Grocery Rumors Swirling

[MontroseNeighborhoodCafe]

Feb. 14, 2005, 11:30PM

Grocery rumors swirling

Speculation centers on what's ahead for Randalls

By DAVID KAPLAN

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[GovernorAggie]

I hope Harris Teeter buys Randall's. Even mid-range Harris Teeter stores can give Central Markets a run for their money.

[jm1fd]

I'd like to see HEB pick them up. I think HEB has a great combination of price, quality, and selection....price being the more important in my book. Failing HEB, I'd like anyone but Kroger.

[Parrothead]

There's no secret to this one. Randall's is practically price gouging. I can get a stick of butter down the street at Kroger's for .25 cents....Randall's buys the same stick of butter from the same vendor for the same price but charges .40 cents. It would be different if they were more of a boutique grocer like Whole Foods, or Rice Epicurean, but...no......it's Randall's. So I only go to Randall's if I am desperate.

I would love to see the Onsteads buy it back. I hate Safeway.

[kzseattle]

I hope Harris Teeter buys Randall's.

[kjb434]

I literally avoid Randals at all cost. It just too expensive. I primarily go to Kroger and if i lived within 5 miles of a Super Wal-Mart or SuperTarget (which i don't), I'll use them. Randalls needs to be more competitive.

[The Great Hizzy!]

I used to prefer HEB over Kroger's and Randalls, but since all the HEBs near me are so busy nowadays, I shop at old reliable: Kroger's.

Randall's has always been too expensive, and their selection is surprisingly ho-hum compared to their competitors.

I mean, go to the Randall's in Midtown, for example, and they barely have any Lil' Debbie snack cakes.

I mean, c'mon!

[MidtownCoog]

Randall's in Midtown is a special case.

Check out the size of the carts.

[kzseattle]

I used to prefer HEB over Kroger's and Randalls, but since all the HEBs near me are so busy nowadays, I shop at old reliable: Kroger's.

Randall's has always been too expensive, and their selection is surprisingly ho-hum compared to their competitors.

I mean, go to the Randall's in Midtown, for example, and they barely have any Lil' Debbie snack cakes.

I mean, c'mon!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I havnt been in town long enough to check out all Randall's and Krogers. However, I have seen a few. For eg, The Kroger on Westheimer in Westchase next to Hilton hotel and Randalls also in Westchase on Westheimer near Target. If I compare just these two, its like comparing Target and Wal-mart. In Kroger, staff is usually no where to be found and when I do find it they are rude and act as if they are having a bad day. The store is rather dirty too. Compared to it, Randall looks much better. Just my opinion.

[citykid09]

Kroger is for old farts.

It's a Yankee union shop from Ohio.

I prefer HEB.  Keep my money in Texas.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I was about to say the same thing. Keep it in Texas. But if not, I would like to see a new chain come to the area. Like Food Lion use to be in Houston, or Publix. I just like the name "Publix" http://www.publix.com/

[HeightsGuy]

Kroger is for old farts.

It's a Yankee union shop from Ohio.

I prefer HEB. Keep my money in Texas.

I really try to like HEB, but they make it hard. The problem with HEB is that there are so many flavors, and I'm not talking the difference between an HEB and Central Market either. It could be HEB, or HEB Pantry, or a few other types, and I can never remember which is which. And that's a bad thing because some of them can be absolute dumps in regards to the selection, and then you can turn around and walk into one that makes you think you were in their Central Market location. Unfortunately, the HEB flavor by my house (the one on 18th in Shady Acres) is the dump variety. It's a fairly new store stocked full of the crappiest selection.

With Kroger (now that most are Signature), a Kroger is a Kroger is a Kroger. I can go in knowing exactly what their selection will be. I think they seem to "get it" with my demographic group (30-somethings). The stuff I tend to like and buy is always in abundance there.

I know I may get grilled for this (being the hippy liberal that I am), but I am pretty impressed with the small Walmart Neighborhood stores too.

Randalls is just a waste of time these days. I know some people swear by the prices there, but the items I buy always seem more expensive at Randalls.

[Parrothead]

Oh Publix!! Makes me long for Florida. "Where shopping is a pleasure." I grew up between Naples and Houston and Publix was my granny's fave grocery store!! I miss it!!!

