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Top 5 Grocery Budget Friendly stores in the Burlington area: Price Chopper
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Our potato loot: 45 pounds of potatoes for $7.50- that's a good deal!
Price Chopper holds the third place nicely for our Top 5 Grocery Budget Friendly Stores countdown. This store is a bit of an underdog for me (in spite of it being an “evil conglomerate”) because I was not a big fan of it when I first moved to Burlington. Over the years however, it has grown on me quite a bit.
When I first moved here from Plattsburgh, where I attended college, I was more of a Hannaford’s gal. Shaw’s and Price Chopper supermarkets were both around the corner from our new apartment, so they became my default stores for a while. For a while, Shaw’s did well with the sales and fresh produce. Then slowly but surely, there was a shift in the prices, and I started favoring Price Chopper.
One of the things that I really like about Price Chopper is the fact that they have their circular in the free advertiser paper that comes to my door midweek. I can compare the current sales to those upcoming, and in this way I am better able to determine when to get the things I need.
Another thing that I love about Price Chopper is that they double coupons. (They use to triple coupons, but haven’t done that since they started their gas promotion.) This often makes items that would be cheaper at Hannaford’s actually cost less at Price Chopper. This is something that requires some close attention to detail, but it is well worth it for the money that you wind up saving. Plus, if you wait for those staple items to go on sale, you can get even better deals after doubling coupons. Price Choppers doubles every coupon up to 99 cents. (They do not however take printed coupons for free products.)
Price Chopper’s rain check policy is wonderful. They allow you to get items that have sold out for up to a month after the rain check is issued. Many other stores only give you a week to do this, and if you haven’t the time to go back that week, then you are out of luck. This week I was able to purchase 9 bags of potatoes for $7.50. The rain check was for buy 1 get 2 free, and they had the potatoes on sale this week for $2.50. So that meant that I got 45 pounds of potatoes for 7.50. It’s a beautiful thing!
The produce at Price Chopper is usually above average, and the prices are reasonable. The items that consistently are sub par are just items I choose to buy elsewhere. (I have frequently had trouble with my avocados there.) Their apples tend to stay fresh longer than those I have bought at Hannaford’s, for whatever reason.
In the back of the Shelburne Road branch, over by the puddings, you can sometimes find really good deals on overstocked or dented items. It is good to remember (or rather, I find a need to remind myself) that just because an item is on sale does not mean that I need to buy it. They also frequently have cheeses and dairy and/or meats that have stickered with coupons for faster sale. I bought a 5 pound thing of mozzarella recently for $14—it had about four 75 cent off stickers on it. This is great when you know you need something for a meal that you will be preparing soon after purchase. Otherwise, be sure you have room in your freezer!
The thing that I have found to be the biggest hook for me at Price Chopper is their gas incentive program. Price Chopper card holders receive a ten cent a gallon discount for every $50 spent there. The discount applies to Sunoco stations all around the city (although certain ones do not have the capacity to apply the discount.) I have saved a great deal on my gas since they started their program last year. Shaw’s has implemented a gas incentive program as well, but unlike Shaw’s, Price Chopper’s program is cumulative (you don’t have to spend the fifty all at once) and it doesn’t expire or reset until you have used your discount at the gas station.
There are things that I don’t enjoy about Price Chopper. The size can be a little intimidating when you’re just trying to get something little. But now they have a new store on Shelburne Road, and they are opening another one in Colchester, so that’s not necessarily an issue. Part of me would prefer it to be a more local entity instead of a large corporation, but they have really made themselves to be extremely competitive.
Between gas incentives and double coupons, incredible deals in produce, meat and fish (they recently had whole salmon on sale for 1.99 a pound!) and their price reductions on meat, cheese and dairy that needs to be sold, Price Chopper has become my best Supermarket for keeping me well within my grocery budget. If the prices were a little lower, it might have scored higher in this countdown. However, considering the fact that the higher placing stores are basically outlets and liquidators, I’d say Price Chopper has done pretty well in our list. So kudos to you, Price Chopper! And thanks for making it easy to get everything I need and stay well within my grocery budget!
For more info: Please check out the rest of the stores that made the Top 5 Grocery budget friendly stores countdown, and return for our Price Chopper Recipe-Buffalo Chicken Tenders. For Price Choppers sales, check out their website. (To find out details for your Price Chopper sales, simply find your store on the list.)
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