Comments | cahwyguy: More Economic Chum

cahwyguy

More Economic Chum

Mar 25, 2009 11:11

The economy is on everyone’s minds these days, and thus the lunchtime perusal of the news is finding mostly economic stuff:

From the “A Rising Economy” Department: According to CNN, one thing that is growing in this economy is the number of men wanting vasectomies.
From the “Let’s Go Out Tonight” Department: According to USA Today, struggling ( Read more... )

economy, news-chum

Comments 7

tsgeisel March 25 2009, 18:20:29 UTC

I don't think it's just full-service restaurants. My local Fresh Choice (and it may be brand-wide) is now only $6.99 between 3-5pm. They get more business during their dead time, and people don't pay as much for all they dare eat. Win all around.

As for Whole Paycheck - they still seem pretty busy here. They just don't have a lot of competition as far as fresh and organic foods go, and the people who shop there regularly probably don't think of shopping anywhere else. But I bet their in-house/generic brand is doing better these days.

cahwyguy March 25 2009, 18:31:54 UTC

The article cited (which is based in St. Louis) noted that a lot of markets are adding improved produced and organic sections. We noted that when we were in Nashville: the organic and fresh (as well as gluten-free sections) in the local Krogers were significantly better than the equivalents in Ralphs. I don't know if there is a similar distinction between Safeway vs. Vons.

satyrlovesong March 25 2009, 18:22:27 UTC

We don't have a Whole Foods or a Trader Joes here in town, so my shopping habits haven't changed much. I go through the Nugget and Safeway ads each week and compile a list, using the best value from each store. It works rather well, on the whole.

terpsichoros March 25 2009, 18:50:48 UTC

No Co-op?

Trader Joe's is awesome, and I expect their business will *improve*, as they have better prices on a lot of foods than other stores.

satyrlovesong March 25 2009, 20:10:17 UTC

We do have a co-op, but I generally just shop there every couple of months for bulk items, spices and yeast.

talonvaki March 25 2009, 19:12:14 UTC

Whole Paycheck and Trader Joe's still can't compete with Chinatown's supermarkets for the exotic stuff. I can still get nice, top round beef roasts, hardly any fat, for $3 or $4 a pound.

terpsichoros March 26 2009, 03:54:51 UTC

My wife tells me that produce is really good and really cheap at the Chinese produce markets, but that you pretty much need to buy for tonight's meal, because the stuff is basically ripe and will be over-ripe within a day.

I'd suspect the meat was basically the same.