Why doesn't LA have a super Supermarket?

I've lived in LA, NYC and Dallas. I was surprised that Dallas had far superior supermarkets. I miss Central Market.

In LA, Ralph's is pretty good. Some of the stores are more upscale than others. The Von's in West Hollywood is one of the nicer markets.

Wegmans isn’t that great. It’s just another grocery store.

Gelsons, Pavillions, Ralphs Fresh Fare

Wegmans is boss

Wegman's has really good bakery/deli/takeout. Much better than the usual chains like Giant, Safeway, Giant Eagle, etc. and usually better than Whole Foods which makes some surprisingly blah or even aeful baked goods, deli, etc.

What are you talking about? You have Ralph's.

Gelsons has the best potato salad.

Because people in LA aren't fat cunts.

I am a native Texan and I tend to prefer all things Texas but Wegmans definitely is the best grocery store. Like r5 said, it has a great bakery and deli. It's much better than HEB or Whole Foods.

Honey, Wegmans is nothing like Costco and I’m not even sure where you got the idea that it was.

Ralphs for everyday shit. Bristol Farms for special stuff.

We've got Super King and El Super, OP. Those are big supermarkets.

Wegmans is everything it’s cracked up to be.

I send my checks directly to Erewhon in LA; it's costly, but the food is superior.

Wegmans deli meat looks great but is so processed it might as well be rubber. They do have a good bakery, though. But the regular grocery section isn’t anything special.

There are a couple of Albertsons in LA that are comparable to Publix.

The Ralphs on Olympic in WLA is very nice but still not Wegmans.

The are only 2 Albertsons in LA. I've been to is the one on Crenshaw and it is definitely not comparable to Publix. Even the closed ones were nothing special.

R12 made me laugh! Don't forget Jons.

One of the closest things that LA has are ethnic supermarkets like Tokyo Central in Gardena. Those are really wonderful, large with amazing selections.

Wegmans and Central Market are much larger than any LA area supermarket. Huge stores, huge selections, many departments. There are upscale Whole Foods (like the flagship in Pasadena) that have a lot of stuff, but it's not a mainstream supermarket like Wegman's. SuperKing may be somewhat comparable in size, but it's got an ethnic focus and is definitely not as upmarket as Wegman's.

Love or hate Texas, HEB is fantastic.

I thought Fry's in the Phoenix area was pretty good too.

Publix is great.

Byerly's/Lund's in Minneapolis is cool (though it's positioned as an "upscale" store, not a mainstream chain like the other examples).

Now that I think about, grocery store tourism is sort of fun. Lol.

Supermarkets are better for suburban areas. Hence Dallas and HEB. Smaller stores work better in more urbanized areas like LA. Personally I think Wegmans is overhyped - I usually choose Giant over Wegmans for size, variety and price. Wegmans has some interesting quirky stuff - and a ridiculous amount of cheeses - but the better Giants are actually nicer and offer more products at better prices.

I do love a good HEB though. One thing I miss about Texas.

OP, if DL had DMs I'd fly you east so you could go to Wegmans.

The bakery and to go options are wonderful, and it's a pleasant place to be. The lighting isn't harsh, and it never has that grocery store odor. The employees are helpful and generally happy. Their gluten free products are incredible. Honestly their gluten free brownie mix is the best brownie I've eaten.

They are always trying new things and upping their game.

To be fair, I'll say that their focus on pushing Wegmans brand products has limited their selection in recent years. I have found if you request an item, though, they'll start stocking it and see how it sells.

I occasionally try other stores, but always come back to Wegs.

I didn't realize LA didn't have many options for larger grocery markets.

And seriously, when I moved here I rolled my eyes at the locals with their constant Wegmans praising, and now I'm fully one of them. It's like a freaking cult, but instead of kool-aid you eat a phenomenal selection of cheeses.

I'm going to tell my partner I've been posting about Wegmans so he can laugh at me.

r22 Have you ever been to LA? While parts of it might be described as urbanized, the vast majority of the area is suburban. (Again, I'm referring to the metro area, not just the city.)

[quote]Now that I think about, grocery store tourism is sort of fun. Lol.

I ALWAYS try to visit supermarkets when I travel. I find the differences and local product selection fascinating. It also tells you a lot about the community. And it's even more fun in foreign countries.

Pro tip: A good souvenir is a reusable shopping bag from a foreign supermarket. Cheap, functional, and easy to pack.

Whenever I go to Los Angeles I think the same thing. There are tiny Whole Foods and Ralphs. And erehwon. That's it, right? Where the heck do people get food?

In Northern Virginia right outside DC where I live now, there are so many grocery stories. Harris Teeter, Safeway, Giant, Aldi, Whole Foods, Kroger, TJs. It feels so luxurious.

