It's a supermarket, folks. It's great for El Cerritites (or El Cerritan) that in one plaze, there is a Lucky's and a Trader Joes. I go to Trader Joes for the kids' oatmeal, milk and organic string cheese while I go to Lucky's for my coke (the beverage, not the drug), Cap'n Crunch and Pepperidge Farm cookies and the Tina's microwave burritos. I will say that the price at Lucky's is a hit or a miss. Lucky's day-to-day prices are actually quite high and I have been going to the Target in Albany more and more, but once in a while when Lucky's has one of those special deals going on with a random item, look out. On a separate note, I am happy that management finally recognized that allowing people with 100 items to use the self check out defeats the purpose of self check out (speed) and started to restrict the number of items to 15. read more

This location is horribly managed. At any time of day there will be an insufficient number of registers open, carts and trash all over the entrances and exits, and the selection of fresh foods is very poor. read more

I was amused to see last night that Lucky's already has Valentines candy out across the aisle from the Christmas candy. I suppose red foil is red foil ... read more

Slow lines and somewhat dirty. Also, major deductions for the fact that they failed to notice someone installing credit card skimmers in almost EVERY Lucky store in the Bay Area. I have to get a new debit card because of their inability to monitor their checkout lines. read more

Holy crap, why the hell is all the food overpriced? I can go to Grocery Outlet or Safeway and find food (i.e. lucky charms, chocolate striped short bread cookies, chips) for a lot cheaper. Not that the listed items are the only things I eat or buy, but seriously, it's ridiculous. I've never felt so ripped off. read more

Keeping in mind that I come here pretty often and have not had any issues. While I think that some of the prices are high on some items, they are overall comparable to other places in the area (i.e. Safeway). I also like the meat counter- even though I sometimes have to wait a bit for service. Now, I usually check out in the self service in and encounter extremely nice and pleasant attendants. On one occasion, I was unable to find an item and the attendant not only told me where to find it, but offered to watch my register while I went to retrieve the item. When I returned, she had bagged the rest of the items in my cart!!! Awesome! However, today I decided to check out in a line. I saw that it was the express lane so I asked it I could come there (no one else in line). I counted quickly and counted 16 items instead of 15. Halfway through the checking, someone came in behind me, the checker felt the need to let me know that he had checked 10 items and I had a lot more to go. "Next time, this is the express lane". I thought to myself- that's why I asked, but did not say it. I instead offered to take the items over 15 to another lane. He stated, "you're not listening, I said next time". I still didn't want to make a big deal but instead tried to make light of the situation by stating, "well figures, my list only has 12 items on it (and laughed)". His response, "well you have way more than that (no laugh)". I apologized for going over as that was my bad. However, he could have told me that it was a problem before I came to he empty register. BTW- Out of curiosity, I counted my items when I got outside the store and it was 18! 3 items over- my bad!!' I still don't think it justifies his rudeness. One bad apple... This probably won't keep me from entering the store again, but never that guy's register. I know now what others mean about the rude staff here. Just had to vent... read more

I've never been in this store and not had excruciatingly slow lines. Why must the checkout lines be so understaffed all the time? I avoid this store as much as possible. read more

I typically need to wait around 20 minutes in line at any time of the day. Maybe they're understaffed or something, but I will generally avoid going to this store just because I do not have time for it. read more

The new Safeway is close to my house but I travel to Lucky's. Going to stop however. I find most of my clerks are unhappy and grumpy. Margaret looks particularly annoyed. Find people that are happier and looking for work Lucky. Put the depressed employees out of their misery. read more

