Quality grocery stores in OKC

[Mr. Blue Sky]

Even the “newer” Homeland stores (mostly old Albertsons stores) are getting major renovations. This new CEO has done much to signal they are not to be counted out in the grocery wars.

[TheTravellers]

I'll try to remember to bump this thread on November 15th once 90 days have passed and there's still no Uptown Grocery open in that shopping center.

Here's your bump.

[HOT ROD]

now that it's near 2020, how would everyone rate OKC's grocery store options? I know there are still a few food deserts and there's plans in the works for the big one on the eastside, but barring that - what are resident's feelings of OKC's options regardless of how close they are to you? Has OKC matured into a market that can support multiple grocery options? Is Walmart still the largest grocer? High end? What are your thoughts?

[Edmond Hausfrau]

I think more what changed the game was Amazon and meal subscription services like Hello Fresh. I use Walmart at least weekly for milk, sugar, etc. I use Trader Joe's for flowers, hostess gifts, impulse items. They are like the Target of groceries for impulse purchasing. I really was never impressed by Uptown Grocery, and use Whole Foods for most heat and serve items. I don't use Sam's or Costco because I don't have many mouths to feed but my own.
I do wish we had a decent delicatessen. Cheevers closed their Cafe C which I used when I was closer to downtown. An Eatzis or a Brooklyn style deli would be nice.

[Pete]

now that it's near 2020, how would everyone rate OKC's grocery store options? I know there are still a few food deserts and there's plans in the works for the big one on the eastside, but barring that - what are resident's feelings of OKC's options regardless of how close they are to you? Has OKC matured into a market that can support multiple grocery options? Is Walmart still the largest grocer? High end? What are your thoughts?

We have come light-years in the last 5 years or so.

We have added Trader Joe's, Whole Foods, Costco, and Winco. Homeland and Crest have done a good job. Uptown Grocery has 2 very nice, upscale stores. Aldi is a great option and has expanded. Sprouts is great for what they do.

The middle-market stores are still a little weak, but that sector is dying anyway, squeezed by the specialty grocers and deep-discounters. And really, Winco (which I love) more than covers everything the middle-market traditional grocers offer and doesn't require you to buy in massive quantity.

I shop at Trader Joe's, Sam's (because I live very close to one that is incredibly easy to get in and out of) and Winco. I'll occasionally make the trip to Costco but it's too far for me to make it into my regular shopping rotation, but I will keep my membership there. I live very close to an Aldi which is fine, but I don't patronize it very often. I'm relatively close to Whole Foods and Sprouts, but I've never been a fan of either.

At least in my area (close to Penn Square) I have all the options I could ask for.

[PaddyShack]

I personally would like to have either Winco or Crest closer to our neck of the woods. Just this past year we have switched to shopping more at Aldi and moving away from WM, even though we have one just under a mile away. We do like some of the products offered at Crest, such as Turkey Hill Ice Cream, hence why we would love to have one closer. I am disappointed that our local Buy For Less switched over to a Cash Saver or whatever crap idea that is. I wouldn't mind an Uptown, but it would come third to Crest and Winco. I still would love for some one to bring Wegman's to OKC.

[Teo9969]

Did Uptown come through on their promise to have a grocery store up and running by Nov?

[TheTravellers]

Did Uptown come through on their promise to have a grocery store up and running by Nov?

Nope.

[Edmond Hausfrau]

I wonder how Urban Agrarian is faring up in Edmond? For the price point, I am more likely to use Whole Foods, but they are great spot for hostess gifts like fancy syrups, etc.

[btmec]

I wish OKC could get a store like H.E.B. Signature store. That is one of my favorite places to shop when in Houston.

[progressiveboy]

I hear that the profit margins for grocery stores are razor thin. If OKC wants better quality grocery stores like Central Market or HEB then it will take OKC landing lots of white collar jobs and corporate HQ moves to OKC! In addition, it will take high disposable incomes! OKC needs those high profile companies moving from California with people bringing their money and investing in OKC!

[John1744]

I hear that the profit margins for grocery stores are razor thin. If OKC wants better quality grocery stores like Central Market or HEB then it will take OKC landing lots of white collar jobs and corporate HQ moves to OKC! In addition, it will take high disposable incomes! OKC needs those high profile companies moving from California with people bringing their money and investing in OKC!

