Save A Lot — Local services in Hopewell

This is a discount grocery store, not quite as fancy or as wide a selection as the Euro-chains like Aldi or Lidl, but reliable enough and very affordable. Bring a quarter to unlock the shopping cart, don't be surprised by house brands and choose your produce and dairy with an eye to immediate consumption moreso than stocking up. The Hopewell location has very nice staff, who more than make up for the occasionally iffy quality of the stock Save-a-Lot gets from their corporate (this is true of a lot of Hopewell chain stores; crummy corporate and iffy to actively rubbish quality goods, but the people who work there are such a delight, you almost don't mind,) and their return policy is reasonable enough that the occasional inconvenience of a bad batch is generally more than worth the risk for the money you save trying a cheaper store. (I often don't even bother the nice people working there; if there's a bad batch, that's Corporate's problem.)

Their meat section isn't huge, but tends to carry good buys in 'family packs' of steaks, chops and ribs and large packages of prepared meats like bologna. Their baking mixes, cereals and canned goods have a reliable selection of common favorites like Cheerios, spaghetti-o's and birthday cake. And they stock a nicer than usual variety of inexpensive staples such as ramen noodles, rice, beans, frozen meals and other simple, easy-to-prepare, not necessarily healthy but palatable and affordable food that will keep body and soul together when one hasn't much to spend. Their selection of comfort foods that families can prepare together, like macaroni and cheese from a box, pizza crust mix and all the fixings to homemake your own pizza, pasta noodles and sauces, plus a lovely range of affordable ice cream treats such as children love, that's very good here.

The entire store gives the impression of having had its' stock picked out by the sort of well-meaning uncle who can't necessarily make dinner without following the instructions on the package or firing up the grill outside, but who has a really good grasp of what the nephews and nieces love, saw half a 'Sesame Street' one time and thus there IS technically a produce section, and also, more than ten kinds of soda and eight of candy, which is why he's the favorite uncle. Save-A-Lot is simply not someplace you shop for health foods. Save-A-Lot is where you shop for thrift, for just a few extra things you need to finish a recipe, or because your kid cleaned her entire room and you promised her she could choose dinner and make it herself despite being five. Save-A-Lot has meals a five-year-old can make and you can get them for under eight dollars. Under five if she's in rather a noodle mood.

They do stock a thoroughly pedestrian and not at all inspiring selection of macrobrew domestic beer (Blue Moon was the most interesting choice they had, and if that's not damning with faint praise, I don't know what is,) and their wine selection very nearly competes with that of Sheetz gas station. So if you're stopping there to get something for a homemade romantic dinner for Valentine's because that's all you have in the budget? More power to you! Something is better than nothing and better to feel full and happy on Save-A-Lot spaghetti, all 'Lady and The Tramp'-style, than broke and anxious trying to manage something expensive.

It's not the fanciest, always the healthiest, or the newest. The recent renovation is helping a lot. It's not the best grocery store in the world and it doesn't pretend to be. But when all you need is affordable comfort food that tastes good and is close by, it's what you need and it suits just fine. Plus the people working there are so nice, you often catch yourself stopping there for milk and bananas on the way home just to see a friendly face and pass the time of day. Stores don't have to be glitzy, glam and pricy to have a special place in a community. Sometimes just being a nice place to buy the fixings for s'mores and a bottle of Coke where the people are friendly is all you want. This is that...

Food is nasty, they always sell old bananas that need to be thrown out, or when you think you have good ones they are not. They turn old a day after you bring them home. Who ever heard of green rotten bananas. Me either, until I brought bananas from here. They only reduce prices when item are old, like that day old and going bad. Had bought honey buns, brought them home they had mold on them. Have bought frozen items but you could tell they let their items sit out and un thaw and freeze the items again. Bought salami and it was bad. Now did I know it was going to be rotten, no. Took it back as it had their products name on it, but of course I didn't have my receipt. So the guy gets all smart with me and then say well I will let you exchange it this time. I say only go here if you really have to, like last resort...

This has got to be the shabbiest super market Ive been to. When I first walk in I am greeted by fruit and vegetable that passed their expiration date. Their strawberries have mold on them and they are still selling it? I bought a pine apple and when I open it it reak. Their tuna has a bad fishy smell. Their apple pie is made of rotten apples. I took one bite and have to throw it away. Onto their meat they sell steak that is partly green. I am buying steak not Frankenstein meat. I bought the frozen bag of chicken and when I thawed it it smells like expired chicken refreeze. The line is always long since theres only 2 employees in the store. The price are low and you get what you pay for but in this case i feel rip off. Aldis is cheaper and they dont sell rotten food. Will never go...