Quality grocery stores in OKC

[soonermike81]

Pretty interesting, I hadn't heard about this yet. Lidl would be playing from behind as Aldi has a pretty large foot print in the US already with almost 1400 stores and now expanding out west. Yes, they would be the closest direct competitor to Aldi, but expanding into new markets aren't always that easy.

[MagzOK]

I avoid that Sprouts for that reason. It's always so busy and its a pain to get in and out of the parking lot. They really need more locations, especially in central OKC.

Exactly! I would go there way more if the parking lot wasn't such a hassle. I hate the parking lot. Then on top of that getting out onto May or 63rd is a PIA.

[TheTravellers]

Exactly! I would go there way more if the parking lot wasn't such a hassle. I hate the parking lot. Then on top of that getting out onto May or 63rd is a PIA.

Park over by the dentist next to Half-Price Books and use the back streets to get out (lived on NW 67th behind there for 18 years, but if you don't know the streets, use google maps to plot your escape). That works sometimes, if the lot isn't completely full (we go on Sat afternoons and there are always a few spaces by the dentist).

[Rover]

I think Sprouts would be the perfect fit for Midtown.

[Pete]

I know Sprouts looked at Land Run's project at 4th & EKG but I don't know if any progress has been made there.

[terryinokc]

Uptown Grocery is opening on February 4.

[Dustin]

Wow. They really sped things up. Surprised by that date.

[Canoe]

Uptown Grocery is opening on February 4.

As a downtown resident, I am jealous.

[Mississippi Blues]

I'm confused. I drove by Uptown Grocery on N. May this evening at about 4:45 and the parking lot was full of cars and it appeared to be open.

[Pete]

Probably some sort of soft opening.

[Mississippi Blues]

That's the only thing I could imagine it being. It appeared to be more full than what you would expect for a soft opening, but I might just have a skewed idea based off of the minimal glance I had of it.

[terryinokc]

That's the only thing I could imagine it being. It appeared to be more full than what you would expect for a soft opening, but I might just have a skewed idea based off of the minimal glance I had of it.

It was a special event for employees...my sister works for Buy For Less and was telling me about it.

[terryinokc]

That's the only thing I could imagine it being. It appeared to be more full than what you would expect for a soft opening, but I might just have a skewed idea based off of the minimal glance I had of it.

It was a special event for employees...my sister works for Buy For Less and was telling me about it.

[Mississippi Blues]

Ah, thanks for the info!

[ctchandler]

I stopped by the new Uptown today. I have been to the Edmond store many times and I must say, the one on May is the Edmond store on steroids. It's really nice, larger, and must carry more items based on size. They also have the online shopping option. Too bad I have moved away. Love to see on in the Mid-Del area, but it probably won't happen anytime soon.
C. T.

[ctchandler]

Don't know how, but this was a double post.
C. T.

[turnpup]

I think the 18th and Western Homeland has reached a new low. We stopped by there just now to grab a couple of frozen pizzas. Right there at the entry was a creepy-looking guy who was asking everyone for cash as they entered and exited. Unbelievable! It just blows the mind that that's the only "neighborhood" grocery for HH, MP, SOSA, etc., residents. There's gotta be sufficient demand for better.

[Ginkasa]

I think the 18th and Western Homeland has reached a new low. We stopped by there just now to grab a couple of frozen pizzas. Right there at the entry was a creepy-looking guy who was asking everyone for cash as they entered and exited. Unbelievable! It just blows the mind that that's the only "neighborhood" grocery for HH, MP, SOSA, etc., residents. There's gotta be sufficient demand for better.

Did you tell anyone about the guy?

[turnpup]

Nope. Maybe I should've. Sadly, that's pretty much par for the course over there. He did walk away, toward Classen, as we were leaving, though.

[Pete]

It's really, really bad.

I avoid it as much as possible but still find myself going there about every other week just out of convenience.

And every time I go I notice something else that is just inexcusable.

I doubt they have spent a dime there in 20 years.

[d-usa]

I figured I would pick the brains of the knowledgeable grocery guys here to get some opinions.

I'm always trying to figure out how to get the best balance between cost and quality, which means I'm constantly adjusting my shopping routine. I wouldn't mind seeing what you guys might do in a similar situation. I often have my 2 year old with me so it helps if I can keep the number of stores to a minimum and minimize distance, but I don't mind going a little bit out of the way. Here are the stores near me and my current pattern:

Aldi: 4 or 5 miles from my house, depending on which store I pick. It's 4 miles to the Store in Edmond and 5 miles to the Store by Penn & Memorial. Usually my first stop for anything canned and boxed, eggs, basic produce.

