped today)...

produce selection is a definite improvement, better than all the other Crests I've been to (they have bulk mushrooms!)...

cheese section is a plus for Crest, but Homeland's is better, seemed that Crest bought 10 varieties of cheddar type cheeses, they have some nice stuff, but I didn't see too especially many unique offerings (plus I like that Homeland has an olive bar, wish Crest did)...

they need more prepared foods outside of the deli counter, sushi looked pretty good though...

meat is a great price, decent selection, respectable seafood department...

bakery seems similar to Homeland...

large aisles, true, but true to Crest they seem to have alot of the same thing...

have cased doors for all of the refrigeratables was odd, but I assume that might save on energy costs, BUT I hope they can maintain them. Not sure I'm a fan of the appearance however, hard to see things. personal sidegripe: why are low fat cheeses still so pricey?!?

Overall, its a nice store, surely the nicest Crest I've seen, and hopefully the crazy crowds will die down so its more pleasant to shop there, but...we still need a true upscale full grocery market. Can't wait for Whole Foods!

[fromdust]

Homeland RAISES the price before a BOGO sale.

My Hate for Homeland? I Don't hate, I dislike or don't respect is all. I worked for a company that was bought out by them (our Homelands are actually H.A.C. owned by A.W G. in Oklahoma, who bought our Oklahoma Homelands in 2002), they treat their people horribly. I've moved on. Homeland is just so awful in more ways than one. Oh and H.A.C. was a name created by AWG when they bought the Homelands and stands for Homeland Aquisition Company . A.W.G. stands for Associated Wholesale Grocer.

i used to work at awg's massive warehouse out on council. i hated it, lol.
i always found it funny the sometimes huge price differences in stores from crest to buy 4 less when their product comes from the same location.

[Doug Loudenback]

My wife and I went this afternoon. Although the story was rather crowed, it didn't feel crowded ... seemed to be more than ample room to navigate. The high ceiling was good ... made it possible to see signs posted high in the back part of the building from the front of the story to the back. On arrival, we were given a map which showed both general layout and detail for individual isles.

As others have mentioned, the shopping carts are quite large.

My wife feeds her darned cat quite well ... in addition to an ever present supply of dry food, she gives her 2 (more if the cat is finicky and turns up her nose at the plate) cans of Fancy Feast every day. The price we pay at the Homeland store at 18th & Classen is around 87 cents a can ... when moved to do so, we sometimes shop at the Walmart neighborhood grocery on NW 23rd and the food costs less there, but not nearly as low as Crest's price

At Crest, these same cans were 45 cents each ... a difference of 42 cents. The annual savings would be $306.60 I think she picked up about 30 cans.

We also regularly purchase Starbucks breakfast blend whole bean coffee. At Homeland, we pay over $9 for a bag ... at Crest it was a little over $7 ... but you can get a larger bag of the same coffee at Target for around $7.50. Those were the price comparisons that I noticed.

The produce all looked fresh and good and they had the kind of yellow onions I like (Texas ... some 4000 series #) and they looked great. The special area of the meat department had some beautiful cuts of US Prime as well as US Choice. The fish area had some very pretty uncooked and beheaded large shimp that I noticed. The sushi bar looked nice but I'm not a sushi fan. We picked up a copy of loaves of fresh baked bread ... sour dough for wife and uncut white bread for me.

Checkout was fast, plenty of cashiers on duty. I didn't count, but the number was over 10. They use recyclable paper sacks, no plastic. We were surprised, however, that they didn't have those cloth carry bags that other stores use (for a price) available.

Overall, I'd say that it is probably the nicest grocery that I've been in Oklahoma City ... very nice, great prices ... but I don't think it measures up to a comparably sized H.E.B. in Texas.

[windowphobe]

I have no trouble working the self-checkout with produce. (Organic bananas, for instance, are 94011; the code number is in a teensy label right on the peel. Bought some today, in fact.)

[proud2Bsooner]

The best part about Crest is that an Okie company can compete with Wal-Mart, and it's nice to get past the walmartization of OKC.

[Larry OKC]

Doug,

That is a huge difference on the cat food. Could you tell if that was a Grand Opening sale price or the regular price (either way, stock up while it is cheap!)

I would certainly hope the produce and meat was fresh (if it wasn't fresh on Opening, it certainly wouldn't be a good sign...LOL)

Have a great weekend!

[Doug Loudenback]

Larry, don't know about whether special pricing was going on. My wife and I wondered the same thing.

[Thunder]

Those bags are under the registers. Request them.

Those are normal prices on the cans. They're that cheap every day. Not a special sale.

[Doug Loudenback]

Those bags are under the registers. Request them.

Those are normal prices on the cans. They're that cheap every day. Not a special sale.

Good to hear, Thunder.

BTW, best way for northsiders to get there is probably to use I-44 south to SW 104th exit and drive east until almost reaching May Ave.

