And so the day has come. A Sprouts has opened walking distance from home. The store looks generally appealing (and nicer than the even closer Whole Foods). Any feedback as to their house brands, unexpected good things, things to avoid, etc. are welcome. I did already note that the wine “department” is a total waste of space, and the baked goods make me want to save money because I’ll unlikely ever buy them.
their frozen food section is amazing.
Nice. I’m a Sprouts boy.
I think their bulk section is solid. All the good nuts get cleared out by the end of the weekend, though. If you can, I would recommend going on Thursdays, which is when they announce their weekend dealz and things are still in stock.
The produce is hit or miss. And yeah, the wine/beer sections are bunk.
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Their vitamins/supplements department is first rate. Even better when you hit them up on their 25% off sales. I think this is the only department in Sprouts that is very competitive to Whole Foods.
I haven’t been a fan of their bulk stuff (Culver City store near Fox Hills Mall). The produce at this location gets a C in my book, the bake section gets a C-, and the wine/beer is only good if you’re diving in last minute to grab some half-dexent to decent stuff.
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I went to the one in Oakland, didn’t make much of an impression. But the only thing I regularly buy at Whole Foods is the house-brand conditioner.
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Some Sprouts carry Boars Head deli meats.
The bulk section is very good.
My favorite is the Strauss dairy products, and the gummy worms and gummy bears in the bulk bins.
They grind hamburger meat in-house; that’s nice for summertime grilling. The meat department is generally pretty good. But I agree produce is not so good. Until melon season; then Sprouts manages to get a wonderful variety of of melons, so many different kinds, very flavorful and ripe. Better than the limited varieties sold at farmers markets.
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That is one of the cutest things you have ever said.
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What 'hood?
Their meat department is good. Their meat is all hand trimmed, and if you want something cut a specific way, they’ll do it for you. Their fresh sausages are pretty good.
Not sure if produce is region specific, but ours has nice produce. I also buy bottled fresh juices, Kevita drinks, bulk bin items (things like almonds, dried cranberries, oatmeal, dried veggie chips, plus the gummy bears are awesome), the Sprouts brand cereals, and things from the frozen section.
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The Albany/Berkeley border.
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Ahhhh… a little far for me 
. We’re getting one in my 'hood soon. Some neighbors are up in arms and holding block meetings about it. 
“Ours”" is on the site that Whole Foods wanted to build a store … that got rejected, and WF opened a couple of blocks away. Meanwhile, fortunately I don’t need to shop at either for produce, or fish.
“Need”? Where do you get your produce and fish? Just curious 
.
Hi -
So no joke. You really are a weekly farmers market guy? That’s pretty impressive.
Near the Albany / Berkeley border there are Monterey Fish and Tokyo Fish, the two places I usually buy fish, and Monterey Market, which people from out of town usually think has amazing produce.
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Hi @President_Mochi -
I’ve been so distracted and haven’t checked-in on @catholiver’s money saving thread, but this is perfect. You also turned me onto the little basket of cheese ends in WFs cheese bin. But don’t call them ends; they get touchy… minis?
Thanks!
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90%+ of my fish comes from Tokyo Fish, as does a fair % of produce. I’ve been getting an Imperfect Produce box for a while. Some produce comes from Monterey Market, and occasionally some comes from TJs (mostly Arugula in a bag, avocados, and frozen broccoli or similar to keep in the freezer for when the fresh stuff is too expensive / ugly). Occasional farmer’s market. I used to pass Berkeley Bowl (West) on a regular basis, but I don’t much anymore.
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I go to a farmers market two to three times a week. And get a CSA box every other week. I drive to a bakery nearly every day for baguettes or other bread I may need for the kiddo.
I like my meat and produce fresh. My mom pretty much shopped every day or two. It’s just habit.
Of course I don’t have a job, so that helps, but even when I was working, I did a lot of fresh meat/produce stops on my way home or during lunch hour.
I wish we had a Tokyo Fish. Though we do have Santa Monica Seafood, which is nice.
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You’re very lucky. Still impressive though. I get lazy and resort to Whole Paycheck more than I should for meats and organics.