Target: 5 miles from my house. Usually my "stuff I didn't get at Aldi" store. I use Cartwheel and the Target-branded Debit Card for the discount, but I'm not that attached to the store. It's nicer than Walmart (IMO) so it gets the pick after the Target near there. I like being able to pick up any non-grocery stuff I might need while I'm there.

Butcher Shoppe: North Penn, 2 miles from my house. Nice meat, but it's more expensive than either Aldi or Target of course. But I usually end up finding myself only needing 1 lb of a certain cut of beef roast and the vacuum packed stuff at Aldi and Target just has too much meat in it. So I can either pick up 2+ lbs of roast at one of those stores for $6.99 lbs, or buy 1 lb at $9.99. I spend more per lb, but I'm wasting less. Maybe I just need to invest in a food saver vacuum thingy at some point.

That's my current basic routine, it gives me a nice loop from my house. I live about 4 miles north of Memorial on May and this lets me swing down to Penn and hit up Aldi, Target, Butcher and then head home.

My other options for shopping are:

Walmart (but I don't think they have anything I wouldn't be able to get at Target), 5 miles away at Penn & Memorial.

Natural Grocers, 4 miles away.

Walmart Neighborhood Market, 4 miles away across the street from Natural Grocers.

Homeland (I think it's still open, on Santa Fe & Edmond Road?): 3 miles from my house.

Crest in West Edmond: 5 miles from my house.

I usually only buy groceries for 3 or 4 days at a time, which works out good with the Aldi produce and we usually end up using it before it goes bad. So the other "loop" I might think about is an Edmond Aldi, Crest, Natural Grocers, Walmart Neighborhood Market. I could still work in the butcher on that loop as well, but I think I might be able to get the right size of meat at Crest, and if I stop there then I probably wouldn't need anything at the Neighborhood Market. So that would probably end up looking like Aldi/Crest/Natural Grocers?

But anywho, the question for everyone that shops at these different places would be this: what would you guys do? What places has the best balance of cost/quality for which items? Any places I'm missing that I should consider?

[oklip955]

I live in Edmond so I think I can comment. I'm only shopping for myself. I go to Aldi's for basic produce or some specialty stuff they have in for that week. Most of my groceries an meat I buy at Sprouts. ( I freeze meat that I get a good deal on. If you don't have a big freezer/refrigerator, look at buying a small freezer. Stock up on good deals on meat or frozen foods. I buy my paper goods/cleaners at Sam's club (its a once a month trip) I buy my milk (Kalona with a coupon, sign up for their newsletter) and other dairy products at Natural Grocers, I hit Walmart for other items once a month. I get light bulbs at Lowe's only because that is where I find all that I need. I don't eat much processed foods so I don't need anything more then the above stores. You could add Crest to a once a month trip. Sprouts has about all the meat I need. You might try the meat market at Danforth and Sante Fe if you need something special. Hope this helps. Oh and the Homeland is gone. The one at 33rd is closed for the conversion to Cash Saver.

[d-usa]

Thanks.

I do like the Meat Market, the only downside to it is that its just a bit out of the way for the usual trip. Although I do go to the YMCA at Mitch Park, so it wouldn't be hard to stop by there.

I also like Sprouts, if there was one closer than all the other places I would probably go there. I think the closest to me would be the one on 2nd street? I guess it's only a couple more miles away than the Aldi though.

[bradh]

How does buying bulk meat at Sprouts compare to Sam's? We can load up on ground beef and chicken at Sam's and not have to go back for like 6 weeks. We talking like another 25% in cost if we did the same at Sprouts (for what I would assume is better meat)?

[zookeeper]

Strangely enough, the independent grocery store "Eley's" at NW 31st and May has the best butcher shop in town. They take it seriously and it is gooood. Eley's is also a very nice, clean store which should prove to Homeland at 18th & Classen that "old" doesn't have to mean run-down and dirty. We go out of our way to buy our meat at Eley's. And other stuff, too. They're weekly specials can many times be better than great!
Eley's Foods - Grocery - Oklahoma City, OK - Reviews - Photos - Yelp