Hannaford — Local services in Waltham

This location does not have a large selection. They do not have a lot of corn tortillas. They have mission brand and soft ones. They should have more tortillas and different ones. They have taco holders that look like football T's. I don't like how they have a small amount of meat selections. Try the dumplings I think they are made by a spaghetti factory but there is Chinese on the package. They are nice. I think it has what you need but they don't have the best deals. The brand of the store has bad quality packaging. I think they should make it look appealing. It is white and red and looks like it is bad quality. Add color, different text, make me want to buy it. I don't think they have a large ice cream selection. It they do have some things you want to try. They do not sell alcohol and although I do not really drink it is weird they sell cigarettes but not alcohols I think it may be because Marlboro is near Waltham and they make money off of cigarettes and they manufacturer is nearby. I do not know if they make the cigarettes but when you are called Marlboro I do not think they would not have cigarettes. I do not like it when people smoke and hope that we get away from smoking as a culture. We have made progress but we need to remove this part of our economy. It makes a lot of money but it hurts us personally and in our medical field. If we removed smoking it would make a large impact on overall health and we would not see as much diseases such as bladder cancer and kidney disease. We would also have less problems with blood such as DVT's and aneurysms. I think we can do it, support those who want to quick and I recommend quitting if you smoke. There are websites, google quit smoking and the government helps you quit with a lot of support. They have a bad marketing strategy where the front door is in the back of the building. You cannot enter from the street you have to park in the back and you cannot go in from the street. I think they could have made the store a little back and had the parking lot in the front. If you do not like that idea look at every other store and it will be...

Those days it was simply Waltham Supermarket, and advertised right there on the board over the name as "the largest supermarket in the world". It seemed strange that anyone could say such a thing, after all internet was a few decades ahead and how would anyone know what size supermarkets were anywhere else in US much less in the world? Our European colleagues laughed about it.

But that was only for those that thought this was what it was about. For us living there and not wealthy enough to posses a car it was a lifeline, walking to the supermarket and walking back with groceries once a week if one could carry that much, else more often. Some people brought the carts home and left them on the curb, and the supermarket had employees collect them from all over the town and wheel them back. We thought that was infra dig. My housemate had a trolley, and if I needed it could borrow it.

The supermarket was not fancy but was plenty, there was never any shortage of things one needs or variety thereof. Later they set up a gourmet coffee counter where one could buy and grind fresh roasted beans, and we at home decided to share coffee and costs, and bought varieties in turn. I had by then been refined enough to understand if not imbibe the difference of instant vs fresh roasted and ground filtered, but that year of sharing it with my housemate, who was in a non judgemental and gentle way refined if anything, left no possibility of my ever again seeing instant coffee as anything but compromise. Later came Gevalia, and then I left town for a position across the continent.

I don't know if I can describe details or how it was special, but it was relaxing in a way now that I think back, and forever since I have this expectation of feeling better after shopping in a supermarket. Perhaps that was the gift of the Waltham Supermarket.

We visited a Hanaford supermarket in NH recently and it was more extensive in more fancy things. Is it just passing of time and people getting more aware, or more, I am not sure. Hope it is positive...

I had to write a review once I read that somebody "finds things there that they can't find anywhere else". My biggest problem with Hannaford is that I can't find most things I like there at all!!! They used to carry my brand and iteration of spaghetti sauce, but not anymore. They carry one brand of olive oil mayonnaise and it's not mine. I got a great buy on salt substitute only to find out it was because it was being discontinued at the store. They do not carry turkey hot dogs. They used to, but just stopped. You can get chicken hot dogs by several brands....but not a single turkey hot dog. The final straw for me was last week when I went to get my Hood 1% milk and Coke Zero and the shelves were empty of both. The milk is frequently out, leading me to deduce that it isn't being ordered in sufficient quantities if it is constantly out of stock. Hannaford meat and produce are way better than the other markets around town, and the person who said that their prices are as good as Market Basket was absolutely right. The staff are pleasant, and it is oh so convenient to my home. If only the shelves weren't full of gaping spaces that should contain food selections, and the choices weren't limited to one brand and one size of many items. I have shopped at this location from it's days as Waltham Supermarket, Shaws, Victory, and now Hannaford......but if they continually force me to go elsewhere to complete my grocery list then I guess it would make more sense to do all of my shopping where they carry the goods! It is a real shame, because the quality is there. The convenience is there. If only the groceries...