[Lowbrow]

I think we need Piggly Wiggly. There is just no way to go into the Pig and be cool. Gotta love that. I've never been in a store that sells all its produce saran wrapped before. hehe.

[ssullivan]

I really like Randall's and have never understood what the beef about their prices is. When I lived in Westchase I shopped at both Randall's and HEB after the new one opened (wouldn't go near the nasty HEB Pantry it replaced) and I never saw much difference in my grocery bill between the two stores. Granted I use a lot of coupons and with my Randall's card many of those get doubled and tripled. So maybe that's why I've never really felt like I was getting ripped off.

Unfortunately there's not a nice HEB near me, so Randall's gets pretty much all my business these days. I've tried the Kroger (former Albertson's) on South Main which is just a few blocks away but I just don't like the atmosphere of that store. I really like the recently remodeled Randall's - I usually go to the one at West Bellfort and South Post Oak. It's not quite as big as the one in Westchase that I loved but it's still very nice. Other than Randall's I also do a lot of shopping at Whole Foods on Kirby - I prefer them for organic produce and some meats (I prefer non genetically modified, and hormone- and antibiotic-free meat), as well as some of the brands that only they carry. However it is noticeably more expensive.

I think it's sad Randall's has been in decline the last few years. Their stores are definitely not as busy as they once were - which I have mixed feelings about. Because of that checkout lines move pretty fast there usually - but I hate to see what was a wonderful local company going downhill after a big corporate takeover.

It would be so great for the Onstead family to buy the company back but I don't think it will happen. I hope they don't go the way of Albertson's and end up getting sold off to three or four different competitors on a store-by-store basis. God forbid Kroger take them over.

[volvo99]

I agree that Randall's is a bit pricier than Kroger. But I feel I'm getting something more for my money: clean stores, helpful staff, the little things that make shopping a pleasure there.

I support the Midtown Randall's even though I'm closer to the Montrose Kroger; a world of difference IMHO.

[Heights2Bastrop]

Randall

[bachanon]

i frequent the randall's store here at grogan's mill, and like ssullivan said, with coupons and my randall's card, i save a bundle. the woodlands new HEB woodlands market is just down the street as well, talk about higher prices. i go to HEB woodlands market for a better wine selection or niche products i can't find elsewhere, but for my everyday items it's randall's. i would hate to see them gobbled up by kroger's or HEB.

i heard a rumor that the woodlands may get a whole foods. anyone in the know?

[Guest danax]

i frequent the randall's store here at grogan's mill, and like ssullivan said, with coupons and my randall's card, i save a bundle.  the woodlands new HEB woodlands market is just down the street as well, talk about higher prices.  i go to HEB woodlands market for a better wine selection or niche products i can't find elsewhere, but for my everyday items it's randall's.  i would hate to see them gobbled up by kroger's or HEB.

i heard a rumor that the woodlands may get a whole foods.  anyone in the know?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Whole Foods has a website that shows all of their stores-in-progress and Houston doesn't have any, last time I checked. Between the Champions. Spring and Woodlands I'm thinking one would work up there.

[GovernorAggie]

I was about to say the same thing. Keep it in Texas. But if not, I would like to see a new chain come to the area. Like Food Lion use to be in Houston, or Publix. I just like the name "Publix" http://www.publix.com/

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

NO, not Food Lion. I HATE Food Lion. If you guys think that Kroger is crap--wow, you would think otherwise with Food Lion. However, I will say that Food Lion has started this new concept store called Bloom that seems nice, and they have been remodeling stores--so maybe they're better now.

I still prefer Harris Teeter.

[editor]

There's no secret to this one.  Randall's is practically price gouging.  I can get a stick of butter down the street at Kroger's for .25 cents....Randall's buys the same stick of butter from the same vendor for the same price but charges .40 cents.  It would be different if they were more of a boutique grocer like Whole Foods, or Rice Epicurean, but...no......it's Randall's.  So I only go to Randall's if I am desperate.

I would love to see the Onsteads buy it back.  I hate Safeway. 

