Balducci's — Attraction in Alexandria

My fiancee and I are local to Old Town and live a block away from Balducci's on Franklin Street.

We have been to this store about 10+ times for odds and ends (wines, bread, cheeses). Not really going in for a full grocery shopping trip. I say this to prove that I have a big enough sample size of visits to give an accurate, up-to-date and sound review publicly.

Every single time I have gone into this store, I can count on the rudeness of the cashiers. They act as though customers bother them, they have open inappropriate conversations with a line of people waiting to be checked out and a very insincere attitude. In addition, the pricing labels tend to be inaccurate (two labels for one item, out-dated pricing, and the cashiers unwillingness to double check the price and whether or not the customer is right).

I heard a cashier tell a customer asking about member card "We don't do that because Safeway doesn't". I have a few thoughts from this. First, umm yes Safeway does have a whole card system that I use all the time so that's false. Did you really just say because Safeway doesn't do it, you don't do it? Would that not provide a competitive edge and bring in more business? In addition, what kind of reasoning or justification is that? If Safeway stopped selling milk, you all would stop selling it too?

My fiancee and I agree that this location has lost our business forever. I would rather walk 10 extra minutes to Safeway than go back to this place.

I write this to provide a heads up to anyone planning to go to the Old...

Overall good products, with two major issues:

Seafood: Very poor quality. Have been burned twice. Ask to smell and touch any seafood - in particular fish - before you buy. The salmon I bought here was almost rancid. Looked great in the display case however.

Checkout: Very poor customer service. You really feel like an inconvenience when you check out. Often only one cashier up front, no greeting, occasional rudeness. Other employees sitting in the Catering section scrolling their phones while lines back up. They recently started self-checkout kiosks. I bought wine there and needed ID verification. I saw the regular checkout clerk run past and asked him if he could scan my ID, and he told me I'd have to get in the regular lane (with eight people already waiting) and wait to have it scanned. Kind of misses the point of "self-checkout". Eventually one of the people sitting on her phone in Catering came over to help, claiming that "no one told her" someone was in self-checkout.

That kind of summarizes the serious problems this store has. Just read in the comments that Safeway now owns the chain. That explains a lot.

Update 2024: DON’T buy lobster tails here. They are old and nearly rancid. Strong, strong ammonia smell. And...

Balducci’s Soups

Old Town Alexandria Virginia takes justifiable pride in its unique shops, and for foodies, it doesn’t get much better than Balducci’s, directly across from District Taco on South Washington Street. The fresh prepared food is unlike anything I’ve seen in even the most upscale DMV grocery stores - made from scratch, comfort foods like meatloaf, coconut shrimp, short ribs – there’s a whole line of expertly crafted and wholesome foods for lunch or dinner.

I went there today to check out the soups and found a cream of roast turkey soup and homestyle chicken noodle soup, and in rotation I’ve found an outstanding turkey chili, broccoli cheddar, potato and ham, and a wholly unique and very tasty beef lasagna soup.

The offerings can be a bit pricy, but not out of line with other upscale grocery stores, and a real bargain when compared to the price of entrees at the restaurants in Old Town. The meat and fish counters are an absolute joy to behold, and now that Safeway and Balducci’s have merged I’ve been able to earn and spend customer loyalty points in a way that pretty much offsets the slightly higher prices in the...