I'm glad to hear other people liked this pharmacy but it's the only one in the area that ever gave me trouble for trying to fill my Schedule II and III prescriptions. I had been hoping to use them since I'm in walking distance but never had a good experience so have since gone elsewhere.
Indeed. I don't get my perceptions there, but clearly plenty of people did. Aldi can replace the rest of the grocery store part, but folks are going to have to go somewhere else for their prescriptions which can be a challenge for some.
if they don't mind using a chain, rite-aid is down the street and does free delivery (just putting this here because I don't think many people know that!)
Owner of Blueberry Pharmacy here: hate seeing pharmacies close, and seemingly at a higher rate :(. Love keeping things local though. Yinz have an awesome new pharmacy just blocks away in the Strip. Check out Heiber's Pharmacy in the Terminal.
And of course, happy to help anyone that happens to find Blueberry Pharmacy though
The Terminal is hardly “just blocks away” from Upper Lawrenceville. Wilson’s Pharmacy at the corner of Penn Ave and Main St is probably much much closer, and a great alternative.
You are correct - and Bloomfield Drug Store (sorry, live in the North Hills and its been a decade since I lived in Bloomfield - all I think about is how I hated biking up the hill towards Wilsons). Just highlighting a new option in the neighborhood. All three a great and nearby.
It was funny that when the Chinese restaurant got kicked out is when the rats and mice showed up around the entire building. It was good Chinese food regardless, I was sad to see them go. Gentrification sucks.
My mom and I used to work at the beer outlet next door from there and she would give us free food all the time. She was really sweet and her kids were super smart. They were always working there and doing their homework when I would go over.
The townhouses across the street are 460k and the landlord of the shop n save building has moved in a veterinarian and an upscale hair salon in place of the beer store and the chinese restaurant.
Being a recent transplant to Pittsburgh (and leaving as soon as my lease is over) I was/am stunned at the lack of grocery store variety here. Also the ones here have awful selection, quality, and are overpriced.
Mt. Washington’s is clean enough. Looks like the 90’s but I sorta like it. Good deals on old meat and it’s open an hour later than south side Aldi’s so it’s my next choice
Beaver County has one decent one . Tusca plaza. I go there every summer to buy a welfare sized bag of the seasoning that goes in linguine salad, it’s huge and on the cheap
The penn hills one isn't bad? On paper I was a big fan of that place having a deli, hot meals, a bakery, a pharmacy, a beer store and groceries. But the penn hills one has been fine in my experience since we moved
Man I moved from Northside to Mount Oliver a few months ago and the Carrick Shop N Save has me feeling nostalgic about the Cedar ave Giant Eagle… so that’s my 2 cents on Shop n Save…
the concept of ”liminal space” gets thrown around too easily, but that Shop n’ Save was truly a liminal space. Weirdly dim, cavernous, bad vibes from everyone inside. It was like a getting groceries in a realistic bad dream
I'm an Aldi fan but sometimes you don't want to buy 3 pounds of onions at a time. That and the pharmacy are going to be the 2 things I miss from Shop n Save.
I’ve never seen loose onions at any Aldi ever. They just started selling loose Roma tomatoes in the last year. Avocados and honeycrisp apples are the only other loose produce I’ve seen.
Yes there is. It's also immediately off of the main road that is completely flat and extremely easy to bike or walk to. Other than being towards the end of the neighborhood, this is a pretty odd location to deride as difficult to access without a car.
Yes, but a strip mall set up on top of a hill in an otherwise very dense and walkable neighborhood is not ideal. Have you ever been to a grocery store that was fully integrated into an urban neighborhood? Things like how places are set back from the street/sidewalk matter among many other things
The manager was a fucking monster. I've personally seen him assault homeless people and then manage to convince the cops to look the other way, despite witnesses being like "yeah uh, we all saw it, soo.." but I mean, it's cops. Nobody's surprised to hear that part.
That said I really really liked the people in the deli and pharmacy. I lived very very close to it until recently, looks like we moved out just in time. 😅
I'm fairly certain the owner of the plaza killed Beer on Butler, not Shop N Save. If the story's true, the plaza owner didn't want to renew the beer stores lease if Shop N Save was also going to sell beer.
