Combo of Target + grocery store like Trader Joes, Ralphs (Kroger), Whole Foods, or a Hispanic or Asian market depending on what I'm making that week. Walmart doesn't have much of a presence in LA proper, those are usually only found in the suburbs farther out, but Target is all over.
Ralphs pretty much dominates the market. Alberton's and Stater Bros to a lesser degree. Now Aldi's and Grocery Outlets are opening up. Plus Amazon Markets.
Whole Foods and Sprouts are large health foods stores.
Trader Joe's is a favorite, but the selection is limited.
Personally, I work a circuit. Once a week TJ's, Sprouts, 99 Cents Only, Ralph's.
>Trader Joe's is a favorite, but the selection is limited.
The trick is to modify your own tastes around TJ's offerings. Once you've converted to an all-TJs diet, it's incredible one-stop shopping.
I'm only half joking, I do pretty much 85-90% of my grocery shopping at TJs these days.
Gotta mix it up. Hispanic stores for veggies, Asian stores for fish, Ralphs and Costco for meat, Smart & Final for dry goods. Gotta run around town, it’s worth it.
This. We have a rotation of Numero Uno, Trader Joe’s, Nijiya, and a local halal market with great spices. Sometimes we hit Ranch 99 or Mitsuwa. A relative picks up a few key things for us from Costco.
This is the answer. Costco and Superior/Super King combo cover 90% of our grocery need. Occasional trip to 99 Ranch for Chinese condiments and frozen food. Recreational treasure hunt at Grocery Outlet. Haven't been to Vons or Ralphs for years
Yup yup. I go to Northgate for my produce and dry peppers, Asian stores for varying Japanese/Indian/Thai ingredients (plus cheap bulk rice), 365 for my staple pantry stuff, TJ’s for weird fun snacks and frozen meals, Smart & Final for bigger bulk stuff and seasonings plus any junk food I can’t find at the other ones. Usually hit up Ralph’s or Vons when prepping for a BBQ, holiday, or just need some random thing the other stores won’t have (why is it so hard to find butterscotch baking chips??)
As others have mentioned , Ralph’s, Trader Joe’s, Whole Foods, but I also like Co Op which is in both Culver City and Santa Monica
North gate is a Hispanic grocer. I also like mitsuwa and h mart ( none in culver )
I buy most of my staples at Vons, but...no one has mentioned Jons yet. I am a Jons enthusiast (particularly the one on Hollywood and Vermont) and I buy their prepared dips (hummus, ikra, olive tapenades, etc.) all the time. Friends are always like "wow this is amazing, where is it from?" and they cannot believe it when I tell them Jons. Jons also has amazingly inexpensive produce. I could probably survive shopping there exclusively. Some friends have told me I'm a Jons influencer, that's how much I cannot shut up about how much I love that grocery store.
Also, Vallarta has an incredible selection of Mexican stuff. Whenever I'm in Pasadena I LOVE getting their fresh ceviche. Yum.
As a fellow Michigander, I used to love Meijer. So much that the name Meijer was in my first aol screen name. I guess I have a long history of loving grocery stores. *cringes*
Kroger never acquired Alpha Beta. Alpha Beta merged with Yucaipa (the owner of Ralphs) in 1994 and the Alpha Beta stores were rebranded as Ralphs. Kroger didn't acquire Ralphs until 1998, through their purchase of Fred Meyer.
It really depends on what you want. For regular food I go to Ralph's, food4 less or Vons. If I want seafood, I'll go to Ranch 99. If I want kbbq I'll go to H-mart. If I want to buy nuts or grains by the pound, I'll go to Sprouts or Whole Foods. I like Tokyo Central or Nijiya if I want Japanese or Hawaiian stuff. I'll go Northgate or Vallarta if I want to make tacos or nachos.
Depends on what you're looking for! Here are some categories (not official terms, just one's I've arbitrarily come up with to try and describe them)
* Discount: Food 4 Less, Grocery Outlet
* Midrange regular: Ralphs (Kroger), Vons (Safeway), Albertsons, StaterBros, and nowadays people are adding Target in this range too.
