Co-op

Great supermarket! with lovely staff. The baked goods section is too tempting at times :) and they always have great offers on.

I’ve often thought that Crwys Road is the absolute perfect place to stick a mini supermarket, like a Sainsbury’s Local, or a Tesco Express; the nearest two supermarkets are the Western Avenue Tesco, all the way beyond the Heath, so not really suited for walking, and then on the other side, the Tesco Express down on Albany Road, which is close for a small shop, but a little far to carry a weekly shop.
The only choice the Crwys Road denizens are left with then, is the Co-​operative supermarket on Crwys Road. And, given the relative expensiveness of the store, it’s not exactly ideal for the local student population. You’ll often end up spending about 15 to 20% more than shopping at Tesco or ASDA. And whilst you have the peace of mind knowing that it’s not going to a corporation that’s TOO evil, it’s still a sizeable dent in the ol’ pocket.
There are certain things that I love Co-​op for; their own brand stuff is usually better than most brand name products, but again, the price matches. Still, for people in that area it does a good job.

This particular Coop is HUGE by Coop standards. The best feature is the car park at the rear, which is very useful for multi shopping down Crwys road.
I personally go to the local butchers first for some really great meat then pick up all the other shopping needs from the Coop and because it’s opposite the student accommodation there’s always a good deal on the alcohol.
The Coop is very useful as it is much larger than other stores, so you can actually do a full shop there and the prices are also very reasonable because it’s a Coop.
This Coop has some useful features: —
ATM (Cashpoint)
Beers, Wines and Spirits
Lotto Online
PayPoint
Photo Booth
Photocopier

This is one of my favourite Co-​op food stores because it is so much bigger than most of the others. This means that they have room to stock a broader range of products that aren’t usually available at other outlets. I love the Co-​op Acacia honey, but I’m hard pressed to find it at the inner city stores. They also do a better selection of bread here, with some great healthful seeded options that again I struggle to buy elsewhere.
It’s a busy shop, especially in the early evenings, and so there can sometimes be a queue at the check-​out. It also means that if you call in at around 8.00pm some of the more popular daily items (particularly bread and salad bags etc) have sold out, and so I recommend a mid afternoon visit if possible. Although, one benefit to shopping here mid evening is that they usually have a good selection of perishables that have been discounted quite heavily. I have been known to fill my fruit bowl, and my veg rack from a mid evening visit!

2 stars for the shop itself. Another 1 for the ethics backing it.
I’ve been into this shop a few times in the last couple of days, and have though it odd, at best. I know that the weather has been nice recently, and probably all the students in the area have been buying picnics and icecream to take to various parks and beachs…
But is that really an excuse to comepletely run out of all sandwiches and pretty much any item immediately edible by 2pm two days running?
I walked up and down those aisles with hunger driving me onwards. My friends ended up buying plain rolls, and I got a banana. Seriously, this place needs to take a good look at its shelf stocking! Very frustrating indeed.
And slightly expensive to boot.

I do like Co-​op as a shop — I feel that they have good ethics and I quite like to buy my food from a shop like that. However, at the same time, these ethics aren’t free and customers do feel the result.
Most groceries aren’t that expensive but I wouldn’t recommend doing my whole shop here. Unfortunately it is the nearest, biggish supermarket to the close-​by Roy Jenkins University Accommodation so the poor stuents probably have to spend most of their loan on vegetables.
Other than the prices I was a little confused by how the shop was laid out. I have only been there once but I expect to be able to navigate around a supermarket! So having to walk up and down a few times isn’t really acceptable.

This Co-​op has recently had a refurbishment and is now all shiny and new with large photographic images on the wall — mostly themed in fair trade.
There is an excellent wine section with your usual bargains and offers alongside a slighty more expensive section which offers some really nice wine.
Fresh bread and cakes are baked every day, the fresh food section also has a good selection of sandwiches and snacks. There is a large selection of fresh fruit and vegetables. It’s a large shop and so the general groceries available (like pasta’s and tins and international foods etc) are quite wide ranging. It’s a great local supermarket.
The staff are usually very friendly and helpful — occassionally you will find they just don’t have enough staff on the tills, however this seems to have improved since the refurbishment.