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Like other people have said, I shop on a daily basis, there’s a store close to us which is open every day and the price difference compared to other, bigger sto

Like other people have said, I shop on a daily basis, there’s a store close to us which is open every day and the price difference compared to other, bigger stores which are located just outside the city is not that big. It’s me, my SO, our dog and our cat, it’s pretty doable, fresh produce and fresh fruits every day (especially now, as the summer comes) is pure heaven. We’re not big meat nor processed food consumers, and ordering take-out food is oftentimes comparable (if you add in the opportunity cost of the time and energy spent cooking).

whimsicalism 4y ago
Do you live in SF? If so, I'm curious what neighborhood. > ordering take-out food is oftentimes comparable I find people who do the daily shopping thing tend to order more take out than people who do the bulk shopping thing. it might have to do with them skewing younger though
- gkop 4y ago
  Think Gus’s family of markets in SF. And independent markets like Golden on Church St between Duboce and Market. Other Avenues in the Sunset. And countless ethnic markets across the city. All these will be quicker to get in and out of than a Safeway or a Whole Foods.
  - whimsicalism 4y ago
    Stores like Golden charge for the convenience. Most people in SF live more than 5 minutes walk from a Gus's or equivalent. Gus's are not faster than a Safeway or Whole Foods in my experience, ethnic markets definitely are.
    - gkop 4y ago
      I’m so confused by your comments. How are you carrying your groceries home? Full-sized shopping cart implies car. Car in SF, on the median, means calling an Uber, renting a Zipcar, moving another car in a tandem garage, operating a stacker, or finding a new street parking space when you come home - this shit takes time. Plus, parking at the store is often its own sport. Versus just popping into the green grocer on your way back from whatever other walking or bicycling errand in the second most dense city in the US.. Also, what do your taste buds and nutritionist say about the value of produce freshness?
      - whimsicalism 4y ago
        I use a car now, but it is part of my once a week commute that I go to the grocer. I think street parking difficulty really depends on the neighborhood, in general SF is no Manhattan. I also grew up in the city and based on my observation seem to find parking considerably faster than my peers, so YMMV. When I lived near Dolores park, if it wasn't the weekend parking was really easy. In Divorce triangle, parking is a little harder but still not that bad. e: Duboce triangle, not divorce triangle haha
    - jwagenet 4y ago
      What? Around Potrero Hill, Gus’s is a third of the size of Safeway and half the size of Whole Foods, and that might still be generous. If you know what you are looking for a Gus’s trip takes less time on the merit of taking less walking the aisles due to store size alone.
      - whimsicalism 4y ago
        It's a function of the number of customers and the checkout time, not the size of the store IMO.
- paganel 4y ago
  Half way around the world, actually :) In Bucharest, Romania. Where we live now the super-market is oftentimes closer to our building’s entrance compared to where I park our car (the supermarket is obviously always in the same place, but the parking location is variable from day to day, depending on luck). Even at the place where we staid before this, the tram station was just across the street, so it was doable to get out of work, pass by the supermarket, get in the tram, home. As I now work from home (since even before the pandemic) I value the shopping and the interaction with the supermarket’s cashiers for itself, not quite like in a Shop Around the Corner way but, nevertheless, it kind of builds some “community”-like vibe. I also do the shopping for our two pets by walking to the pet-shop myself, it’s a 15-20 minute walk each way I’d say. It would be a little cheaper to buy their food online, in bulk, and would “save” that time that I spend walking to and back from the shop, but, like mentioned above, buying food for our pets while talking with the pet-food cashier about what new pet treats they have brought in or some other stuff like that is an experience that I value for itself.
  - csydas 4y ago