I’m not in the Wegmans camp. They lack brands that I buy and most of their meat is all prepackaged off-site.

We also have Sprouts and Vons.

[quote] One of the closest things that LA has are ethnic supermarkets like Tokyo Central in Gardena.

The produce is usually better at those stores, too. Vons and Ralphs produce costs twice as much and I'm not sure why.

I went to a Wegmans in New Jersey in 2017. It was HUGE. The only reason the place wasn't PACKED is because it rained four inches that day. I was somewhat disappointed. Their own brand of cookies etc had artificial flavoring and coloring. That's UNSOPHISTICATED nowadays.

[quote]In Northern Virginia right outside DC where I live now, there are so many grocery stories. Harris Teeter, Safeway, Giant, Aldi, Whole Foods, Kroger, TJs. It feels so luxurious.

I bet you're fat.

I'm laughing at these people saying "oh but we have Ralph's." Good lord. The nice east coast chains really make southern California look bad.

Isn't Major Market in LA? That's not a bad store.

Gelson's is a good store

I grew up with A&P. I miss it. I obviously don't live in California.

My Gelsons was in Studio City. Would run into Debbie Reynolds at the salad bar.

Pavilions in West Hollywood is the best...hands down!

How are Ralph's, Vons/Pavilions and Gelson's NOT supermarkets?

They are mainstream, regular supermarkets. Vons/Pavilions is owned by Albertsons/Safeway. Ralphs is part of Kroger. In other words, just your average mainstream grocery store like you'd find anywhere in the country. They are NOTHING like Wegman's or Central Market.

Gelson's is a small, upscale/gourmet market.

Sprouts is a smaller, cheaper Whole Foods.

Trader Joe's is not a supermarket, but they're all over LA, where they started.

We do have Aldi in SoCal now, but no Lidl.

LOTS of ethnic supermarkets (Hispanic, Korean, Vietnamese, Chinese, Filipino, Armenian, Japanese, etc.)

r32 I've never heard of Major Market, and I've lived in the LA area since 1987.

supermarkets have incredibly low margins. If you look at where Wegmans opens new markets its in areas with lots of land. LA cant financially support a huge supermarket because real estate is too expensive. The entire point of a wegmans is to have the bar/restaurant and lots of fresh food options so there's probably huge space in the back in addition to the store itself....

What exactly can you get at Wegmans or HEB that you are missing at other supermarkets?

R37 the question was "super supermarkets". Wegmans, Publix HEB are in that rarified category.

Speaking of regular supermarkets what is it about Manhattan that there are barely any. There’s Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s and crappy smaller stores like Gristedes and Morton Williams but nothing like a Publix or a Ralphs. The Food Emporium when it was an A&P owned store has a few decent sized locations. Not sure what they’re like now. I know space is the problem in NYC, but London is as dense and there are Waitrose and Sainsburys everywhere. Wegmans opened in Brooklyn recently with a smaller (for them) store, so it may be possible they’d expand in the city some day.

I like the quality at Wegmans, but the prices are fucking ridiculous. Also a TON of Karens (including their male equivalents) shop there. Danny Wegman (whose father founded the company) has an extreme coke addiction.

The Costco in Marina Del Rey is one of the most profitable as the buyers purchase more and higher end items, so the expensive land paid off. In fact, they bought out the Albertsons in the same lot and converted it into parking spaces. Because the consumer is thought to be more affluent, there are many items that are not sold in other area stores.

There is also lots of land in California where supermarkets could build megastores but for some reason, the state has always lagged behind.

Seattle is sorely lacking in fancy supermarkets. Everything is Safeway or QFC (Kroger). And, a few nasty Albertson's here and there. And, Trader Joes. There are Whole Foods everywhere but since fucking Amazon took over, they all now suck.

We have PCC which is your typical hippy dippy/yuppie co-op place and their deli is ok and they have decent produce/meat. And, Met Market which LOOKS and tries to act fancy because they sell expensive housewares and have jacked up prices but their bakery is terrible and their hot deli is disappointing.

and, Uwajimaya is a huge Asian supermarket; it's good for finding (obviously) harder to find Asian foods. And, H Mart and District H are handy Asian options as well.

[quote]The Costco in Marina Del Rey is one of the most profitable as the buyers purchase more and higher end items...

Probably the best wine selection in the US.

interesting thread as i had mentioned to friends how the grocery stores in Palm Springs were underwhelming compared to my favorites back in flyoverstan (KC)! It was just an anecdotal observation but this thread confirms some suspicions and i really don't know how to explain it.

I've never been there, but I think the Ralphs FreshFare in Westwood might be comparable to a Wegman's. Or possibly the Pavilions in WeHo. (Haven't been there since the big rebuild.) But I don't know how large they are (square footage.)