Market Basket — Local services in Somerville

Oh boy, how conflicted I am about this very particular Market Basket. If you're a local, you shop there, as they have the best prices on just about everything. The produce rotates so quickly that it's often more fresh than many of the nearby Wholefoods. Overall they are a solid grocery store, serving a huge variety of the people that live in Somerville, so if you want an authentic Somerville experience, this is where you'll go. The rest of my review is mixed, but I got there 1-3 times a week despite all of that.

The selections are decent enough, but they tend to put out only one or two types of a particular brand at a time though. Morningstar farms is a good example, where there will be enough room in the freezer for nearly every one of their veggieburgers, but this MB clearly just opens up 1 or 2 boxes of something, and then you end up with only Buffalo Chicken patties and the pizza burger, and the next week it's the chickpea patties and something else. This is one narrowly specific example, but that's everywhere in the store, from yogurt flavors (only vanilla this week I guess), to spices. They'll occasionally be out of staple produce as well, carrots, onions, garlic, etc. It's likely due to them just not being able to stock as quickly as things are bought, so they have to do things as quickly as possible to get something on the shelf. You go back the next day, and everything is different.

The biggest problem is the sheer volume of people that will go at any given time. There was a photo in the Globe showing how "crazy" the lines were for a snowstorm last year, but I showed it to my girlfriend, and we were both "that looks like a normal Saturday". Expect there to be carts lined up to the isles anytime folks are generally off from work and seem like they might shop. Luckily I get out of work earlier than most, so I can usually avoid the big rushes. If you do go on the weekends, just make sure you get in there as early as possible. Once folks are done with brunch, you'll spend 45 minutes just waiting to check out.

On a whole, they are a great store with a good selection of foods from around the world. The produce is generally good, but you can't count on specific things being there. The normal prices regularly beat the sales prices from other nearby stores, but you're going to pay...

If I could give "Market Basket" zero stars, I would. Our recent visit to this supposed store was nothing short of a disaster. From the moment we stepped through the door, it was clear this place was a hot mess.

First off, let's talk about the ambiance—or lack thereof. The store looks like it hasn't seen a renovation since the Stone Age. There were literal holes in the walls, some covered with tacky posters that seemed to be holding the entire place together. The floors creaked with every step, and I'm pretty sure I saw a family of dust bunnies having a party in one corner.

As if the physical state of the store wasn't bad enough, the staff were downright rude. My wife asked a simple question about where to find a particular item, and the employee—a grumpy fellow with a perpetual scowl—pointed vaguely in a direction without even making eye contact. When my son accidentally knocked over a small display of cheap trinkets, instead of offering to help, another staff member just sighed loudly and muttered something under their breath.

To top it all off, the checkout process was a nightmare. The cashier seemed to be in slow motion, scanning each item as if they were practicing for a tortoise race. The register kept malfunctioning, which meant we had to endure even more of the store's delightful atmosphere while they attempted to sort it out.

By the time we finally made it out of there, my family was fuming. We couldn't believe we had wasted our time and money in such a pitiful excuse for a store. Needless to say, we will never set foot in "Market Basket" again, and I strongly advise anyone reading this review to steer clear unless you enjoy holes in walls, rude staff, and an overall dismal shopping experience.

Save yourself the headache and go literally...

This is a horrible, corrupt place. Today I was witnessed that they put a label with a fake expiration date and imaginary price on the frozen salmon.

Just 7 day ago I purchased frozen Alvor salmon that I noticed that no expiration date on the package and price was $4.99/pound. So I bought a small size package to try it first. It was OK. Then today I went to the store and decided to buy more while the price tag on the shelf was still $4.99. The cashier called the supervisor once she noticed I am buying a lot. The supervisor took all the fish packages and then she doubled the price by labelling $9.99/pound a long with a fake expiration date on the packages. Of course I have not bought after having this horrible experience. I found the same brand of salmon for much lower price with original trustworthy labels in Trader Joe's. I will not go to Market Basket anymore despite to fact I have been their customer for 30 years. Today they lost me. I cannot let them to jeopardize my health with their corrupt actions and products. Also, I keep noticing that meat packages are camouflaged while the bad, spoiled parts under the labels or underneath.

In addition, I do not think it is a coincidence all their staffs speak Spanish but not know a single English word to communicate with the customers--- Beacuse this store is in Somerville where it is a salvage for this kind of anouthorized workers.

DO NOT BUY ANYTHING FROM THIS...