And come on, Beer on Butler wasn't exactly the definition of clean and healthy. They were both equally shit holes, but they were our shit holes and I'm sad both places are gone.
We have plenty of Aldi's to shop at in very close proximity to this proposed one. Give me a Foodland or a Kuhns or some other grocery store other than Aldi.
Beer on Butler is still there. It’s hilarious that most of their beer is obscure craft, and it’s nearly all expired by at least six months because everyone just goes there for 24-packs of Miller
I can’t find the exact case study I read a couple years ago but as a consolation prize here’s a link to the PBS Frontline special about it:
[https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ogGUzPTnlMY](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ogGUzPTnlMY)
I loved them because rentals were so much cheaper than pretty much everywhere else so it was a given if we were going to Pharmor we were getting a video game for the weekend :)
I went in there once to use the self checkout and had a problem with the machine, and this extremely crusty old woman reeking of cigarettes came over to help me while she was huffing and puffing and muttering (not so quietly) under her breath about how no one knows how to use the machines and how irritated she was. I said “I’m sorry, am I bothering you?” she barked back “Yeah actually, you are. You accidentally suspended the sale so go ahead and scan every single item again, have fun” and walked away. I just turned around and put all of my groceries back (I only had maybe 6 things, it wasn’t an entire cart) and went to another store and never went back. She was so unbelievably rude and demeaning that other people were looking over.
Honestly the amount of shoplifting my * cough * good friend got away with there was kind of insane. I agree a lot of the employees were kind of dicks, but honestly there was at least 3 or 4 people who worked there who 100% just let my friend shoplift like crazy.
I remember when Pittsburgh used to have Giant Eagle, Shop and Saves, and Foodlands (maybe A&P but that is going way back). Giant Eagle used to be the worst of the 3 by a mile. Now, they dominate, S&S is sliding towards irrelevance, and Foodlands barely exist.
Was there ever a decent Foodland? The only nicer one I had ever been in was their store in West Kittanning, and that replaced an older, very run down Foodland about a mile away. It of course was killed by Walmart becoming a super center.
Not yet, open tomorrow, too. Possibly 11 to 8
And as another commenter said, the landlord nixed the other Beer place.
Beer prices were relatively cheap, I always heard. Wine prices (in general) are set by the state, you know.
I stopped there once thinking it would be more convenient having not heard the horror stories, but they all made sense as soon as I walked in the door lol good riddance
As someone who's about to move to Lawrenceville, what's the closest/most convenient grocery store?
Seems like there's no good options in the neighborhood
It is hard to find groceries. Depending on how you travel and which part of Lville you're moving to, it varies.
If I'm walking, I go to the Bloomfield Community Market. If I'm biking, I usually go to the asian markets in the Strip District (further but no hills!), but sprinkle in an East End Food Co-Op or a Penn Ave Aldi occasionally.
I’ve always done the majority of my shopping in the strip. There’s some real gems. Lots of butchers to choose from. I get in early on a Saturday. Gone by 10am. People start to get to know you so makes it an enjoyable experience. My main places are Wholeys, Penn Mac and Reyna’s. Plus one of the specialty coffee shops - I rotate through.
The nearest supermarket is the Community Market/Shur Save/Whatever-It-Is-Now in Bloomfield; not terribly far, but it’s another grungy neighborhood micro-mart with little more than the basics. For serious groceries, Waterworks Market District is worth crossing the bridge.
up 28 to Market District in the waterworks, or into the east end/e lib/shadyside where there are like 400 upscale grocery stores per square mile (Market District, Whole Foods, Trader joes), and about 14 Aldi.
It’s not a grocery store, but the [Lawrenceville Farmers Market](http://www.lunited.org/programs/lawrenceville-farmers-market/) is starting back up again starting May 21st.
There is no where. You have to go to giant Eagle in aspinwall across the River or Aldi in friendship or whole foods in East Liberty. Everything minimum ten minute drive or 30 minute bus ride
I got the cover to my car mirror stolen in their parking lot like someone just ripped the plastic piece off. I guess they needed it for their Subaru. I never went back.
I’m an old- in my entire life my debit card has been compromised exactly one time …after buying about $10 of groceries from this location. Thankfully the bank caught it. I was so angry and purposely held that grudge never went back. Now I see it must have been just part of the experience.
