No Frills

No frills is no joking when it comes to describing their go to market strategy. This sure isn’t your frou frou yuppie food shopping of gourmet sauces, Norwegian smoked salmon, imported Italian cheeses and South African spices. This place is all about huge rolls of wax bologna, ketchup and all the basics one must need for their kitchen or house. In Quebec they call the same Chain Maxi. Not sure of the translation but it’s very much the same retail experience. Where they excel in is selling products at (probably) the lowest consistent prices for groceries in the market.
After visiting here I got a chance to see the people of the neighbourhood on one evening. I didn’t realize Dartmouth was a rougher city but there were some unsavoury characters shopping while I was there. Now… I don’t want to generalize that this is the norm in Dartmouth but it was interesting people watching. You could call it a study in Sociology Dartmouth 101. I really think Dartmouth has some promise as it has a super awesome location and skyline facing Halifax. Gentrification can be a slow process but I have hopes for Dartmouth for the future!

They don’t take Visa, just MasterCard, debit, or cash.
Precisely as advertised, here you will find a lot of basics at good prices, many of the things are Presidents Choice or No Name brand. The produce section is not the best but for boxed and canned items you want to stock up on, you will very likely pay less than other places. Worth a visit, though it likely won’t supplant your normal grocery store.

When Sobeys came to Wyse Road this summer, the value of No Frills became apparent. Although they lack many «frills» that you’d expect to find in a regular supermarket (such as meat, seafood and bakery departments), they didn’t ever promise to have them, so deal with it! Their thing is having the best prices on as many items as possible. There are many items including circus fruit, avocados, rice cakes and canned beans that I will never purchase at Sobeys as their price on those items is absolutely ludicrous by comparison.
I tend to buy a lot of ethnic and natural foods, and there are many items I can’t get at No Frills. But as I became more familiar with the layout, I realized I could find almond milk and coconut milk– and they’re always listing new products! You can even find rice vinegar and ghee now, and they also bring fancier organic (and other rad) items at blowout prices!
If you show up at the right time, you can score some pretty good finds on markdown produce. Actually, their produce section is pretty decent considering the size of the store. They focus on local wherever it makes sense. They’ve got a small and friendly staff with a low turnover rate, which helps. The customers here are a wonderful cross section of North End Dartmouth classics. It’s a comfortable and dependable slice of the neighbourhood, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

I have steered clear from No Frills for far too long, mostly due to the seediness of its location. My last two trips to this discount grocery store left me feeling rather satisfied, though, and kicking myself a bit for not frequenting it more often.
Pros:
— Great prices on most items (as compared to Superstore, which is my regular haunt).
— Decent produce section with a surprisingly large selection of reasonably priced goods.
— Speedy checkout experiences and the ability to collect PC Points is always a bonus, though this store will not accept PC Plus cards (no problem for me).
— Our cats love the boxes that we use to bring home our purchases!
Cons:
— Limited selection in some departments (mostly meat, but also in dairy to some degree — not enough real butter).
— This place is pretty small and constantly packed, and I have found that many fellow shoppers are lacking in courtesy and other social niceties.
— Location, as mentioned above.
All in all, I am glad that No Frills came to Dartmouth.

Prices here are as high as when you shop anywhere else, unless you shop the specials. Selection actually sucks pretty bad, with one exception. The produce. There is a nice selection of fruits/​vegetables. But that is about it. Everything else is limited. The bread section is severely lacking. The meats are horrible. Save yourself the aggravation and go down the street to Chater’s for good meat. There is zero fresh seafood. The dairy products are lacking and wimpy as are packaged meats. The prices on everyday items are 25% higher than Sobey’s or Superstore.
This place faces serious competition from the new Wyse Road Sobey’s.

If a name ever said it all, this would be the one. All the gloss and fancy displays are gone; the store is stripped down to the bare bargain prices. The shelves feel like they tower over you with boxes of stock that go up to the ceiling.
If you’re on the hunt for bargain prices for name brand items, you’ll likely find them here. And if you’re looking for even lower prices on no name or off-​brand products, you’ve hit the yellow jackpot. As others have mentioned, produce and meat is a crap-​shoot: you’re paying low prices, yes, but likely for lower quality. However, fresh food is still a better option than buying a ton of processed food, so there’s no shame in that.
You won’t be able to find plastic bags here; bring your own, or borrow from the mountain of empty boxes at the front of the store to carry your load to your car. It’s also a cash or debit only business-​if you have a Visa you’re out of luck.
When all is said and done, it’s a good spot to get cheap eats, but I won’t be coming here often, as I have more convenient and better options closer to where I live.

This grocery store is a five minute walk from my house, so I go weekly for basic staples. It’s definitely the cheapest grocery store in the city, but you have to learn through trial and error what to buy here and what to get somewhere else. Any packaged dry goods – and even things like milk, eggs, cheese and bread – tend to be fine (aside from one frightening incident with some applesauce). Don’t bother getting produce here unless you’re going to cook it; make time on Saturday for the Alderney farmers’ market instead. It seems great that the apples and tomatoes and whatnot are so cheap, but it’s no deal when they’re inedible 90% of the time. Stick to sealed packages here, and you’ll get great deals.

This place is only good if you’re buying nonperishable food. Their produce is consistently of poor quality. This place always has good deals though.

Those who know me, know that I frequently walk a fine line between «frugal» and George Costanza. This grocery store helps me indulge my need to find a bargain. Yes, I am the person who will travel to 3 stores just to get the deals, and No Frills is often at the top of my list. They have sales that are unmatched by Sobeys or Superstore and I kinda like the whole literal meaning of «no frills». Carts require a coin to use, bags cost 5 cents, and the cashiers don’t bother asking if you found everything you were looking for. I’m a definite fan, but they’re missing the 5 star rating only because I had a grumpy cashier last week, who didn’t even acknowledge my hello when I offered it and spent her time multi tasking by ringing me in and chatting with her neighbor all at once.

So this grocery store finally made the change-​over from Save Easy to No Frills after weeks of preparation. I thought I’d give it a chance tonight to grab a few items. This was a quick trip to pick up a few essentials so I’m sure I’ll develop my opinion more on later trips.
The interior: bright! Mostly clean. Except for the floors. I can understand replacing the floors would have been very expensive but it’s an investment they should have considered. Floors are scuffed and marked. And, I know, I know, why should the floors matter? It’s all about the food, right? Well, I want clean food. And if the floors are dirty, it leaves a bad impression.
Selection: as a «no frills» kinda store, I’m fine with the limited selection of things. No bakery? Meh. Not a huge deal to me. But things should be cheap. Or inexpensive. And that didn’t always seem to be the case. Not as many sale items as I would’ve expected. Glad to see a sizable section for fruits and veg.
Layout: pretty much the same as before. No big surprises.
Service: it was okay. It’s not the most complicated interaction («Here are things I wish to buy, please tell me how much money to give you.») and it went okay.
Tips:
* Plastic bags cost $ 0.05.
* Choose your lane wisely. The Express Lane may seem like a good idea but that’s also the lane that has all the cigarettes so they are distracted by those requests.
* Visa cards are not accepted (I don’t know about any others I just overheard this).