    I want to second that I have the impression the parent is speaking from a strictly american perspective. I'm an American that emigrated to eastern europe, and even before I emigrated, I had already started to get _used_ to the way a lot of Europe has it. I lived in Russia and Armenia and Czech Republic for quite a few years now, and the difference in how the cities are laid out is quite apparent; having a small but well stocked market every couple hundred meters really makes planning _far_ easier, and frequent trips are not a problem. Before COVID hit, it used to be that I'd just stop at the market on the first floor of my building and grab the few perishable essentials I needed (meat, some vegetables) and had plenty to cook for myself and for friends/neighbors that would visit. This simply isn't the case in the US, even in the most modern cities. The corner markets/bodegas/whatever don't come close to what the common market in Europe has; you can get pretty alright quality _whatever_ at these markets, and leave the more exotic stuff (mostly asian ingredients/items or non-common spices) for when you go to a super market. That isn't to say that no one ever does the traditional hypermarket run outside of the US; seeing babushkas and their hand carts packed with a week's worth of food and drinks trudging down the lane is a normal sight, but just as frequently they're stopping by the meat market near their commie block or by the small shops at the base of their building to get a few quick essentials. It's honestly far more convenient; and at least prior to Ukraine situation, the home delivery options in Russia were fantastic, albeit a bit abusive of the work force when it came to wages.
- jokethrowaway 4y ago
  I shop almost daily and rarely go to restaurants or order online. My freezer contains only ice cream. The shop is 2min by car and next to my kids' school so it's quite convenient. I could shop in a cheaper store further away but having fresh meat, fish, fruit and vegetables is a great plus.
jghn 4y ago
Exactly. There are 4 grocery stores in easy walking distance to me, and a few more within a 10 min drive. There are also over a dozen specialty markets in that same radius. And a weekly farmers market about a 10 min walk away. I go food shopping ~3 times a week and just pick up what we need for the next couple of days.
balaji1 4y ago
There are so many grocery delivery or pick-up options these days (depends on where you live), I find it surprising people don't prefer those. For most people, I would expect that shopping is somewhat of a boring and tiresome chore. Big box stores are different. I guess the prices on Amazon are now significantly higher and delivery is taking longer these days, to make the trip to a trip to a Walmart or Target. Still I don't understand how some people's eyes light up as they push around shopping carts. It just shows me how much I don't understand other people's lives. And a reason to be even more polite when interacting with strangers.
- blown_gasket 4y ago
  To offer a different perspective. I personally dislike both grocery delivery and pick-up options. Pick-up doesn't tend to list every option available. Pick-up also doesn't let you see the fruit or vegetables that are going into your cart until you've already paid. (I spend A LOT of money on fruit which approaches 50% of my diet on some days). Delivery there is a fee and I by principal don't try to use services that incur a fee when I can perform the task myself. This is also why I don't use delivery for pizza. I frankly don't trust strangers doing the pick-up. I've had to use this service a couple of times during self-isolation during the height of the pandemic and there was always something out-of-stock, which seemed implausible, as I never had an issue with my groceries being out of stock. I don't see how shopping is boring or tiresome, it can definitely be agitating to have to deal with the entire spectrum of your local populous in a cramped labyrinth but you are walking, searching, and making decisions. It is definitely a chore though. I'm visiting the grocery store at least once per day on average but I also live a mile away. With work-from-home/work-remote it helps to feed the social need in me, even if I'm not chatting with strangers, I'm seeing them.
  - Izkata 4y ago
    > I frankly don't trust strangers doing the pick-up. I've had to use this service a couple of times during self-isolation during the height of the pandemic and there was always something out-of-stock, which seemed implausible, as I never had an issue with my groceries being out of stock. This is the big one for me. All current grocery delivery options in my area rely on gig workers, which is essentially having any random person on the street touch your food. I used to use Peapod, which had actual employees, so there's a bit of extra responsibility and in theory safety/reliability. Not really much worse than, say, a restaurant. Unfortunately they completely left the Midwest in Feb 2020 (great timing eh?).
jjav 4y ago
> ordering take-out food is oftentimes comparable If you account for it objectively, no way. I'm lazy and often do takeout, but it's definitely much more expensive. A $20 takeout meal can be done for less than $5 by cooking it all at home.