YOU'LL BE LUCKY IF YOU FIND YOURSELF AT LUCKY's. - Dwayne What a great store, they have anything and everything you need in one stop. I stop in here every week to fill up on the essentials: Tang and Pizza Bagels. I've been to every store in the bay area and this luckys has the best selection of bageled pizza around. I swear, if there's ever a natural disaster looming I will buy out every last box of pizza bagels that they have, especially before those thieves upstairs get to them. One time my nephew Dwayne threw out 3 pizza bagels thinking that 3 weeks sitting out on our balcony was too long, and I found my theivus neighbors eating them bagels right out of the trash can like little animals. I swear I've never seen those weirdos wear clothes or shave their naturally hairy bodies, even though they scamper back and forth between the upstairs attic in which they live and the park down the street regardless of weather. GET A LIFE YOUR STRANGEOS AND STOP WEARING THOSE RACCOON MASKS. The only thing I think can be improved are the automatic tellers. One time I swear some lizard group hacked into the machine and made the machines tell me everything that was wrong with my life. It tried to seduce me into putting my manhood into the cash dispenser, but I refused. Maybe it's just me, but I think modern machinery is getting too advanced and that we should reconsider putting that robot man in charge of that national corporation. I've seen the movie Bicentennial man, and if that movie is any indication of the future then I want out immediately. read more

Frustrating! Not sure if the problem is with central or local management, but Lucky seems to go out its way to make shopping a frustrating experience. Examples (today): 1.Plastic bags for produce that are IMPOSSIBLE to open.... I tried opening 4 bags from different rolls for 5 minutes, with no success...finally gave up. Wrapped the celery in a bag, but passed on loose items that required a bag. 2. No whole chickens. In a store with miles of aisles, you would think that they would have one of the staples for a supermarket..... We have to go to a supermarket once in a while for flour, sugar and other staples, but will try to avoid going to Lucky unless we have no other choice.. read more

Employees are VERY friendly and prices are pretty good, lots of sales so it evens out. FAR cheaper than Safeway! And plenty of selection here as well! read more

Lucky is a very nice and open place although it's kinda loud and not that calming. People are nice and make conversation.

I'm a bit torn as to what to say about Lucky. On the one hand, they have a huge range of groceries, 3 Coinstar machines and self-checkouts. They also stock my husband's beloved Hostess cherry pies. On the other hand, however, the store REEKS. From the moment you walk in the door, all you can smell is rotting fish/seafood. You can smell it all over the store, and it's stomach-churning. I don't know how, in the span of a month, nothing has been done about it. It's gotten to the point now where I'll seriously rethink going there until it's fixed up :/ read more

Redbox here is very convenient but they really need to update their library. There's been a lot of new titles that have released that aren't at this location. #blah read more

I don't shop here regularly, but happened in and found this Lucky to be super clean, well stocked with friendly staff. I just needed beer and plastic forks so i can't really comment on price of important stuff like veg and deli. read more

This is a large and well stocked store. Very clean. The produce department is big and the fruits and veggies are fresh. There is a separate section with Asian produce, tofu, things like that. The booze section is big enough to browse in and look for something different. The separate bakery, deli, and meat/seafood counters have good things and helpful staff. Lots of dry goods. Once in a while I find myself in a part of the store I have not seen before. Like I said, it's big. I like it and go there often. read more

Come in here all the time to get sandwiches and juice and my sandwich is alway made right and the people are always so nice and welcome, Great Customer service! Love this place. read more

Prices suck, check the expiration dates. I would rather go to Trader Joes or Safeway down the street. I feel sorry for their employees. Why would I pay 20-40% mark up for the same item? Ridiculous. Fundamental rule of nature: any species that can't compete will die off. read more

So much cheaper than Safeway down the road. All the major brands are there. They have a great seafood counter...and its much cheaper than safeway. read more

while i think safeway is better and the people over at safeway seem to be friendlier, at least this place is within a 4 block range from my house. They seem to be short on stock, for example safeway has many diffrent kinds of mozerella's and lucky has the only the other kind. the easy checkout is good here but its only reccomened for a few items as there are "too many people" in line. read more

Cynthia the cashier is awesome and so is Darnell the bagger!! But the rest of the store sucks balls. Hard to find anyone to help you and when you do they seem annoyed you asked them. The new Safeway on San Pablo is waaaaay better and waaay cheaper. Store needs so serious help. Bummer because it's very convenient to everything. read more