Yep they are incredibly thin. The old grocery joke is if you make a dollar you are lucky to keep 2 to 3 pennies of that. A store like Crest probably aims to make 15% gross profit on most grocery items and dips as low as 5-10% on their hot items then hopefully make 30-40% on beauty care, non food, specialty food items and bakery/deli and produce. But then you factor in labor and insurance can cost you about 10%, transaction fees are 3-5% now and just general expenses like utilities are another 5% you're not making much money at the end of the day. Crest is a little unique in that they say they own everything, have no loans, pay cash for everything so they aren't beholden to anyone but their own bottom line.

Most medium and large chains of course have some amount of debt or loans to keep a credit line with their financers in case a large acquisition presents itself and they need to borrow short term to make it happen. So a lot of small chains are constantly in a state of paying off loans or weathering dips in the industry with their small amount of cash on hand. Or just trying to make improvements to their stores every 5 to 10 years just to stay "fresh". Grocery stores get "aged" faster than almost any other retail industry for a few reasons. Changing consumer habits being a huge one, you invest huge into fresh foods in the mid 2000's because everyone's trying to eat healthier so you take out some of your frozen cases and expand your bakery and deli and then a freak pandemic hits and now consumers are nervous of anything being touched by humans and are instead wanting those frozen staples. Another is simply traffic. Grocery stores on the medium size have 1200-1800 customers a day. A Crest probably gets 4000 or so customers per day if not more. That is so much foot traffic and wear on your assets.

So to really succeed in the grocery industry you almost have to overcome that plateau of being a small chain of 6-10 stores and stuck churning finances to growing to a medium chain of 100-200 locations where you are secure financially as long as you are extra careful and you don't expand too quickly but you also keep renovating your older locations, a medium chain usually falls into two categories even then. Those that are rural good solid stores or urban high end stores like an almost HEB or so. Then you might become a large chain like a Publix that has so many resources in warehouse bulk buying and supply bulk buying that you can cut your costs down to where you can build large gorgeous stores constantly if you want to.

It's a really fascinating industry. Very curious to see how the next couple of decades treat it.

[oklip955]

I was thinking this morning, would it be nice to have Lidl come to Oklahoma. Also was thinking, wish Winco would build the Memorial rd store. I guess it will be a long time for either of these to be built. Oh well, we are better now then a few years ago. And yes we need more white collar ie $$$$ jobs to come to Oklahoma City and the surrounding areas.

[SEMIweather]

I'd put all three WinCo locations as well as the three newest Crest locations (SW OKC, Norman, Yukon) up against anything in any other Metro at their respective price points. That means most of the OKC area has a high-quality store or two within reasonable driving distance. The glaring exceptions are obviously North OKC and Edmond, and given that, it'll be interesting to see if the Chisholm Creek WinCo ever comes to fruition, as well as the long-rumored Crest at Covell & I-35. I also wonder if the Piedmont/Deer Creek area eventually gets something good as that part of town continues to grow at a relatively rapid pace.

[Pete]

^

There is a Crest at 15th & Santa Fe in Edmond.

[scottk]

^

There is a Crest at 15th & Santa Fe in Edmond.

There is, but it is starting to show its age. The store while large, is basic in design and offerings compared to their newer "Fresh Market" stores in Norman and SW OKC. They have made small improvements through the years, but it's still a very warehouse style store and at times is extremely crowded as the only full service grocery offering on the west side of Edmond that doesn't end in "Mart".

I know Winco has land near Penn and Memorial on the south west side next to Aldi, as the Deer Creek/NWOKC area grows it would be nice to have that kind of store north of Memorial closer to 164th and Portland or similar that isn't such a traffic nightmare. SuperTarget at Penn and Memorial can be 20 minutes closer than the Walmart just across the turnpike because of stoplights and congestion if you are coming from the north.

If Winco ever builds on the land at Penn and Memorial, it is no more convenient than the existing Sams, Walmart, Aldi, and SuperTarget all in proximity to that corner.

[corwin1968]

There is, but it is starting to show its age. The store while large, is basic in design and offerings compared to their newer "Fresh Market" stores in Norman and SW OKC. They have made small improvements through the years, but it's still a very warehouse style store and at times is extremely crowded as the only full service grocery offering on the west side of Edmond that doesn't end in "Mart".

I know Winco has land near Penn and Memorial on the south west side next to Aldi, as the Deer Creek/NWOKC area grows it would be nice to have that kind of store north of Memorial closer to 164th and Portland or similar that isn't such a traffic nightmare. SuperTarget at Penn and Memorial can be 20 minutes closer than the Walmart just across the turnpike because of stoplights and congestion if you are coming from the north.