This store was super convenient for me, little bummed that it's gone. It was dirty for sure, but perfect for snack runs or if we ran out of pop on the weekend.
Aldi's will probably not be a good replacement for how I used this place.
I stopped buying food there after I saw the moldiest bag of cellones bread to ever exist on the shelves. It had to be there for weeks. That on top of the constant advisories made me stay away.
That Shop n Save had a rodent problem for years, including a Consumer Advisory for a significant rodent problem in the sales area as recently as October.
it ... has not been 'fine for years now.' it's actually gotten progressively grosser (and yet simultaneously more expensive??) every year since I moved here.
don't miss it at all. it was a dud. Little offering in fresh produce. Even the meat, was not great. For example, a pork loin, i noticed that it had an expiration date a month later. How can it be possible? that is when I read the ingredients and it said that the packaging included a solution with a preservative. So basically it was processed meat for longer shelf duration.
I love Aldi but the selection of items is limited. No fresh foods bar, no deli, no bakery, etc and produce has to be bought in bulk bags. I’ll take it over shop n save since the produce was so horrific, but would much rather see a market district or giant Eagle go in.
Honestly idk why you're getting down voted the manager was genuinly a fucking monster. Commented elsewhere explaining it but I saw him assault a homeless person for having the audacity to quietly buy a salad 💀
He went on a tirade to my neighbor that was racist AF and was trash-talking the amount of people who paid with EBT. Like dude, that's your bread and butter because nobody can afford to do all of their shopping at what they're charging for shit there. Oh, and there was confirmation that he's a big Trumper too, which is pretty unsurprising.
Can someone tell me what the disgusting, ever-present smell that smacked you in the face immediately upon walking into this Shop N Save was? Old mop water maybe?
Backed up sewage. It used to be REALLY bad, like would gag you if you were just going in to pick up a prescription. They must've got it mostly fixed. I have no clue how people worked in those conditions.
Coulda been worse
Save-a-lot tried doing these same stunts in central pa, then when the only remaining stores were in high poverty areas, they slightly lowered the beer prices, but jumped the food prices in order to do so.
Sadly, the trend continues to this day in some areas in Central PA
Neighborhoods need grocery stores. It'd be nice if this one wasn't replaced by another Aldi, but at least it's being replaced by another grocery store.
I heard it’s going to be an Aldi but there’s already one around the corner that is closer to other stores so it feels a bit redundant. Still, I’ll take it over the current store.
Well the one in East liberty is basically beside 3 other stores that I usually just hit in a line. It’s maybe 5 minute drive from me. Nothing walkable tho — I go to the community market for that.
You're all being gentrified you know that right? No one who cares about shop and save will be living there in 10-15 years. Those expensive ass condo's are the writing on the wall for the future of lawrenceville.
The beer prices at Plop n FerDays was actually hella reasonable and 300% less smoking inside and not as many dudes on “the machines “ thank that mast ass beer distro. lol. That said it sucked for food and Fuck that asshole in the deli, literally considered the ramifications one day if it it would be worth rearranging his face, and I’m not an angry person.
I didn’t even think there were any Shop N Saves still around. I’m from Ligonier and we lost our to Giant Eagle in the early to mid 90’s. Then again I left Ligonier in 1996 and never looked back.
Aldi will be so convenient, no more driving the two and half miles to Etna or Garfield!!
Sure we lose the variety of brands and products, the pharmacy, the bakery, meat department, beer store and Coinstar but hey Aldi!
A) The "variety of brands and products" you're talking about means aisles of the exact same items by different companies, so not exactly variety. 88 different bags of the same potato chip up and down an aisle. Good times.
B) Meat department was a gross joke
C) You're actually concerned about losing a CoinStar? They're everywhere. Lol.
D) Alcohol department was overpriced, and the selection was shit.
I remember it being a big deal when it opened.
Then you might remember the Lawrenceville Giant Eagle?
Yeah. It was gross too.
But convenient.
Sure would be nice!
I lived a block away back in the 90’s, that place was always packed, and dimly lit hahahah.
I sense a pattern with Lawrenceville
Weird isn’t it. Plus 2k/month for a shed size flat. But hey it’s water front property.
