I just wanted to praise my favorite grocery store, Ingle's Unless you live in the southeastern United States, you might not be able to shop there because I don't believe they are available in other parts of the country. Here is a list of reasons I love Ingle's: Great customer serviceHuge variety of productsLots of organic/natural items to choose fromThey triple coupons sometimesOpen late at nightWide aisles that are rarely ever too crowded If I'm being completely honest, I will admit that Wal-Mart is cheaper on their groceries. But I always have a great experience at Ingle's and I don't at Wal-Mart, so to me it's worth paying slightly more to avoid the aggravation I usually encounter at most other stores. If you have an Ingle's in your area and have never shopped there, I highly recommend it!
I live in the Pacific Northwest and unfortunately we do not have an Ingle's store in our area . It sounds like it is a really good store. We recently had a Trader Joe's open in a nearby city that everyone is talking about. I have not been there yet because it is over 30 miles away. Our local Walmart is a pretty good store and we have not had any problems there yet so I keep shopping there. I know I am spending less at Walmart than what I was at the other local grocery stores.
We don't have a Trader Joe's near here, is it regional, too? People I know on other forums seem to really like it. I'd like to add my vote for Ingles. I have a small grocery store about five miles away, but it's generally more expensive. Ingles is 10 miles away, so I shop there whenever I can. When I do, I stock up like crazy. I've even gotten my little sister to come with me so I could use two buggies! I use my Ingles Advantage card and save about 10% on my groceries, which is nothing to sneeze at.
I actually rarely shop at Ingles. I do prefer Ingles over Food Lion or Bi-Lo but I actually drive across town to shop at Walmart. I know that is bad but I just feel like I am never getting a good deal on anything when I shop there. There have been a few times where I have found a good deal but its usually on only 1 or 2 items but not enough items in my cart to make it a good deal. They do have good customer service though. I prefer to shop there in mornings when the young kids are not working though haha
I'm glad someone mentioned Trader Joe's! That's another store I really love, but unfortunately it is not local to me. The closest one is about an hour away. I've been a few times though and they have the most interesting selection. A lot of foods you just would never find anywhere else. The only complaint I have with Trader Joe's is that the store is very, very small. But most of their stuff is natural/organic and they have a great selection of that stuff. Daisiesndots -- I also prefer shopping at Ingle's in the mornings. Everything is a lot quieter.
I have never been to Trader Joe's but I would love to have one here! I always hear such great things about it and I always see people post online about cool items they have found and they always end up finding it at Trader Joe's. The closest thing we have to a Trader Joe's here would be Earth Fare. I rarely shop there but I always find cool items when I shop there.
I do not have an Ingle's in my area, but I totally agree with you about paying a little bit more for a much better experience. I avoid Walmart like the plague... cheap, but awful!