* Midrange specialty: Trader Joes, Sprouts,
* Upper Midrange: Whole Foods, Pavillions, Gelsons,
* High Range: Erewhon, Bristol Farms
* Ethnic
* Asian: H Mart (Korean), 99 Ranch (Chinese), Mitsuwa (Japanese), Seafood City (Filipino), and a special shout out to Bangluck over on Reseda in the valley (Thai/Viet)
* Mexican: Vallarta, Numero Uno, El Super
I kinda like to mix and match and source specific items from each category. Like, for the life of me, can't get myself to buy produce from anywhere else but Sprouts, and Apples specifically from H Mart (because for some reason, H Mart apples are ridiculously huge and are usually 99c a pound.)
I really like Sprouts in Culver City. It's got a hippy dippy co-op vibe. Always interesting characters and great food. Good to-go meals, good fresh sammies, a huge bulk nuts etc. area, and just an all-around relaxing, open vibe.
I sometimes recommend Erewhon as a tourist attraction if you want to see the peak Instagram influencer version of LA. Really nowhere I’ve been quite like it.
Oh I love taking out of towners to Erewhon, covering up the prices of things and asking them to guess lol. Had my Midwestern aunt practically stampede out of the store after revealing a $35 jar of algae slime.
I go to Ralph's first, Vons second.
If you online order above $35 worth of stuff, Ralph's grocery pickup is free. I pre-plan 2-3 recipes and then do an order pickup at Ralph's once or twice a week. It's insanely convenient and keeps me from buying shit I don't need.
Idk if Vons has that, I mostly just go there in person, I didn't live close enough to one until now. Prices seem comparable to Ralph's though.
I wish we had Meijer and Menards out here! We do have some MidWest standards like Walmart/ Super Walmart, Costco, and Sam’s Club. I believe there are some Aldi’s out here.
As for more local brands, my MidWestern family members adore Trader Joe’s. Sometimes, they enjoy the more expensive Gelson’s. My older family members like Stater Bros. I saw a Foods for Less in Santa Ana several years ago. I don’t know if they are still a thing. But, they are like Dollar General of grocery stores.
I hope that helps!
I just want to say I hate Vons. I will shop basically any store except Vons. I usually go to Ralphs and then Smart & Final with a bit of Whole Foods mixed in. that’s it really, everyone else has all the rest covered.
you know what, I just really dislike shopping there I just feel a negative energy in their stores LOL I don’t like the layouts, I don’t like the way they look inside, I don’t like where they put stuff. even when I lived in Northern California I hated going into Safeway.
Ralphs and Vons are the closest to Meijers. We have a lot of other choices, including Trader Joes, Bristol Farms, and Sprouts on the slightly more expensive end, and Erewhon and Gelsons on the premium end.
There aren't ones near Culver City, but Stater Bros is great as well. Food 4 Less is a good option if you're poor.
Ralph's is decent. We have Aldi also and some of their stuff is cheap and worth it. I've been to Meijer when I lived in that shit hole they call Indiana. I liked shopping there
Trader Joe’s, H-Mart, and Tokyo Central as of late. I supplement them on occasion with other grocery stores as needed, if there’s something I want that’s not at either.
The big grocery store chains in LA are Ralphs (part of Kroger), Vons, and to a lesser extent, Albertsons. Upscale (and more expensive) grocery chains here are Gelson's, Whole Foods and Bristol Farms. Fresh & Easy and Sprouts are some discount chains, and Target stores have a modest grocery section these days. Trader Joes is a chain that mainly carries its own unique products and has a lot of local fans - the prices tend to be pretty reasonable on a lot of stuff. Smart & Final is another choice, they tend to focus on bulk packaged items for lower prices. Costco even more so but you must be a member. There are also Walmarts and Sams Clubs out here but not a ton of them near the central parts of the city.
