Review #866
2025-038…read more
I first discovered Grocery Outlet about a decade ago in Fresno, & was attracted to the unusual finds at a "grocery store," such as an Olaf bike helmet, Curious George: Discovery Beach Game, etc. The first S. Bay store opened 6 years ago in Redondo Beach, just before COVID-19; it's a bit out of way to shop there. And about a year ago, they took over the former Big Lots location in Lomita.
What is Grocery Outlet? They're a discount grocery chain that sells name brand groceries & fresh produce for 40% - 70% less than conventional grocery stores. How? By buying overstocked, seasonal, closeout, & discontinued items from various suppliers. This "opportunistic buying" allows them to acquire items at significant discounts, which are passed on to us.
My 14 YO daughter's swim team does this away meet "gift" (junk) exchange where they create a goody bag filled with their fav snacks & drinks. They're kids so it's obviously junk foods & sodas, except for the handful who treat each meet with consideration of this bag o' treats may hinder their performance. I'm grateful for the less expensive options at Grocery Outlet. Since I don't agree with their choices, I started creating my own carbo-load sustenance (fresh fruits, granola bars, nuts, etc.) on competition days.
Grocery Outlet offer pretty great deals on fresh fruits, I especially loved the 2-lb. strawberry pack that my husband got recently... so fresh, juicy, & sweet! I got some red cherries (at $2.99/lb.) that were sweet too! Not all produce offer better quality & prices, I'd say it's more like 50-50. Another recent find was A-Sha Spicy Seaweed (only 99¢) & Keroppi Mandarin Noodles with Silly Spicy Sauce (60% discount).
Store hours are 7:00 AM - 10:00 PM daily, just a couple hours shorter than the traditional stores. Wide aisles are well-stocked & organized, but you may not always find the same products at your next shopping trip due to opportunistic buying, & what may be priced that day may be priced differently the next day (e.g. Quaker Chewy Limited Edition Valentine Minis: Chocolate Chip with Sprinkles was 99¢, & 2 days later it was $3.99). Also, it's important to check the expiration dates for those too-good-to-be-true deals, they usually have a short expiration dates or are already expired. Yikes! There's usually only 1 register opened even when there's a line, I wish they would opened another register, but the cashiers are typically quick that sometimes I have to load my own bags.
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Grocery Outlet may not be our main go-to store, but it's certainly a great back-up to the traditional stores.