Publix vs Kroger

Having to find a new grocery store was troubling for me. First, I went to Publix, which is 3 miles from my house. It was nice, clean and easy to navigate. However, they do not carry Wheaties, perogies or non-frosted blueberry Pop-tarts. These are serious grocery violations.

Then there is Kroger, which is 7 miles away. Deluxe, millions of choices, 3 different sizes of shopping carts and Wheaties. They also did not carry perogies or the appropriate Pop-tart. And the layout is confusing!

I feel like you should get your cart, enter moving toward the right and proceed directly into produce. In this Kroger, there is no clear path to traffic and the dairy is the first thing you come to...and then frozen foods. Weird?

So despite the weirdness I went with Kroger...for the Wheaties.

But last week something happened. I went back to Publix, selected a cart that had a very smooth ride, and proceeded in toward the right....into the prepared foods section and then to produce. It was such a wonderful, familiar feeling.

Now, I choose Publix. The carts are ALL easily pushed, the layout is welcoming and shopper friendly, the store-brand "toaster pastries" are just as good....and on a bottom shelf, in a dimly lit corner of the freezer section, was a little box of perogies. Welcome home :O)

disclaimer: For the record, my favorite grocery store of all time is Harris Teeter. This lovely east coast chain has direct produce entry, Wheaties and a vast Pop-tart selection. They also have the best in-house pizza ever created. This may be the only thing about Virginia that I miss.