NPS Store — Attraction in Salt Lake City

I visited the NPS store for the first time. First impression is it's a disorganized, chaotic mess. I browsed through the grocery, clothing, furniture, jewelry areas and the industrial area in a separate building. In grocery I saw a bottle of mayonnaise for $1.79 that had expired several months ago. To me it seems like that should have been selling for around fifty cents. In the furniture / jewelry area I saw a used designer purse for $380. That did not seem like a good deal to me. There were racks and racks of clothing and giant bins full of piles of clothing. People were buying stuff. I guess there were some good deals in there. Go to the store with a lot of time on your hands. It's going to take some time finding the deals if they are there. Over in the industrial building it is in total chaos. Most things don't have any prices on them and the ones that did were not good deals. I saw a gigantic bin of loose, unpackaged, miscellaneous, rechargeable tool batteries. I don't know if they're used or new and not one of them had a price. There were many bicycle tires in a gigantic bin. Not one with a price. In another place there were car tires. Not one with a price tag. I looked at a few tools. Most had no price tag. A couple I saw with price tags and the price was not cheap. I overheard a man asking an employee if he could ride a $995 e-bike to make sure it fit him and make sure everything worked okay. The employee said, no he could not ride it, that it had already been checked for proper operation. I'm certain, if I went to any bike shop, I would be allowed to try a bike, in the parking lot, before I bought it. On a positive note they have a garden center with a few plants, some of which had prices clearly marked. Some of them were discounted and I bought a few perennial flowers for a good price. In the garden center they had a few bags of mulch and bark etc. These items were priced as much or more than they would be at any big box store. The parking lots at the store we're mostly full of cars. I guess people at least think they're getting good deals there. Maybe, with enough extra time on your hands, you can find some good deals. It sure looks like you're going to have to dig through a lot of chaos to find them. The pictures I posted are of a Swarovski crystal cow. I liked it. I don't know how much it cost. The price...

This place is my Zen.

Living in Provo, I'm used to our humble yet awesome NPS store in Orem. A bit of this, some grocery items and maybe a great deal on some sundry-type stuff.

Then I find out it is merely a satellite of the "BIG ONE" in SLC. Oh, word? Saddle up!

I turn onto Empire and drive towards the sign. As I get closer, my discount senses start to tingling and I get a really good feeling. I walk through the door and realize that I have reached my sacred place!

This one is like Orem but on steroids! Aisle after aisle of almost anything I can think of. Housewares, linen, clothing, undergarments, shoes, health and beauty, machines (facial wands, hair dryers, CPAP stuff...stuff!), office supplies, soap, lotion, hair products, and then...

Groceries!

Keep in mind, there's fresh produce, bread, beverages, spices, frozen goods, pet food... EVERYTHING! I lost my breath for a moment. After regaining my composure, I found the strength to scout the whole place.

Things are discounted heavily and a lot of it due to being out-dated. This is clearly labeled for transparency. I saw nothing that warranted concern.

Let's just say that on my last trip, I spent $50 and was able to FILL my refrigerator and freezer with meats, cheeses, organic produce, spices and even some frozen treats.

The staff is super busy but super helpful and kind. The aisles are wide so that patrons may walk around shell-shocked folks like me, bedazzled by the whole experience. They even have a little restaurant on the grocery side. This enables you to build your strength back up after Olympic level power shopping.

I will be back SO many times. I love this place!

Please post on the employee board....

OVERVIEW - 3.25 As a Forewarning: Do not come here on a Saturday, unless you wish to hate humanity! There's nothing the matter with the business, its just that there are way too many people and it makes you end up hating humanity, as they conveniently leave their carts in the middle of the aisle as they look at something on the side. Some of them just drag their feet as you try to get around them. It is just a hopeless, hateful feeling being there on a Saturday, any other day is a happy, carefree day! Also avoid the restrooms, most people are like steerage when using it.

LOCATION - 3 I've had to use a GPS almost every time to get here. I don't necessarily blame, them, it is a warehouse afterall, and I'm not too familiar with Salt Lake City streets.

PRICE - 3 Some prices are great, some are absurd. The produce is always nicely priced, as is much of the food. The normal retail items I feel sometimes are over priced, especially kids toys. You can occassionally catch weekly discounts on specific items you're wanting, where it is dropped by a certain percentage of price.

PRODUCT/SERVICE - 3 Most food has expired or near expiration. That doesn't bother me much because we use it up rather quickly, and most food is processed to last much longer after expiration. Most of non-food products is buyer beware, as it is possible it may break, after all, it is most likely discounted for a specific reason...

EMPLOYEES - 4 The employees for the most part are rather friendly. Every Saturday I go, I always bump into the same bread guy stocking bread. I always ask him for my squaw bread, and he always apologizes for it being out, and wishes me a good weekend after...