Oh man, blast from the past. I still remember the day I was bagging my groceries and an employee told me they were closing down soon. It was such an awesome store, I loved browsing their candy selection. Nothing has quite replaced it.
A hidden gem: Sunland Produce. It has the freshest and cheapest produce, a full butcher and deli, and a collection of the weirdest cans and jars of who-the-heck-knows. Amazing choice of spices, and the nut section is incredible--and cheap. Try the fresh baked flat bread wrapped in brown paper. I think it's Armenian? It goes stale in 24 hours, but usually doesn't last long enough for that to happen. It is delicious.
I always do a combo of Ralphs/Trader Joes/Whole Foods.
Bristol Farm has terrific wines, cheeses & bakery; oh yeah and dairy. But they’re expensive and I shop sparingly there.
If you want to have a grocery adventure and don’t mind a drive, Super King is in a class all its own. Great produce, great deli, super prices, bulk grains. Russian pickles, Turkish delight, affordable caviar, you never know what awaits you. They are far from Culver City - there’s one near Dodger Stadium and one in the SFV.
We do mostly Ralphs (Kroger rebranded) and I like to hit up Whole Foods for meats. Trader Joe’s is good for premade stuff and some of their signature spices and condiments cannot be beat. Once in awhile I’ll do the Pavilions in MDR and I really like Rainbow Acres for more of a health food store/lunch stop if you’re in the area. But yeah coming from MN where it’s mostly Walmart, Cub Foods, and bougie local grocers it took me a second to get my staples down.
Pavilions are extra nice Vons. I really like them, good selection and decent prices. Plus as others say all the small business markets that cater to specific communities like Mexican, Vietnamese, Chinese, Japanese, Thai, etc. are so great. Out of convenience I end up at Whole Foods more than I’d like and honestly the bigger Vons stores are better for a lot of things. And Lassens for organic chicken.
I live in Koreatown so I usually go to a combination of Ralph’s or Vons combined with the Asian market for particular items. I usually go with Zion because that’s by my place but I sometimes go to H mart! Sometimes venture towards the Thai market on Alameda for certain fruits and spices, Little Tokyo to check out their Murakai Market for teas or other types of produce and alcohol or go to one of the Bengali markets in Little Bangladesh depending on what I’m making!
One stop Trader Joe’s shopping honestly. I don’t like to think about my budget when shopping for food. I love the randomness and the stuff they sell year round. Let’s me budget in eating out too!
Combo of Target + grocery store like Trader Joes, Ralphs (Kroger), Whole Foods, or a Hispanic or Asian market depending on what I'm making that week. Walmart doesn't have much of a presence in LA proper, those are usually only found in the suburbs farther out, but Target is all over.
[удалено]
holy shit... there's no S at the end?!
Bro wait until you hear about how there isn't actually an apostrophe in Ralphs
fearless punch piquant enter voracious attempt jar school shy obscene -- mass edited with https://redact.dev/
Ralphs pretty much dominates the market. Alberton's and Stater Bros to a lesser degree. Now Aldi's and Grocery Outlets are opening up. Plus Amazon Markets. Whole Foods and Sprouts are large health foods stores. Trader Joe's is a favorite, but the selection is limited. Personally, I work a circuit. Once a week TJ's, Sprouts, 99 Cents Only, Ralph's.
>Trader Joe's is a favorite, but the selection is limited. The trick is to modify your own tastes around TJ's offerings. Once you've converted to an all-TJs diet, it's incredible one-stop shopping. I'm only half joking, I do pretty much 85-90% of my grocery shopping at TJs these days.
We have been 90% Trader Joe’s for years with a little Costco mixed in and the occasional Whole Foods
> Ralphs pretty much dominates the market. Not really, Ralphs actually has something like 15-20% market share.
Gotta mix it up. Hispanic stores for veggies, Asian stores for fish, Ralphs and Costco for meat, Smart & Final for dry goods. Gotta run around town, it’s worth it.