This doesn't surprise me at all. Yesterday I saw a spokesman for one of Safeway's other supermarket brands on TV. He actually admitted that his stores have higher prices than the competition, but said it didn't matter because nobody shops off the shelf prices. As far as he knows, people only buy stuff that's in the newspaper circular.

News flash: If you need milk, you need milk; whether it's on sale, or not. And how many people really sit down on Sunday and go through the supermarket coupons anymore? This isn't All In The Family. People are busy these days. They buy when they need stuff. Shopping is no longer a leisure activity.

[Parrothead]

OMG I TOTALLY clip coupons from the Sunday paper!!! I guess I am one of the few? Maybe it's a girl thing. I dunno!

[jm1fd]

This doesn't surprise me at all.  Yesterday I saw a spokesman for one of Safeway's other supermarket brands on TV.  He actually admitted that his stores have higher prices than the competition, but said it didn't matter because nobody shops off the shelf prices.  As far as he knows, people only buy stuff that's in the newspaper circular. 

News flash: If you need milk, you need milk; whether it's on sale, or not.  And how many people really sit down on Sunday and go through the supermarket coupons anymore?  This isn't All In The Family.  People are busy these days.  They buy when they need stuff.  Shopping is no longer a leisure activity.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I do shop the shelf prices....or at least did before the Heights HEB closed. It wasn't a 100% documented affair with spreadsheets and spreadsheets of prices, but I do remember about how much stuff costs here and there.

I don't do coupons for groceries either....too much time to manually clip, sort, and haul around.

[GovernorAggie]

I do shop the shelf prices....or at least did before the Heights HEB closed.

[kzseattle]

OMG    I TOTALLY clip coupons from the Sunday paper!!!  I guess I am one of the few?    Maybe it's a girl thing.  I dunno!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

When someone remembers that butter costs 25 cents here and 40 cents there, we can kind of guess we got a coupons-clipper I wish I could remember all those prices!

[ssullivan]

OMG    I TOTALLY clip coupons from the Sunday paper!!!  I guess I am one of the few?    Maybe it's a girl thing.  I dunno!

I'm a coupon clipper too (as I referenced above). Funny you mention the "girl thing" -- last year in the check out line at the store a lady saw me waiting with my stack of coupons and commented that I was the first man she'd ever seen in the store with a stack of coupons.

Anyway, back to prices. Yes, I may pay a little extra on non-sale, non-coupon items at Randall's, but I've found that the coupon/Randall's card savings I get (which are usually a LOT) tend to compensate for the fact that I might have paid an extra 10 cents for a quart of milk. And despite having a tight budget due to being unemployed right now, I don't just shop on price. I also shop for quality and try to do things like buy organic produce and meat whenever possible, so I know I pay a premium there. That's why I usually get that stuff at Whole Foods because there's a better selection of it. And I'm willing to pay a little more for vegetables that haven't been sprayed down with pesticides and meat from animals that haven't been injected with all sorts of chemicals.

[ssullivan]

I shop at Kroger (closest one to my apt.) and I learned to clip coupons like a maniac since they have those triple coupons up to 39 cents and double coupons for 40-50 cents.  Are you kidding?  With that Kroger card, I have bought things for free with those coupons.  A 35 cent coupon is suddenly a $1.05 discount off something that was a $1.50 to begin with?  A $3 can of Tyson's chicken for 75 cents?  A medium-sized Hunt's ketchup for a penny?  A can of Manwich for free?  6 boxes of cajun rice (mmmm) for the price of 4?  I even print coupons from smartsource.com.  I'm a 24 year old male, but I must admit--yes, I clip coupons, lol.

My last grocery bill was for $70.00--the most I've ever spent at a grocery store.  But because of that card and a few coupons, I saved over $50.00.  $70.00 for $120.00 worth of groceries?  Not too bad.

Sounds like one of my grocery store trips!

I once pulled off a 12 pack of Dr. Pepper for better than free -- I actually made money on the deal because of a sale price combined with a tripled coupon and a mail in rebate deal. :-)

[bachanon]

i'm feeling a little validated knowing that i'm not the only male coupon cutter around.

[GovernorAggie]

i'm feeling a little validated knowing that i'm not the only male coupon cutter around. 

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Yes! We Male Couponers have to stick together!

[tw2ntyse7en]

...