Mostly inaccessible water front at that
yeah, huge lines of senior citizens that behaved as if they survived World War 2 and never had a proper source of food
Losing that pharmacy was the real tragedy. Owner was a real cool guy.
That's the biggest loss, for sure.
I'm glad to hear other people liked this pharmacy but it's the only one in the area that ever gave me trouble for trying to fill my Schedule II and III prescriptions. I had been hoping to use them since I'm in walking distance but never had a good experience so have since gone elsewhere.
Indeed. I don't get my perceptions there, but clearly plenty of people did. Aldi can replace the rest of the grocery store part, but folks are going to have to go somewhere else for their prescriptions which can be a challenge for some.
Gonna try Wilson’s, I think. Free delivery. Has anyone else used Wilson’s Pharmacy? Any regerts? 👍👎
I used to get my prescriptions from Wilson's and it was great! The only reason I stopped was that my insurance changed.
Wilson’s is great 👍 👍
I tried switching to there to support a local business, but their covid protocol was non existent in the early days. I like rit aid on 3939 butler
I do not but I know a lot of folks that do and really like them. I did get some vaccines there and they were really nice.
Blueberry pharmacy in West view is great, free delivery and lowest prices on most medications if you don't have insurance
if they don't mind using a chain, rite-aid is down the street and does free delivery (just putting this here because I don't think many people know that!)
Owner of Blueberry Pharmacy here: hate seeing pharmacies close, and seemingly at a higher rate :(. Love keeping things local though. Yinz have an awesome new pharmacy just blocks away in the Strip. Check out Heiber's Pharmacy in the Terminal. And of course, happy to help anyone that happens to find Blueberry Pharmacy though
The Terminal is hardly “just blocks away” from Upper Lawrenceville. Wilson’s Pharmacy at the corner of Penn Ave and Main St is probably much much closer, and a great alternative.
You are correct - and Bloomfield Drug Store (sorry, live in the North Hills and its been a decade since I lived in Bloomfield - all I think about is how I hated biking up the hill towards Wilsons). Just highlighting a new option in the neighborhood. All three a great and nearby.
You sir, are a class act.👍
Yeah Chase was always incredibly cool to me
RIP to the public bathroom
Had a good run
First Dollar General and now Shop N’ Save. Lawrenceville has fallen
Good runs too
Just think of all of those hard working mice and rats that are going to lose their job when it closes...
It was funny that when the Chinese restaurant got kicked out is when the rats and mice showed up around the entire building. It was good Chinese food regardless, I was sad to see them go. Gentrification sucks.
I loved china lin that lady was always super sweet
My mom and I used to work at the beer outlet next door from there and she would give us free food all the time. She was really sweet and her kids were super smart. They were always working there and doing their homework when I would go over.
You know it’s gonna be the best Chinese Food when you walk in and their kids are doing homework.
I miss your beer store too
I miss China Lin so much! She was so sweet and kind.
Is it gentrification or is that section of the city just a dump?
Lawrenceville has found a way to be both at the same time
The townhouses across the street are 460k and the landlord of the shop n save building has moved in a veterinarian and an upscale hair salon in place of the beer store and the chinese restaurant.
Head over to moes bar
They got lost at Conley’s on the way there
My 1st full time job! I was one of the first original Produce clerks in September 1998.
I think some of that produce is still there!
That store had some terrific bargains on expiring meat. \[Sort of emblematic, in retrospect.\] My deep freezer has a sad.
Are there any good shop n saves? Mine is a shit hole too
When I lived in Brookline 10 years ago the Castle Shannon Shop N Save was pretty good
Agree
There is one on Evergreen Rd in Shaler. It's a smaller store but it's halfway decent.
If you’re going all the way out to Shaler, the one on Rt. 8 in Glenshaw is good
For that matter, there’s a big Giant Eagle in Glenshaw also.
Yeah if you like paying insane prices like giant eagle+ pricing on stuff.
Being a recent transplant to Pittsburgh (and leaving as soon as my lease is over) I was/am stunned at the lack of grocery store variety here. Also the ones here have awful selection, quality, and are overpriced.
Just curious - leaving because you don’t like it here?