Prices are decent, as one might expect. But refrigeration is not this store's forte, as jenny h. alluded to. (The chicken I just opened smelled of rotten eggs, while other refrigerated chickens I have bought there have started out almost frozen.) On the plus side, the produce department did improve noticeably when the transformation from Albertson's took place; for instance, you can now find corn that isn't already completely covered in mysterious brown goo. It's still decidedly lackluster, though; for much fresher meats and produce, head up San Pablo to El Cerrito Natural Grocery (and bring the credit cards). read more

this store has a large selection of everything, has generic brands if you want them, sale and sale prices, good produce, good service. What's not to like? the store is clean and lines aren't too long. and it has a RED BOX in it for renting movies! read more

I have shopped at this store for several years. The store has generally been spacious and clean. Waiting can be an issue when there are a lot of people shopping, but avoiding busy hour is an acceptable alternative. My biggest issue today is horrible service from a new Black Bag person David, and it made me so upset to write the only review in years. At around 7PM, my wife and I went to buy some groceries including some watermelons in the "15 items or less" lane. In the past, Lucky plastic bags are not strong enough to hold heavy objects, so other Bag person had dropped and smashed some of my groceries at checkout but with good attitude to rectify the situation. But today when I ask the Bag person, David, to just double bag the watermelons due past incident. All he has to do is simply do his job and do the bagging. First he gave the "why" look, so I had to explain my past experience with single bag on heavy objects. He bagged reluctantly. Finally he shook the last bag vigorously in my face and said these bags are strong enough to hold heavy stuff. Then he just tossed the last one in shopping cart splashing rest of groceries. He then gave a bs about how great he is taking care of situation. If he is actually doing his job instead of pushing passive aggressivenss onto customers, his behaviors would not have made Lucky look so bad today. My wife and I both walked out shocked and annoyed. I have enjoyed the general helpfulness and courtesy from Produce Department staffs, Checkout and other Bag persons for years. And I hope the other customers would not have to suffer from this David' attitude for too long. read more

Not super cheap, but they have all kinds of weird stuff that I rarely buy. Plus, people are super friendly, customers make for some ultra-high quality people watching, and there's usually some Wang Chung or Donna Summer in the back ground. read more

I love everyone at this store!! Excellent customer service!! I recently moved to the bay area and needed a grocery store. They remembered my face and help me with whatever I need! The manager is a tall man who is sooo sweet. He helped me pick out a watermelon for my Superbowl party and said if it wasn't good he would refund/replace it. It was delicious!!! read more

Unfortunately there are not very many good grocery stores around us. They say threes a crowd, which is supposed to mean that when there are 3 in a line they will open another one. I have yet to see them do this. This grocery store almost always smells like fish when you walk in. It also seems that I am always left with something on my list that I couldn't find. One nice thing is most of the employees are really nice. read more

I have to give this Lucky store a big thumbs up for their not only STOCKING sufficient Passover supplies, but their also DISCOUNTING such supplies! What other store in this part of the East Bay is really doing this at the present time?? The fully kosher grocery stores? Nope, not when they can make a seasonal killing for overcharging their very restricted religious customers. Trader Joes? Other than stocking Passover matzah, Trader Joes really doesn't stock anything else specifically for Passover. Safeway stores? While they do stock many Passover supplies, they really don't heavily discount them. Really do appreciate this Lucky store's Customer Service person successfully handling inquiries regarding available Passover items. Other pluses for this Lucky's is their very good organization of the store's aisles, their sufficiently stocking of groceries throughout the store, and their lack of crowding during most of the times I've visited The only negatives I can really see are 1) Lucky stores in general charge more for many common grocery items than do Safeway stores (for their Club Card holders) and Trader Joes, and 2) there are far far fewer Lucky stores in this part of the East Bay than there are Safeways and Trader Joes. read more