[jm1fd]

I once pulled off a 12 pack of Dr. Pepper for better than free -- I actually made money on the deal because of a sale price combined with a tripled coupon and a mail in rebate deal. :-)

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I do the same sort of penny pinching, but with bigger stuff....like a $600 color laser printer for $60. For a $3 case of DP, its not worth the hassle....to me anyways.

[jm1fd]

This was the same of the Piggly Wiggly's back home.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I had no idea 'ol Hoggly Woggly was still around....where in LA is this that they still exist?

[tw2ntyse7en]

...

[ssullivan]

Last time I was in Sherman, up north of Dallas, they still had two Piggly Wigglies - one on the east side of town and the other on the west - and both on the same street. Never have actually shopped in one though.

[Lowbrow]

My dad is living on his retirement property out in sherman, but he shops at a Albertsons (i believe) where you walk around with a scan gun and ring up your own food as you go along and pay on your way out. He loves it because if he finds anything scanning a wrong price.. from what is posted or what was in the paper, he gets it for free.

A true new yorker.

[ssullivan]

Wow never have seen one of those scan gun systems like that before. Wonder how it keeps people from cheating the system and not scanning everything they put in their basket?

I lived in Sherman for four years during the early-mid 1990s while attending Austin College. I still have some old friends up in that area but don't make it up there to visit very often anymore.

[Lowbrow]

I'm not sure how they keep people from stealing. Maybe they just plan on making up the losses in having fewer cashiers?

(My dad bought 19 acres out on southmayd, if you know where that is. He commutes to Plano each day, quite a drive. He's got horses and llamas. New Yorker gone country.)

[Houston19514]

I have never lived in Sherman. . . Just thought I'd throw that in.

[ricco67]

I used to live on a STREET named Sherman.

Just throwing that out there as well.

Ricco

[Parrothead]

Hey I think there's still a Piggly Wiggly and a Market Basket in Beaumont! OMG I love those places, they're just nice small-town grocers with good butchers I like Brookshire Brothers for the same reason.

[Trophy Property]

I used to prefer HEB over Kroger's and Randalls, but since all the HEBs near me are so busy nowadays, I shop at old reliable: Kroger's.

Randall's has always been too expensive, and their selection is surprisingly ho-hum compared to their competitors.

I mean, go to the Randall's in Midtown, for example, and they barely have any Lil' Debbie snack cakes.

I mean, c'mon!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I agree with most of the Randalls assesments. Ever since Safeway bought the chain the qaulity had gone way downhill. I do hit the Midtown store often because it is conveinant. They have a smaller selection due to the real estate constrictions. There is no peice of land in midtown besides the superblock that is big enough for a large superstore.

[CincoRanch-HoustonResident]

Well, since SuperTarget is just a parking lot away from my apartment, I shop there. It is really clean inside. Their prices are cheap, and they have been giving a whole lot of competition to Kroger's, H-E-B, and Walmart Supercenter, which are all in a 3-4 mile radius at SuperTarget. I am sad to see Randalls go down, because I liked the store, but not the pricing their. It was really clean inside.

[ssullivan]

Hey I think there's still a Piggly Wiggly and a Market Basket in Beaumont!  OMG I love those places, they're just nice small-town grocers with good butchers    I like Brookshire Brothers for the same reason.

Coming from a small town I'd take a big city Randall's, HEB, or even Kroger (even though I really don't like their stores) over a small town chain anyday. When you grow up with no choice but a Brookshire Brothers and a dirty, mismanaged independent local store as your only options, you really appreciate having a much larger selection of items and higher quality produce, meat, and especially seafood. And bst of all, unlike my hometown Brookshire's, when I go into my neighborhood Randall's I don't have to look at multiple middle-aged women shopping in a misfitting house dress with rollers in their hair, slippers on their feet, and a cigarette hanging out of their mouth pushing a cart with a couple of screaming kids in it through the store. That's just nasty, and it's a common sight where I grew up.

(Sorry about the rant about people in my rural Southeast Texas hometown, in case anyone was offended by the above comment.)

[Subdude]

I agree with most of the Randalls assesments.  Ever since Safeway bought the chain the qaulity had gone way downhill.  I do hit the Midtown store often because it is conveinant.  They have a smaller selection due to the real estate constrictions.    There is no peice of land in midtown besides the superblock that is big enough for a large superstore.

