Kroger buying Harris-Teeter

[SmartDevil]

H-T entered Washington DC proper about 7 years ago, briniging higher regular and sale prices than for our existing supermakets dominated by the mismanaged-by-corporate Safeway and Giant.

The H-T prices are simply not worth the extra money. I've also had problems with the family getting sick from their chicken two times. No more H-T chicken (or meat) for us.

The produce is much better displayed at H-T but essentially the same quality but at premium prices.

The only time we stop by H-T now is if there's a birthday or special event coming up and we want to check out the bakery dessert shop. But we seldom buy. Just an example: $5 plus for some cupcakes. Come on. I won't pay that on principle.

We try now to do most of our shopping at Costco (especially since we found a new Costco which isn't packed like crazy). I'll once in a blue moon go to Trader Joe's, particulalry during the last two months of the year.

I avoid Whole Foods. Unable to communicate with many of the employees including at times the "manager" on duty. Also have observed Third World food handling practices multiple times at WF.

But we'd die to have a Wegman's in the city !!

[aimo]

Actually, it's

CONTAINMENT
Area for
Relocated
Yankees.

There's a difference.

[SmartDevil]

[QUOTE=SmartDevil;661424]The only time we stop by H-T now is if there's a birthday or special event coming up and we want to check out the bakery dessert shop. But we seldom buy. Just an example: $5 plus for some cupcakes. Come on. I won't pay that on principle. Edit: That's $5 or $6+ PER cupcake for some of their cupcakes.[/QUOTE]

[devildeac]

[QUOTE=SmartDevil;661732]

The only time we stop by H-T now is if there's a birthday or special event coming up and we want to check out the bakery dessert shop. But we seldom buy. Just an example: $5 plus for some cupcakes. Come on. I won't pay that on principle. Edit: That's $5 or $6+ PER cupcake for some of their cupcakes.[/QUOTE]

That is indeed pretty spendy for a cupcake. You can go to a gourmet bakery/cupcake shop and expect to spend about $4 each for fancy topped/iced/filled cupcakes.

[moonpie23]

i am NOT a relocated yankee...or any other kind...

[-jk]

i am NOT a relocated yankee...or any other kind...

You have to look deep inside yourself. Do you live in Cary? What does that really say about your values? Or your chosen community?

-jk

[moonpie23]

I DO live in cary, mainly because, after scouring the internet for houses, and actually visiting over 20 homes, we found one that was unique in it's structure and location. We had actually been eliminating houses BECAUSE they were in cary until this one flashed on the screen. I stopped at it and my wife said "no, that's in cary", so we moved on...i kept coming back to it and took the little online tour.

when we decided to come see the house, we were inside of it for 10 minutes and decided that it was exactly what we were looking for. It's within walking distance to just about everything except a movie theater. (but just a short drive away). Beautiful wooded lot, in an older (early 80's) neighborhood and we love it....we never thought we'd actually BE residents of "cary", but we've come to really love where we live. I'm 18 minutes from my studio. The parks and other city perks are excellent...Our daughter's day care was 200 yards from our house...Her magnet school is 300 yards away.

My handicapped son, can ride C-Tran to his work and volunteer job with the YMCA for $2/ trip....they come to the house and pick him up, then pick him up from work and bring him back to the house. They will take seniors and handicapped persons to anywhere in the triangle for $6.00

I think a lot of cary badmouthing is totally unwarranted...

[devil84]

I DO live in cary, mainly because, after scouring the internet for houses, and actually visiting over 20 homes, we found one that was unique in it's structure and location. We had actually been eliminating houses BECAUSE they were in cary until this one flashed on the screen. I stopped at it and my wife said "no, that's in cary", so we moved on...i kept coming back to it and took the little online tour.

...

I think a lot of cary badmouthing is totally unwarranted...

I agree with you, Moonpie. I'm also a resident of the Containment area. I went to high school and college in Durham (born in Chicago, though) -- some call me a "native -- or close enough these days." Cary has some very, very nice things, like all the amenities that you mentioned. There are some problems, too...it's hard to find a brand-name store when the signage rules don't allow for them to use their corporate colors, homogenous subdivisions controlled by (sometimes crazy) HOAs, sometimes a little too "planned" leaving it a little vanilla. But what's wrong with vanilla? And why pick on Cary? There are a lot of little boom towns like this in the Triangle.

