Real Canadian Superstore

Close to my workplace I generally pop in here at lunch time to grab a few groceries as this avoids me having to stop on the way home or doing it on the weekends when it’s busy.
Since I go during the day it’s never that busy so minimum waiting in line. There really isn’t any difference from this location to others except the fact that I like the Joe Fresh section much better because I always find what I want in my size and this never happens in Scarborough. Even on clearance I can still find my size which is a bonus.
Sale items are clearly labelled and so are the points if an item qualifies. There is a hot food section/​grab and go section and a sushi section so at least I can pick up lunch when I get my groceries.
I love looking in the housewares/​home décor section b/​c you always find some interesting items and on sale! Even better when it’s no tax days which are at least every 6 weeks or so. I generally price match items so it’s not always more expensive than other grocery stores.

Always make a stop at a Superstore for groceries that we haven’t found substitutes for in NH. Usually we go to the Newmarket store on Yonge Street, but were closer to this location. Not much difference in terms of size, except the pharmacy area does seem a little smaller. They didn’t have the Webber’s Vitamin E ointment that I like in a tube, not jar.
Real Canadian Superstore is part of the Loblaw company. Which also includes Fortinos and No Frills, among many others. Fortinos is probably closest to Hannaford in New England, with more ethnic offerings. Superstore prices tend to be a little lower. Love PC products (formerly called President’s Choice).
Staff are friendly. Needed help finding something; was quickly guided to the right spot that I had walked past twice. Duh.
Remember to bring your reusable bags, or pay 5 cents each for plastic.

The good:
* great seasonal nursery in the spring/​early summer… great prices and quality products
* fantastic in store seasonal items with amazing sales after the holiday
* interesting items in the housewares section
* clean, laid out well
* who doesn’t love President Choice offerings?
The bad:
* I find prices here generally more expensive than other grocery stores
* parking is minimal, especially when they open up their psrking lot nursery
* staff aren’t exactly the friendliest — I made the mistake of asking someone in the produce a question and the rude answer made my jaw drop
I like to pop in here when in the neighbourhood, but won’t do the drive just to shop here.

I agree with Amanda (generalising, of course). I asked for pumpkin seeds for baking and before I could Even finish my sentence this grouchy looking woman directed me to the shell and spit variety by the chips. I bought a can of raisins only to find that someone had broken the seal and dug into them, as I was packing my daughter’s lunch. I shop at Longos now!

For the most part the prices are reasonable. For some things they are the lowest, on other things, not so much. It’s a middle of the line mega store with clothes, dry cleaner, lotto, pharmacy and grocery rolled into a one stop shop.
They have all the selection of a Fortino’s without the fancy store prices. This would be our store of choice if there were a location closer to home. For now if we can we do try to get here as our bill is noticeably lower here than other places.

This is my local grocery store.
Being a single guy with split custody of my daughter means that I eat out 3 — 4 days a week, and purchase food/​drink/​staple items 4 – 3 days a week. Baby girl must eat healthy… daddy, apparently, not so much.
After finally hunting down a parking spot, once you walk through the door, you’ll find yourself greeted by a fine selection of freshly roasted chickens. These chickens make for a great welcome on the way home from work. Not only are they a relatively healthy dinner option, but also they are ready to eat and you don’t even need plates or utensils if you’re famished. The chickens themselves range anywhere from delicious to overcooked and dry, but what they lack in deliciousity is balanced out in lazy bastard points. Aside from the chickens, I skip the entire «prepared» sides/​take out counter… even I will make a salad or some sort of veg for my daughter and I as opposed to macaroni salad or slaw.
The superstore offers a very good selection of produce and fresh herbs, a good bakery section, a decent selection of fresh seafood, and a butcher counter that will either have exactly what you’re looking for, or leave you looking for someone to serve you. The butcher counter service seems to be hit and miss, but hey, that’s what keeps the local family owned butcher shop in business, so good for them.
There is the usual selection of brands that Loblaws carries, plus all of the President’s Choice products and no-​name label items too.
Keep in mind that I’m not so much of a «grocery shopper» as I am mission driven. I only venture into the Superstore when I need something specific, and will never be found roaming the aisles hoping to «find that perfect something I don’t need» or «meet a woman from the Goodlife women only fitness club». Having said that, no matter how many times I go to this store, I still end up inevitable having to ask someone where I can find *the same item I couldn’t find two visits ago*.
Oh, I should also mention that this particular store seems to prescribe to the «hey, remember that product you bought last time and really enjoyed? Yeah, we don’t carry that anymore and/​or have moved it elsewhere and/​or replaced it with a far inferior brand but better margins for us» school of merchandising… that can be not only confusing, but a little bit infuriating too… but I guess it keeps me on my toes as well.
I rarely venture over to the dark side, but the other half of this massive (or should I say «Super») store is some sort of «everything else you could ever need EXCEPT (martini shaker, cocktail skewer, *insert item you REALLY need in a bind here*). There’s a massive pharmacy, housewares section, clothing store of some sort, toy store (the little one always TRIES to get me there, but I never go… well, except for a few exceptions, but she’s really cute). There’s an electronics/​games/​cd section, that I’ve never ventured into, and there’s also some sort of garden centre, photo center, flower shop… I’m not quite sure when everything needed to be under one roof, but I guess we won’t realize the importance of small business until we’ve allowed the big boys to crush them all out and we’re forced to choose between this and Walmart, but I digress.
This brings me to my final bit of advice. There are 8 self checkout stations and one express line (1 – 8 items). In Aurora apparently everybody shops at the same time I do… between 6pm and 6:30pm. Most of the people shopping during this time either a) can’t count to 8 properly, or b) have never owned a computer or electronic device.
I lack patience at the best of times, but I will call you out if you think that 18 items is «just a couple of extra things», or, my personal pet peeve, wish you could be a check-​out cashier at the grocery store… and for the love of good, if you don’t know how to use a computer, spare the rest of us from waiting (with 3 items) for you to learn whilst using the self-​checkout station to run your cart full of 88 items that can’t possibly fit on the tiny little carousel. Leave it to the professionals… PLEASE!!!
Having said all of that, it’s my grocery store of choice because the only other nearby option is a 24 hour Sobey’s, and as far as I can tell, the only people who shop for groceries after 11pm are either drunk or high… or both.