Safeway seems to have a track record of running "upscale" grocery chains into the ground. The first time I lived in Houston that Randalls on Westheimer/Shepherd was always packed. You had trouble finding a parking place. The last time I was there, though, it was totally empty. There were packing boxes stacked around that made the place seem dark and depressing. On the intercom they were running some contest giving away a free trip to Mexico. That's when I realized they were in serious trouble!

The same thing happened with a chain that Safeway bought around Philadelphia called (I think) Gennardis. I heard from a friend in Philly that Safeway actually issued an apology for ruining the character of the store.

[Parrothead]

And bst of all, unlike my hometown Brookshire's, when I go into my neighborhood Randall's I don't have to look at multiple middle-aged women shopping in a misfitting house dress with rollers in their hair, slippers on their feet, and a cigarette hanging out of their mouth pushing a cart with a couple of screaming kids in it through the store.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Hey Steven, that's just plain ol' rural SE Texas charm!

Seriously though, I swear the one in Katy is so sweet. It's super nice and almost refreshing, reminds me of being a kid again.

[Parrothead]

I heard from a friend in Philly that Safeway actually issued an apology for ruining the character of the store.

Subdude, that's classic! I honestly feel like the "script" they've been given is so ridiculous at our store out here, I could care less about the points I've earned for whatever free crap they are giving away....and they can't even figure out that my name is backward on my debit card so they call me Mrs. Matthew, or Mrs. Polly, I finally quit correcting them (yes--even managers) because they were in such a rush to get me out (and do you REALLY think I need help with a carryout for a pint of ice cream? ) and on to the next person.

We get very frustrated now with our Kroger's here on Memorial because they NEVER have a regular lane open after 8PM. They make everyone use the Self-checkout and frankly, I find that the manpower used to get a single transaction done is the same amount of manpower used when checking me out on a regular lane. It's ridiculous for me, and even on what I think will be the easiest to scan (and you are talking to an ex-Kroger checker from my college days), it turns out to be a mass drama that takes far longer than acceptable to reconcile so that I can be on my way.

I think if Kroger gives you a choice to use Self-Checkout, that's one thing, but the store shouldn't force me to scan and bag my own groceries like this was a Sak-n-Sav and expect me to pay the same prices. No way.

Can you tell I went to Kroger last night? Grrr... Matt says, "I don't know why we come here, you just get mad."

[ssullivan]

        Hey Steven, that's just plain ol' rural SE Texas charm! 

Seriously though, I swear the one in Katy is so sweet.  It's super nice and almost refreshing, reminds me of being a kid again. 

Haha. Well it's part of the very "charm" I moved to Houston to escape. But I will be going home this coming weekend to see Mom and Dad, which probably means trips with Mom to Brookshire's and the brand new Super Wal-Mart. The only good thing about that is I get to brag about my life now when the cashier I went to high school with asks me what I'm doing these days.

[ssullivan]

The same thing happened with a chain that Safeway bought around Philadelphia called (I think) Gennardis.  I heard from a friend in Philly that Safeway actually issued an apology for ruining the character of the store.

How funny. I do miss the days when Randall's was classier and had nice touches like all checkout lines open during the afternoon rush.

And yes, Polly, that business of asking if you need carry out help when you've bought one item is annoying. It ranks right up there on my list with sackers who give me 18 sacks when I've bought 20 items. That happened last night. When you have to walk about 200 feet from where you park in a garage to your front door, it's a major pain to have that many bags, not to mention a major waste of grocery bags which do cost the store money. I honestly don't care if my ice cream is in the same bag as a jar of peanut butter and tube of toothpaste! Yet last night those three items were each in a bag of their own, despite none of the other bags being even half full. Maybe I should have told the guy he didn't need to help me to the car with my purchases but needed to come to my apartment and carry them inside for me.

[bruce_oneal]

it would be nice for it to go one of two ways: upscale (such as central market or whole foods market) or price conscious (such as shoppers food warehouse).

does safeway have an upscale store brands?

[Heights2Bastrop]

I think Randall's should ask Albertson's the for the directions out of town.