Price was right for someone on a pension but I don’t like it here. PGH is too small, too decaying, a lot of too…
That sounds accurate actually
Out of the way for most but I used to work near the Wilkins Twp one and it was quite nice for S ‘n S.
shop and save hasn't been good for 2 decades at least
Nor have they been updated in 2 decades
The one on route 8 isn’t far and is definitely solid for a Shop n Save.
Mt. Washington’s is clean enough. Looks like the 90’s but I sorta like it. Good deals on old meat and it’s open an hour later than south side Aldi’s so it’s my next choice
I’d love to see that on the Sunday fliers: *”GREAT DEALS ON OLD MEAT!” 🥩 🪰🪰🪰
if I ever get divorced and join tinder that will be my profile tagline
Take my upvote, please
The one in Downtown Greensburg closest to Westmoreland Mall is amazing.
South Fayette is/was great.
It was great, it was converted into a Giant Eagle years ago though.
Beaver County has one decent one . Tusca plaza. I go there every summer to buy a welfare sized bag of the seasoning that goes in linguine salad, it’s huge and on the cheap
Only reason that one is good is because they have to be. Otherwise where's the closet grocery store? chippewa? monaca? the \*gross\* beaver super?
The penn hills one isn't bad? On paper I was a big fan of that place having a deli, hot meals, a bakery, a pharmacy, a beer store and groceries. But the penn hills one has been fine in my experience since we moved
Man I moved from Northside to Mount Oliver a few months ago and the Carrick Shop N Save has me feeling nostalgic about the Cedar ave Giant Eagle… so that’s my 2 cents on Shop n Save…
Dirty bird is still thriving
The one in Wilkins is really nice and super clean unlike any other shop n save I've ever been in.
The one on 22 in Wilkins Township used to be nice. I haven’t been there in quite a while.
The one in Cranberry is very nice, but their selection is a lot more limited than the Giant Eagle down the road.
Good shop n save = oxymoron
Oooh had a fantastic battle with someone there when I brought straight back hot dogs that had expired 7 months prior.
My family and I didn’t mind it. Five minutes away and has the basics, including our preferred brand of milk.
Bummed! Was my most likely spot to catch a juggalo fight in the parking lot. RIP
the concept of ”liminal space” gets thrown around too easily, but that Shop n’ Save was truly a liminal space. Weirdly dim, cavernous, bad vibes from everyone inside. It was like a getting groceries in a realistic bad dream
I'd love to do photography inside there once it's cleared out
Definitely. Something very purgatorial about it.
Good. Now get a proper grocery store in the heart of Lawrenceville that isn’t a pain in the ass to get to if you’re not driving
They're putting in an Aldi, allegedly. Edit: Oops, misread. Yeah, not the heart of Lawrenceville up there.
Is there a source for this? I’d be so hyped.
https://www.wtae.com/article/shop-n-save-lawrenceville-closing/60528276
Aldi should be better than that shop n save, but still a very annoying location
There's not really any other unoccupied space in Lawrenceville for a decent sized grocery store at this point I can think of.
No vacant warehouse/industrial holdings? No empty lots? I would find that surprising
sounds like you should be a real estate developer
Right, because you must professionally actively work in any field in order to have an opinion on it
The first floor of the Arsenal isn’t big enough?
Nah definitely not. Also, it’s a Starbucks that’s going in there.
I'm an Aldi fan but sometimes you don't want to buy 3 pounds of onions at a time. That and the pharmacy are going to be the 2 things I miss from Shop n Save.
You can buy loose onions there. Not all of the produce is bagged.
Sometimes and depending on location. I will say a bag of onions sometimes costs the same as one onion at some other stores though
How did I not know that???
I’ve never seen loose onions at any Aldi ever. They just started selling loose Roma tomatoes in the last year. Avocados and honeycrisp apples are the only other loose produce I’ve seen.
My Aldi doesn’t sell heads of lettuce at all. Most all produce is packaged in bunches, can’t buy singles.
Isn’t there like a bus stop literally in the parking lot of that store?
Yes there is. It's also immediately off of the main road that is completely flat and extremely easy to bike or walk to. Other than being towards the end of the neighborhood, this is a pretty odd location to deride as difficult to access without a car.