If Winco ever builds on the land at Penn and Memorial, it is no more convenient than the existing Sams, Walmart, Aldi, and SuperTarget all in proximity to that corner.

If a nice grocery store goes into the Deer Creek/West Edmond area, I think they will do very well. We aren't that far from Crest, but like someone else said, it's not much different than grocery stores I worked in back in the 80's and 90's.

[corwin1968]

There is, but it is starting to show its age. The store while large, is basic in design and offerings compared to their newer "Fresh Market" stores in Norman and SW OKC. They have made small improvements through the years, but it's still a very warehouse style store and at times is extremely crowded as the only full service grocery offering on the west side of Edmond that doesn't end in "Mart".

I know Winco has land near Penn and Memorial on the south west side next to Aldi, as the Deer Creek/NWOKC area grows it would be nice to have that kind of store north of Memorial closer to 164th and Portland or similar that isn't such a traffic nightmare. SuperTarget at Penn and Memorial can be 20 minutes closer than the Walmart just across the turnpike because of stoplights and congestion if you are coming from the north.

If Winco ever builds on the land at Penn and Memorial, it is no more convenient than the existing Sams, Walmart, Aldi, and SuperTarget all in proximity to that corner.

If a nice grocery store goes into the Deer Creek/West Edmond area, I think they will do very well. We aren't that far from Crest, but like someone else said, it's not much different than grocery stores I worked in back in the 80's and 90's.

I've never been to Winco but building South of Memorial would keep us from ever going there. We live near NW 178th and anything South of 150th, just isn't worth dealing with the traffic unless it's really early or late in the day.

[floyd the barber]

I give my patronage to Crest.

I figure Walmart has enough customers that they can survive without me.

Sprouts is a really neat concept but it's limited. It is a store I would need to shop at in addition to another grocer and time is money.

[Pete]

I thought I would revive this thread and list all the new grocery options we now have in OKC:

Whole Foods
Trader Joes
Winco
New and heavily remodeled Homelands
Sprouts
Natural Grocers
Jack Be
Aldis all over the place
New Crest stores
Remodeled and expanded Targets
Pruett's
Uptown Grocer
and Kroger delivery

The Kroger thing in particular is a game-changer for older people, those who live in food deserts, and downtown residents.


Groceries are yet another area where OKC has made huge strides in a short time.

[Martin]

I thought I would revive this thread and list all the new grocery options we now have in OKC:
Pratt's

ha... i'm embarrassed to say that i searched around trying to find out how/where pratt's was resurrected... then i realized that you probably meant pruett's.

edit: and that got me to thinking what ever became of j.b. pratt... couldn't find anything online past a 2011 interview.

[Bowser214]

The West side does have that new Winco. And I hate it with every fiber of my being. The checkout process is a joke. I will give a positive review for the Walmart NeighborHood store on NW 63rd and MacArthur. It has the long self-checkout counter so you can put a basket full of groceries on the conveyer belt. The Crest on 23rd is adequate and the Aldi is awful. Still dreaming of a Kroger. But 1st world problems. I mainly go by Homeland on Classen after work.

[Pete]

^

Use Kroger delivery. It's fantastic.

[Brett]

I'm not sure if I mentioned this on a previous thread but I had asked an employee at the Aldi's location on N. May Ave. & NW 47th St. if the store would receive an upgrade to self-service checkouts. She said that was probably not going to happen and the Edmond and Yukon locations were so much more busy as to justify the self-service checkouts at those locations.

[Ward]

I'd make the argument that we need a year-around Farmers Market.

We had a very good one, it was the OSU-OKC Farmers Market at NW 4th & Portland.

The building itself was a bit small, but you could go in year around and get a lot of good organic meats and eggs, etc etc etc.

I don't know why OSU-OKC kicked out the Farmers Market people. The merchants moved elsewhere. It's too hot in the summer and too cold in the winter (being outside sales).

It would be amazing to have a custom butcher nearby, purchase 1/4 or 1/2 or Full beef or pork, organically raised. You can do this, you just have to find a farmer/rancher who does this and a nearby customer butcher/processor. Rural communities have more access to this, I think.

And FWIW the Chefs Store (US FOODS store) at I-240 & Walker is another source, but you will be buying in larger quantities. You even buy "primal cuts" of beef, take it home, cut up your steaks to the way you like them, and save money. Check it out.