We chose Cary because it was halfway between the downtown workplace and my parents' home (Dad was alive then and we wanted to be close enough to help care for him). It's a nice place to live (if you like lovely homes built on top of each other) and play. Are there better places to live? Sure (I'm thinking Chatham County out by the American Tobacco Trail, now that the nest is emptying and we spend a lot of time there road cycling and running -- and the homes don't have crazy HOAs nor do you see into the windows of 14 homes from your house...but that's just me). But there are worse places to live, too.

Moonpie, you're lucky with the schools. For middle school, my kids were able to go to school a little closer, but for elementary and high school, they were inside the beltline in Raleigh. I didn't have a problem with the schools as they were good schools (well, the middle school wasn't great), but the drive was frustrating when I knew that so many other schools were closer.

The diversity of Cary (those relocated Yankees) does seem to help bring outside chains like Trader Joe's and Publix to Cary where the established demographic is "generally educated families with extra disposable income and who aren't from around here and want the amenities of wherever it was they left." We also get some pretty nice ethnic markets and restaurants, too. It's a good place to raise a family, but now I'm finding I'd really like to leave the crazy HOA subdivision lifestyle for something out in the country.

[moonpie23]

with extra disposable income

i've heard this term before, but i can't understand what it actually is...

[devil84]

with extra disposable income

i've heard this term before, but i can't understand what it actually is...

Haha...if "disposable" means "single use," I've got lots of income that is used only once, most of it on extraneous stuff like a mortgage, utilities, food, and college tuition for my child (though I have a one year reprieve from that this year).

Maybe "extra disposable" means it flies out of my wallet before I've even had a chance to figure out where to spend it??!!

[SmartDevil]

[QUOTE=devildeac;661744]

That is indeed pretty spendy for a cupcake. You can go to a gourmet bakery/cupcake shop and expect to spend about $4 each for fancy topped/iced/filled cupcakes.

Perhaps they are less expensive in NC but at my local HT in DC the nice cupcakes go for $5-6. And some of the one-portion desserts in the bakery case are even more expensive.

[Jim3k]

Back, sort of, to the discussion about the differing merits of various supermarket chains.

Fiscal Times in April posted a list of the twelve worst supermarket chains--a veritable rush to the bottom. If you live in any of the affected areas where these chains can be found, you can vote with your feet, in or out. Or, you can face off with the store manager and demand improvement. [Most of you will choose the former.]

[budwom]

Back, sort of, to the discussion about the differing merits of various supermarket chains.

Fiscal Times in April posted a list of the twelve worst supermarket chains--a veritable rush to the bottom. If you live in any of the affected areas where these chains can be found, you can vote with your feet, in or out. Or, you can face off with the store manager and demand improvement. [Most of you will choose the former.]

Unfortunately, in a lot of cases (locations) there are few alternatives to these stores, which is the primary reason they're still in bidness.

[burnspbesq]

Back, sort of, to the discussion about the differing merits of various supermarket chains.

Fiscal Times in April posted a list of the twelve worst supermarket chains--a veritable rush to the bottom. If you live in any of the affected areas where these chains can be found, you can vote with your feet, in or out. Or, you can face off with the store manager and demand improvement. [Most of you will choose the former.]

I think Ralph's was unfairly singled out in that article. All the supermarkets in SoCal suck.

[Bob Green]

Due to the government shutdown, the commissary is closed so this thread just became relevant.

[sagegrouse]

Due to the government shutdown, the commissary is closed so this thread just became relevant.

Why are the commissaries closed? We used to describe the commissaries and exchanges as "non-appropriated fund" activities (NAF). This meant, I think, the the government provided the building (usually pretty basic) and the commissary sold its product at just enough margin to cover the labor and other direct costs.

Since the problem is "no appropriated funds," I don't understand how "non-appropriated fund" activities are affected. But then, there was always a lot I didn't understand.

sagegrouse

[Bob Green]

Why are the commissaries closed? We used to describe the commissaries and exchanges as "non-appropriated fund" activities (NAF).

You're correct about the exchanges, but not the commissaries which are run with appropriated funds. The employees are government workers who are on Leave Without Pay until the government reopens.