Stop & Shop — Local services in Town of Hempstead

Same old; same old. Mostly, a, typical sort of, local, LI-NY, Nassau Cnty, suburban, non-ethnically specific, supermarket.

Nothing great; but, also; nothing terrible. However, in --some ways, it has upgraded, somewhat, over: the last: 2, to: 3, years, approximately.

Not so much new; not so much change; if, any; yet, nothing so backward, awful, heavily restrictive; hugely limiting; nor, overtly impressive about this place, either.

However, all these views, should be put, in perspective. If one, were, living; &, shopping, in: say: Suffolk County, for example, one's choices, would be much smaller; &, less diverse; even if, the actual market's square floor footage, were greater.

One truism, I've surely found, is that most vendors, service businesses, eateries, markets, dealers, suppliers, etc., reflect local community demands, interests; &, tastes. As such, there is -some desire, for meaningfully health oriented, fresh, nutritous, sensible food eating options, here, on the part, of some residents. While even in some much larger supermarkets, those selections, just do not really exist; if, in chain store shops. While such desires often push prices up; &, thus are found in only high income areas, perhaps it is true that items like these, can be found a bit more affordably in Merrick; not only can they be found.

There are more giant markets, like: "Whole Foods"; "Trader Joe's"; "Lidl"; "Aldi"; "Harvey's"; "Winn-Dixie"; etc.; but, they require more significant travel resources; such as: time, a vehicle; license; gas & maintenance money; etc.; &, abilities to easily; &, affordably transport merchandise to one's home to begin with; &, so forth; and, then, to be able, to get perishable items, into home refrigeration rapidly; Etc.

If one, on the other hand, lives near this market, say in a sensible, walking span, those handicaps, can more easily be overcome, while more greatly diverse food choices can still be had.

Still; and, all, overall, this merchant, seems, personally, somehow, neither: spectacular; nor, abominable. It seems, more than average; and, perhaps, shines in some notable areas; and, yet, doesn't reach any distinctions, in other areas. Given its' limited floor space though, it probably does a reasonable job, inventory wise; etc.

Notable to mention however, is that, some shoppers may value certain quality metrics higher than other consumers, such as: customer service; cleanliness; helpful staff; availability of manual cashiers; better worker's conditions; express lane cashier checkouts, faster restocking, more new items; more caring management; more knowledgeable whole staff; friendlier floor supervisors; aisle space; parking space; produce, butchery, floral, bakery, or, other emphasized focuses; easy, paper coupons, discounts; promos; or: bottom-lined price points; Etc.

Since no place will shine in all ways, when taking stock of nearby alternatives, I prefer this vendor, far more, than the nearby low-cost, market, in a, relatively, short radius; yet, a, still walkable distance, away. I'd rather have some values that are important to me, prioritized in the mix of offerings; than to hope all values will ever be satisfied; as I've long since learned, that is too unlikely, to ever occur.

When summed up, these ways, this market remains, for this time in my life; &, my station, in it, a reasonably good, option; which I sometimes react to, for various, other reasons, such as my constantly failing health, as being a merely adequate; &, sufficient vendor; as long as corporate shifts, buyouts, &, major changes don't take place, things are simply ok, for now.

These compromises, are always present in life's journeys.

They have been that way, for really quite some time now; &, going on, as far back, as I can even conceivably; &, conceptually imagine; and, for as much as I know of, from my own, personal life experiences.

Bottom Lines: Very many serious; &, bad problems here; yet, far better than most local; &, distant markets; as all fall far short, in their own very many ways.

A. - [Up-Dated:...

Stopped going to Jersey Mikes and started Shopping here. These Stop and Shop Cold Cuts are so chopped they could give Lizzo a run for her money, or whatever she keeps in her BlackBerry Sparkling Water , must be some non-pasteurized Native Privately Owned Mountain Ranch in Mount Fuji owned by Rothschild Descendants, where they have grazed nutritional supplements in the grass, maybe some chocolate whey concentrated protein powder shakes, and are placed in some sort of triathlete marathon obstacle course with Bungee Jumping, 100 yard dashes, and deadlifting, which promotes aerobic respiration/training to failure, to tear muscle striation tissue for growth to enhance the tenderness of the meat as the cows get shredded for consumption. The systematic routine slaughter at which these meats are sliced, it’s like watching a green beret sneak up on its prey before slicing their throat Rambo style, or watching an ancient Spartan Warrior sick his spear into a Persian’s throat. These guys go for the throat, I wouldn’t care if they showed me a body in the walk-in. Wish I could hire one and take them home with me for making sandwiches, wife leaves much to be desired, preferably the short one with the glasses that I could pick up in the palm of my hand, who looks like he was the byproduct of genetically modified Cauliflower, or something I’d find washed up tangled in seaweed on a beach front property, these guys make the best sandwiches. Some nice Hickory Smoked Black Forest Turkey Breast, melted Land O’ Lakes 4 Cheese Italian Blend, a Strawberry Balsamic Vinaigrette Dressing with Sesame Oil, and of course the Parma Di Proscuitto, worth every cent, on multi-grained toasted Ciabatta , hmm hmm mmm, the good stop and shop stuff, and yes I’ll be taking a Whole Rotisserie...

Great produce. Use their club card with app to clip coupons online for some really great deals! Super organic /vegetarian options, again, reasonably priced when ON SALE. But even at regular price, the same exact items are still cheaper than Whole Foods. Bakery LOOKS great, and I've had no problems with their pies, cakes, cookies and sweets, bagels seem to last a few days, but beware of rolls and bakery breads. I've bought packages of bialeys or onion rolls that looked great in the store with an OK sell - by date, but literally the very next day, everything I just bought is covered in patches of green or white mold. This happened more than once, so it wasn't just a one - off. Also, their self - checkout wands where you scan and bag as you go can be a GREAT timesaver and give you the ability to track your costs as you go, but beware, it's not as easy to remove an item you scanned accidentally or changed you mind about. I thought that I had removed a few items that I had already scanned, when I replaced it in my cart with a different brand, on sale, but even though it beeped and confirmed item removed, I ended up paying for about 6 items I had removed and overpaid at least $20. Unfortunately, I didn't notice until I got home. I'm going to try going back to explain what happened and see if they will...