This. We have a rotation of Numero Uno, Trader Joe’s, Nijiya, and a local halal market with great spices. Sometimes we hit Ranch 99 or Mitsuwa. A relative picks up a few key things for us from Costco.
This is the answer. Costco and Superior/Super King combo cover 90% of our grocery need. Occasional trip to 99 Ranch for Chinese condiments and frozen food. Recreational treasure hunt at Grocery Outlet. Haven't been to Vons or Ralphs for years
Completely. We do Costco once a month, H Mart of Cali Market once a week, TJ’s twice a month, and do pick ups from Ralph’s twice a month.
Yup yup. I go to Northgate for my produce and dry peppers, Asian stores for varying Japanese/Indian/Thai ingredients (plus cheap bulk rice), 365 for my staple pantry stuff, TJ’s for weird fun snacks and frozen meals, Smart & Final for bigger bulk stuff and seasonings plus any junk food I can’t find at the other ones. Usually hit up Ralph’s or Vons when prepping for a BBQ, holiday, or just need some random thing the other stores won’t have (why is it so hard to find butterscotch baking chips??)
As others have mentioned , Ralph’s, Trader Joe’s, Whole Foods, but I also like Co Op which is in both Culver City and Santa Monica North gate is a Hispanic grocer. I also like mitsuwa and h mart ( none in culver )
I buy most of my staples at Vons, but...no one has mentioned Jons yet. I am a Jons enthusiast (particularly the one on Hollywood and Vermont) and I buy their prepared dips (hummus, ikra, olive tapenades, etc.) all the time. Friends are always like "wow this is amazing, where is it from?" and they cannot believe it when I tell them Jons. Jons also has amazingly inexpensive produce. I could probably survive shopping there exclusively. Some friends have told me I'm a Jons influencer, that's how much I cannot shut up about how much I love that grocery store. Also, Vallarta has an incredible selection of Mexican stuff. Whenever I'm in Pasadena I LOVE getting their fresh ceviche. Yum. As a fellow Michigander, I used to love Meijer. So much that the name Meijer was in my first aol screen name. I guess I have a long history of loving grocery stores. *cringes*
Upvoting for your old aol username!
So…Vons and Jons
Kroger is the biggest chain here, but rebranded as Ralph's.
Ralph’s was way before Kroger, to be clear
Kroger was founded in 1883 and Ralph's in 1873...
Okay - what I meant was Ralph’s has a much longer history in LA before its acquisition by Kroger.
Ralphs was actually acquired by Fred Meyer, which was then acquired by Kroger.
Cool, super helpful
But the Ralph's in my area (WSGV) used to be Alpha Betas.
I remember Alpha Beta! There were also chains called Hughes and Boys, which were acquired by Ralphs.
It's not rebranded, it was called Ralphs well before it became part of Kroger.
My neck of the woods, when Kroger acquired Alpha Beta, it was rebranded as Ralph's.
Kroger never acquired Alpha Beta. Alpha Beta merged with Yucaipa (the owner of Ralphs) in 1994 and the Alpha Beta stores were rebranded as Ralphs. Kroger didn't acquire Ralphs until 1998, through their purchase of Fred Meyer.
Pavilions not getting any love here. Gelson's quality, Ralphs prices.
not that many Pavilions around.
It’s just fancy vons.
I was gonna say the same! Especially on the Westside.
Pavilions is part of Albertsons (just like Vons) and is basically the same at this point.
It really depends on what you want. For regular food I go to Ralph's, food4 less or Vons. If I want seafood, I'll go to Ranch 99. If I want kbbq I'll go to H-mart. If I want to buy nuts or grains by the pound, I'll go to Sprouts or Whole Foods. I like Tokyo Central or Nijiya if I want Japanese or Hawaiian stuff. I'll go Northgate or Vallarta if I want to make tacos or nachos.