whimsicalism 4y ago

Do you live in SF? If so, I'm curious what neighborhood. > ordering take-out food is oftentimes comparable I find people who do the daily shopping thing tend to order more take out than people who do the bulk shopping thing. it might have to do with them skewing younger though

gkop 4y ago
Think Gus’s family of markets in SF. And independent markets like Golden on Church St between Duboce and Market. Other Avenues in the Sunset. And countless ethnic markets across the city. All these will be quicker to get in and out of than a Safeway or a Whole Foods.
- whimsicalism 4y ago
  Stores like Golden charge for the convenience. Most people in SF live more than 5 minutes walk from a Gus's or equivalent. Gus's are not faster than a Safeway or Whole Foods in my experience, ethnic markets definitely are.
  - gkop 4y ago
    I’m so confused by your comments. How are you carrying your groceries home? Full-sized shopping cart implies car. Car in SF, on the median, means calling an Uber, renting a Zipcar, moving another car in a tandem garage, operating a stacker, or finding a new street parking space when you come home - this shit takes time. Plus, parking at the store is often its own sport. Versus just popping into the green grocer on your way back from whatever other walking or bicycling errand in the second most dense city in the US.. Also, what do your taste buds and nutritionist say about the value of produce freshness?
    - whimsicalism 4y ago
      I use a car now, but it is part of my once a week commute that I go to the grocer. I think street parking difficulty really depends on the neighborhood, in general SF is no Manhattan. I also grew up in the city and based on my observation seem to find parking considerably faster than my peers, so YMMV. When I lived near Dolores park, if it wasn't the weekend parking was really easy. In Divorce triangle, parking is a little harder but still not that bad. e: Duboce triangle, not divorce triangle haha
  - jwagenet 4y ago
    What? Around Potrero Hill, Gus’s is a third of the size of Safeway and half the size of Whole Foods, and that might still be generous. If you know what you are looking for a Gus’s trip takes less time on the merit of taking less walking the aisles due to store size alone.
    - whimsicalism 4y ago
      It's a function of the number of customers and the checkout time, not the size of the store IMO.
paganel 4y ago
Half way around the world, actually :) In Bucharest, Romania. Where we live now the super-market is oftentimes closer to our building’s entrance compared to where I park our car (the supermarket is obviously always in the same place, but the parking location is variable from day to day, depending on luck). Even at the place where we staid before this, the tram station was just across the street, so it was doable to get out of work, pass by the supermarket, get in the tram, home. As I now work from home (since even before the pandemic) I value the shopping and the interaction with the supermarket’s cashiers for itself, not quite like in a Shop Around the Corner way but, nevertheless, it kind of builds some “community”-like vibe. I also do the shopping for our two pets by walking to the pet-shop myself, it’s a 15-20 minute walk each way I’d say. It would be a little cheaper to buy their food online, in bulk, and would “save” that time that I spend walking to and back from the shop, but, like mentioned above, buying food for our pets while talking with the pet-food cashier about what new pet treats they have brought in or some other stuff like that is an experience that I value for itself.
- csydas 4y ago
  I want to second that I have the impression the parent is speaking from a strictly american perspective. I'm an American that emigrated to eastern europe, and even before I emigrated, I had already started to get _used_ to the way a lot of Europe has it. I lived in Russia and Armenia and Czech Republic for quite a few years now, and the difference in how the cities are laid out is quite apparent; having a small but well stocked market every couple hundred meters really makes planning _far_ easier, and frequent trips are not a problem. Before COVID hit, it used to be that I'd just stop at the market on the first floor of my building and grab the few perishable essentials I needed (meat, some vegetables) and had plenty to cook for myself and for friends/neighbors that would visit. This simply isn't the case in the US, even in the most modern cities. The corner markets/bodegas/whatever don't come close to what the common market in Europe has; you can get pretty alright quality _whatever_ at these markets, and leave the more exotic stuff (mostly asian ingredients/items or non-common spices) for when you go to a super market. That isn't to say that no one ever does the traditional hypermarket run outside of the US; seeing babushkas and their hand carts packed with a week's worth of food and drinks trudging down the lane is a normal sight, but just as frequently they're stopping by the meat market near their commie block or by the small shops at the base of their building to get a few quick essentials. It's honestly far more convenient; and at least prior to Ukraine situation, the home delivery options in Russia were fantastic, albeit a bit abusive of the work force when it came to wages.
jokethrowaway 4y ago
I shop almost daily and rarely go to restaurants or order online. My freezer contains only ice cream. The shop is 2min by car and next to my kids' school so it's quite convenient. I could shop in a cheaper store further away but having fresh meat, fish, fruit and vegetables is a great plus.

jghn 4y ago

Exactly. There are 4 grocery stores in easy walking distance to me, and a few more within a 10 min drive. There are also over a dozen specialty markets in that same radius. And a weekly farmers market about a 10 min walk away. I go food shopping ~3 times a week and just pick up what we need for the next couple of days.

balaji1 4y ago

There are so many grocery delivery or pick-up options these days (depends on where you live), I find it surprising people don't prefer those. For most people, I would expect that shopping is somewhat of a boring and tiresome chore. Big box stores are different. I guess the prices on Amazon are now significantly higher and delivery is taking longer these days, to make the trip to a trip to a Walmart or Target. Still I don't understand how some people's eyes light up as they push around shopping carts. It just shows me how much I don't understand other people's lives. And a reason to be even more polite when interacting with strangers.

blown_gasket 4y ago
To offer a different perspective. I personally dislike both grocery delivery and pick-up options. Pick-up doesn't tend to list every option available. Pick-up also doesn't let you see the fruit or vegetables that are going into your cart until you've already paid. (I spend A LOT of money on fruit which approaches 50% of my diet on some days). Delivery there is a fee and I by principal don't try to use services that incur a fee when I can perform the task myself. This is also why I don't use delivery for pizza. I frankly don't trust strangers doing the pick-up. I've had to use this service a couple of times during self-isolation during the height of the pandemic and there was always something out-of-stock, which seemed implausible, as I never had an issue with my groceries being out of stock. I don't see how shopping is boring or tiresome, it can definitely be agitating to have to deal with the entire spectrum of your local populous in a cramped labyrinth but you are walking, searching, and making decisions. It is definitely a chore though. I'm visiting the grocery store at least once per day on average but I also live a mile away. With work-from-home/work-remote it helps to feed the social need in me, even if I'm not chatting with strangers, I'm seeing them.
- Izkata 4y ago
  > I frankly don't trust strangers doing the pick-up. I've had to use this service a couple of times during self-isolation during the height of the pandemic and there was always something out-of-stock, which seemed implausible, as I never had an issue with my groceries being out of stock. This is the big one for me. All current grocery delivery options in my area rely on gig workers, which is essentially having any random person on the street touch your food. I used to use Peapod, which had actual employees, so there's a bit of extra responsibility and in theory safety/reliability. Not really much worse than, say, a restaurant. Unfortunately they completely left the Midwest in Feb 2020 (great timing eh?).

jjav 4y ago

> ordering take-out food is oftentimes comparable If you account for it objectively, no way. I'm lazy and often do takeout, but it's definitely much more expensive. A $20 takeout meal can be done for less than $5 by cooking it all at home.