[dismayed]

Way out of my way, but I decided to check it out this weekend to see what all the buzz is about. I have to say, this may be the nicest grocery store currently in the OKC metro. It really reminded me of the upscale grocers present in other states. Not quite as good a selection as HEB Marketplace but actually really close.

I was most impressed by the quality of the fruits and vegetables. One thing that drives me crazy about Oklahoma grocers is that often times if you look closely the lettuce they are selling is wilted, grapes are slightly pruny, strawberries look a bit off and so forth. There was none of that at the Crest... everything was absolutely fresh.

Also I was really surprised at how cheap the prices were considering everything.

[PennyQuilts]

We went this morning and were favorably impressed. The rows were wide and the layout made sense. Lots of checkers but I don't expect that to last. We went at 9:00 am hoping that all the good people of OKC would all be in church so we could shop without being trampled. Useless attempt since the "bad" people in OKC were shopping and seemed to be lost and not paying attention to where they were going, who was near them or if they were blocking a lane. It wasn't all that crowded, compared to opening day, but it still felt like we were in a pinball game.

I noticed a wine/liquor store across the street (on May) and that was nice so people can swing by when they go to the grocery store. I didn't realize it was a 24 hour store and that made me happy because I might be able to avoid some of the hordes.

People who use those hummer wheelchair carts should be required to have handicapped stickers, swear to god. Many just run over people and seem oblivious to other shoppers. And let me hasten to say that after my mother became very ill with cancer, I came to understand that plenty of people can't walk even if they aren't lame and don't look sick. I get it. I know it is important that those folks have the option to shop and that it is often good for their health and overall wellbeing. I really do get it.

But there are plenty of clearly hearty people not missing any meals who use those things because they don't want to walk and they are a pain in the butt. Unless genuinely lame, for god's sake, the walk would be good for them. Rant over. I know expecting them to be limited to the actually handicapped or ill is a pipe dream.

Lots of good parking with plenty of places to bring back your carts so there is no excuse to abandon them in the parking lot to roll around and be a hazard. The carts, btw, are enormous. Almost too big. They looked more like topless tiger cages than shopping carts.

I'd give the store an A+ even though I couldn't find any Frosty Paws for my girls.

[ljbab728]

The carts, btw, are enormous. Almost too big. They looked more like topless tiger cages than shopping carts.

I'm sure the cart size is designed to make people buy more. The cart doesn't look very full after a while so they keep shopping. That's just like when you go to an "all you can eat" buffet. They use small plates so you won't get so much.

[Thunder]

I haven't seen the carts in the new store, but I am sure they are trying to ease down the amount of people using two carts or more. I'm fed up with idiots having 2 to 4 full carts!

[Filifan]

I'm fed up with idiots having 2 to 4 full carts!

Idiots with 2 to 4 full carts = JOB Security for you

[rcjunkie]

Idiots with 2 to 4 full carts = JOB Security for you

I agree, why be upset because someone has more than 1 cart.

[Thunder]

I went into the new store and all I can say is that the store is EXCEPTIONAL! The whole store have truly surpassed all expectations and this is definitely an upscale store. Keep in mind, their business strategy is not quite like Whole Foods, because of the branded Discount advertisement that the company has up front. Just go into that store, you'll see how amazing it is. I am positive that Whole Foods interior designs can not come any close to this. The registers is impressive with overhead signs and lighted register numbers. It's a whole new trend that completely wash away those register numbers held by poles. The bakery is huge and the kitchen is hugely exposed for customers to watch. I can't describe it, so you'll just have to go there. I did noticed that lunch meat was enclosed behind glass doors. Interesting. The aisles is the widest ever on record. No other existing stores have aisles as wide as this new Crest store.

One failure grade that I have to give is the use of metal/steel carts. I feel with the "Fresh" theme and the color Green, that they should have ordered plastic green carts instead. Not just a plain box shape, but a design with a bit of curve. That is the only failure grade that I can think of for this entire store.

[Bostonfan]

If only there weren't any "idiots" that shopped at Crest. I'm sure Crest foods would love to hear their employees call customers idiots. Are you a sacker?

[PennyQuilts]

Thunder, thanks for a grocery store man's take on it!

[SOONER8693]

I like the new store a lot. I will be shopping there from now on, living just south of sw 134th, location is great. One minor negative, coming home from picking up the wife at the airport Monday night, about midnight, only 2 checkout lanes open. I had 1 item as did several others, but, we had to wait for people with full carts. The self-checks were shut down. I know stopping at midnight was not ideal, but, why do stores shut down the self-checks late at night? I was very relieved to see the new Crest had self-check lanes. I use them religiously.

[MonkeesFan]

Where is the pictures?

[possumfritter]

And you're like me you don't want to use the self check counters. Because how the hell do you imput a price on an item without a bar code, such as produce without looking like a clueless idiot?

If you wanna have fun, put a watermelon on the scale and input the code for "radish."