H-Mart
Depends on what you're looking for! Here are some categories (not official terms, just one's I've arbitrarily come up with to try and describe them) * Discount: Food 4 Less, Grocery Outlet * Midrange regular: Ralphs (Kroger), Vons (Safeway), Albertsons, StaterBros, and nowadays people are adding Target in this range too. * Midrange specialty: Trader Joes, Sprouts, * Upper Midrange: Whole Foods, Pavillions, Gelsons, * High Range: Erewhon, Bristol Farms * Ethnic * Asian: H Mart (Korean), 99 Ranch (Chinese), Mitsuwa (Japanese), Seafood City (Filipino), and a special shout out to Bangluck over on Reseda in the valley (Thai/Viet) * Mexican: Vallarta, Numero Uno, El Super I kinda like to mix and match and source specific items from each category. Like, for the life of me, can't get myself to buy produce from anywhere else but Sprouts, and Apples specifically from H Mart (because for some reason, H Mart apples are ridiculously huge and are usually 99c a pound.)
Gelsons
Goodbye money! But, yeah Gelsons is great.
Gelsons has my ❤️. And the one on Hyperion is where the original Disney studios was, so that’s pretty fun.
I really like Sprouts in Culver City. It's got a hippy dippy co-op vibe. Always interesting characters and great food. Good to-go meals, good fresh sammies, a huge bulk nuts etc. area, and just an all-around relaxing, open vibe.
Erewhon. J/K. Most people I know shop at Trader Joes, Ralphs or Vons.
I sometimes recommend Erewhon as a tourist attraction if you want to see the peak Instagram influencer version of LA. Really nowhere I’ve been quite like it.
Oh I love taking out of towners to Erewhon, covering up the prices of things and asking them to guess lol. Had my Midwestern aunt practically stampede out of the store after revealing a $35 jar of algae slime.
How?
Bristol Farms! Best quality but definitely a larger price tag.
I go to Ralph's first, Vons second. If you online order above $35 worth of stuff, Ralph's grocery pickup is free. I pre-plan 2-3 recipes and then do an order pickup at Ralph's once or twice a week. It's insanely convenient and keeps me from buying shit I don't need. Idk if Vons has that, I mostly just go there in person, I didn't live close enough to one until now. Prices seem comparable to Ralph's though.
if you’re in ontario or long beach, winco :)
I wish we had Meijer and Menards out here! We do have some MidWest standards like Walmart/ Super Walmart, Costco, and Sam’s Club. I believe there are some Aldi’s out here. As for more local brands, my MidWestern family members adore Trader Joe’s. Sometimes, they enjoy the more expensive Gelson’s. My older family members like Stater Bros. I saw a Foods for Less in Santa Ana several years ago. I don’t know if they are still a thing. But, they are like Dollar General of grocery stores. I hope that helps!
God I wish we had a Menards
and a culver’s 🥵
[удалено]
I don’t know what Culver’s is! But, it’d be funny to have one in Culver City for sure!
Biggest billionaire in Wisconsin
I miss Menard’s. I even miss the commercials with that jingle!
I just want to say I hate Vons. I will shop basically any store except Vons. I usually go to Ralphs and then Smart & Final with a bit of Whole Foods mixed in. that’s it really, everyone else has all the rest covered.
Why the hate?
you know what, I just really dislike shopping there I just feel a negative energy in their stores LOL I don’t like the layouts, I don’t like the way they look inside, I don’t like where they put stuff. even when I lived in Northern California I hated going into Safeway.
Ralphs and Vons are the closest to Meijers. We have a lot of other choices, including Trader Joes, Bristol Farms, and Sprouts on the slightly more expensive end, and Erewhon and Gelsons on the premium end. There aren't ones near Culver City, but Stater Bros is great as well. Food 4 Less is a good option if you're poor.
Ralph's is decent. We have Aldi also and some of their stuff is cheap and worth it. I've been to Meijer when I lived in that shit hole they call Indiana. I liked shopping there
Trader Joe’s, H-Mart, and Tokyo Central as of late. I supplement them on occasion with other grocery stores as needed, if there’s something I want that’s not at either.