These idiots have seen the last of me. Big ol' giant store, with one of those horrible bakeries that produces fifty varieties of wonderbread, and a flyblown deli, and more booze and beer than you can shake a stick at. They have all kinds of space devoted to "seasonal" crap, i.e. displays of cheesy yard furniture and floral designs, stuff you never see ANYONE buy, and a huge area with a pharmacy and drug store that no one ever uses. Their produce department is small, and the produce is green or overpriced. For such a huge store, they don't have much variety at all, unless you want chips, or liquor, or soda. And you always have to wait in a line to check out. Today, I tried to buy 5 packages of meat on their "$5 each if you buy 5" special, and I chose three packs of chicken and two packs of pork that were part of the special. When I got to the checkout they said the chicken wasn't part of the special. They wouldn't give me the "5 for $5" price on the pork, each pack of which was $6.50, even though each pack of chicken was originally priced at $4.99, and it WAS part of the special! I was already pissed off, because I had been trying to comparison shop for olive oil, and they had one bottle unit priced for milliliters, and the bottle next to it unit priced for ounces, so unless I was prepared to do some heavy duty math, I couldn't compare prices. This store is just full of these little marketing cheats. I didn't lose my temper this time, but I told them to refund my money and put all the groceries back. So they lost a sale of almost $100 worth of groceries, because they were too cheap to give me the $3 savings on the advertised deal, and they also lost any sales they might have made to me in the future. I don't like being played for a fool, no matter how small the amount. read more

Oh come on. This is a large grocery store. I don't know what you yelpers expect. I can't afford to always shop at El Cerrito Natural Grocery or Whole Food or Andronicos. As pointed out, you can't get a lot of staples at Trader Joe's. You can find lots of organic food at Lucky. There is a giant fruit and vegetable section with the country of origin on everything in case you were wondering. Same thing for the fish. The frog legs are from China btw. I agree with another yelper who points out that slightly grey meat is better than bright red meat with carbon monoxide in it. There are tons of different kinds of bread. Picked up a loaf with no corn syrup. The frequently have beer on sale. Black Butte Porter was $7 a six pack today. Plenty of ethnic foods. I enjoy the mung bean and purple yam popsicles. Organic milk, free range brown eggs, organic pinto beans, etc., etc. As others have pointed out, its pretty clean. Sure the staff can be a little less than friendly, but perhaps you should try working in a supermarket. I am sure it fries the nerves. I went there today about 9 AM on a Monday. No lines, everything well stocked. Everyone said good morning. Had a great time. read more

Came here 4/19.. checked out about 9:18 pm using self checkout as there was only one cashier. Forgot to add a bag as I was checking my items out. A Latina woman at self checkout was watching me the entire time on the screen. I asked for a bag politely and I must've interrupted her conversation with her eye candy male coworker because she snapped "A BAG?!!" and I said "Yes please" and she was like "OKAY!! I'll charge you ten cents here!" What terrible customer service. Little did she know I work retail management myself. Her employment needs to be reevaluated. read more

A well overdue review. This Lucky has a good selection of products and a very nice bakery section. This is actually why I was going that often in the past. However, I got really tired of the endless lines at the register. Please stop lying with your big signs that say that if there are more than 3 customers in a line, you open a new one! You have never done it! It's really frustrating when you've been waiting forever at the register and you see this over your head and though, you still wait... in the same line. Also I had a very unpleasant experience a few months ago when my bank left a message on my phone saying that there was unusual activity on my bank account. I immediately went to them and they asked me if I had paid with my card at your supermarket. I said yes. They answered it is because of this since someone had placed a device under a card machine to retrieve bank info. They said it was happening to a lot of customers at that moment. Are you serious??!!!! Fortunately, no money had been withdrawn yet.. But I am shocked that Lucky did not edit/post a sign of warning AND apology to their customers informing them of this at the entrance of the store. I do not shop there anymore and I would advise anyone to stick to cash an plan for an extra 10-15min at the register if they go there. read more