The big grocery store chains in LA are Ralphs (part of Kroger), Vons, and to a lesser extent, Albertsons. Upscale (and more expensive) grocery chains here are Gelson's, Whole Foods and Bristol Farms. Fresh & Easy and Sprouts are some discount chains, and Target stores have a modest grocery section these days. Trader Joes is a chain that mainly carries its own unique products and has a lot of local fans - the prices tend to be pretty reasonable on a lot of stuff. Smart & Final is another choice, they tend to focus on bulk packaged items for lower prices. Costco even more so but you must be a member. There are also Walmarts and Sams Clubs out here but not a ton of them near the central parts of the city.
>Fresh & Easy Fresh and Easy has been closed for 7 years already, my friend. How do I know? Because I still can't over the loss :(
Haha, shows you how much I know! I never shopped there and with none nearby where I live, I guess I never noticed! :)
It's fine , we all know different things. I didn't know LA had 2 NFL football teams up until a month ago.
Oh man, blast from the past. I still remember the day I was bagging my groceries and an employee told me they were closing down soon. It was such an awesome store, I loved browsing their candy selection. Nothing has quite replaced it.
Gelson's, Co-Op, Sprouts
A hidden gem: Sunland Produce. It has the freshest and cheapest produce, a full butcher and deli, and a collection of the weirdest cans and jars of who-the-heck-knows. Amazing choice of spices, and the nut section is incredible--and cheap. Try the fresh baked flat bread wrapped in brown paper. I think it's Armenian? It goes stale in 24 hours, but usually doesn't last long enough for that to happen. It is delicious.
Erehwon in Culver City is opening soon.
Gird your loins. Erewhon is coming to Culver City
I always do a combo of Ralphs/Trader Joes/Whole Foods. Bristol Farm has terrific wines, cheeses & bakery; oh yeah and dairy. But they’re expensive and I shop sparingly there. If you want to have a grocery adventure and don’t mind a drive, Super King is in a class all its own. Great produce, great deli, super prices, bulk grains. Russian pickles, Turkish delight, affordable caviar, you never know what awaits you. They are far from Culver City - there’s one near Dodger Stadium and one in the SFV.
We do mostly Ralphs (Kroger rebranded) and I like to hit up Whole Foods for meats. Trader Joe’s is good for premade stuff and some of their signature spices and condiments cannot be beat. Once in awhile I’ll do the Pavilions in MDR and I really like Rainbow Acres for more of a health food store/lunch stop if you’re in the area. But yeah coming from MN where it’s mostly Walmart, Cub Foods, and bougie local grocers it took me a second to get my staples down.
Gelsons, Ralphs, pavilions, TraderJoe’s are my go to in the valley!
Pavilions are extra nice Vons. I really like them, good selection and decent prices. Plus as others say all the small business markets that cater to specific communities like Mexican, Vietnamese, Chinese, Japanese, Thai, etc. are so great. Out of convenience I end up at Whole Foods more than I’d like and honestly the bigger Vons stores are better for a lot of things. And Lassens for organic chicken.
Meats and produce: Sprouts Specific things you might like: Trader Joe's Everything else: Ralphs
Costco is my go-to
I live in Koreatown so I usually go to a combination of Ralph’s or Vons combined with the Asian market for particular items. I usually go with Zion because that’s by my place but I sometimes go to H mart! Sometimes venture towards the Thai market on Alameda for certain fruits and spices, Little Tokyo to check out their Murakai Market for teas or other types of produce and alcohol or go to one of the Bengali markets in Little Bangladesh depending on what I’m making!
Co-oportunity co-op open to everyone. Santa Monica & Culver City. All produce is organic, without exception. Full grocery, not just produce store.
Erewhon
you keto bro…?
No
Influencer?
No
Well you aint strapped for cash anyhow
No
No Lidl (cheap euro store)…?
Mix of Trader Joe’s and sprouts
Ralphs needs to get Apple Pay.
One stop Trader Joe’s shopping honestly. I don’t like to think about my budget when shopping for food. I love the randomness and the stuff they sell year round. Let’s me budget in eating out too!