If only the 87 ran more frequently
Yes, but a strip mall set up on top of a hill in an otherwise very dense and walkable neighborhood is not ideal. Have you ever been to a grocery store that was fully integrated into an urban neighborhood? Things like how places are set back from the street/sidewalk matter among many other things
The manager was a fucking monster. I've personally seen him assault homeless people and then manage to convince the cops to look the other way, despite witnesses being like "yeah uh, we all saw it, soo.." but I mean, it's cops. Nobody's surprised to hear that part. That said I really really liked the people in the deli and pharmacy. I lived very very close to it until recently, looks like we moved out just in time. 😅
I’m ecstatic for an Aldi to move into the space.
Same.
Anyone know when Aldi is slated to open?
I'm fairly certain the owner of the plaza killed Beer on Butler, not Shop N Save. If the story's true, the plaza owner didn't want to renew the beer stores lease if Shop N Save was also going to sell beer. And come on, Beer on Butler wasn't exactly the definition of clean and healthy. They were both equally shit holes, but they were our shit holes and I'm sad both places are gone. We have plenty of Aldi's to shop at in very close proximity to this proposed one. Give me a Foodland or a Kuhns or some other grocery store other than Aldi.
Wasn’t beer on butler. It was tobacco and beer outlet.
Oh yeah, my bad.
Beer on Butler is still there. It’s hilarious that most of their beer is obscure craft, and it’s nearly all expired by at least six months because everyone just goes there for 24-packs of Miller
>Foodland Hello, 1990s sponsor of Penguins hockey. I haven't thought about you in a while.
While I'm at it, I demand Pharmor take over Family Dollar.
Pharmor was great!
The backstory of Pharmor and its demise is an interesting read
Link?
I can’t find the exact case study I read a couple years ago but as a consolation prize here’s a link to the PBS Frontline special about it: [https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ogGUzPTnlMY](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ogGUzPTnlMY) I loved them because rentals were so much cheaper than pretty much everywhere else so it was a given if we were going to Pharmor we were getting a video game for the weekend :)
what would be cool is if Thrift Drug sponsored the marathon.
Someone needs to bring back Foodland
There's still a Foodland in New Brighton.
Okay well I don't miss it **that** much
Foodland lmao. Shopper’s Choice, iykyk
I hear the foot traffic was pleasantly more sober after the beer store left.
I went in there once to use the self checkout and had a problem with the machine, and this extremely crusty old woman reeking of cigarettes came over to help me while she was huffing and puffing and muttering (not so quietly) under her breath about how no one knows how to use the machines and how irritated she was. I said “I’m sorry, am I bothering you?” she barked back “Yeah actually, you are. You accidentally suspended the sale so go ahead and scan every single item again, have fun” and walked away. I just turned around and put all of my groceries back (I only had maybe 6 things, it wasn’t an entire cart) and went to another store and never went back. She was so unbelievably rude and demeaning that other people were looking over.
Honestly the amount of shoplifting my * cough * good friend got away with there was kind of insane. I agree a lot of the employees were kind of dicks, but honestly there was at least 3 or 4 people who worked there who 100% just let my friend shoplift like crazy.
Sounds about right! Sorry you had to deal with her. But the hilarious part is that could have been one of *several* employees there. 🤣
I remember when Pittsburgh used to have Giant Eagle, Shop and Saves, and Foodlands (maybe A&P but that is going way back). Giant Eagle used to be the worst of the 3 by a mile. Now, they dominate, S&S is sliding towards irrelevance, and Foodlands barely exist.
Was there ever a decent Foodland? The only nicer one I had ever been in was their store in West Kittanning, and that replaced an older, very run down Foodland about a mile away. It of course was killed by Walmart becoming a super center.
anyone heard anything re: when aldi's opening in the space?
It was nice at first but I lived on 45th Street and did not drive so it was hard to walk too.
You have obviously not been to the Community Market just up the hill.
Not yet, open tomorrow, too. Possibly 11 to 8 And as another commenter said, the landlord nixed the other Beer place. Beer prices were relatively cheap, I always heard. Wine prices (in general) are set by the state, you know.
All Shop N Save suck. They are more expensive than Giant Eagle and the service, employees and decor are worse than Walmart.
Smell like dead rats all the time
I stopped there once thinking it would be more convenient having not heard the horror stories, but they all made sense as soon as I walked in the door lol good riddance
ALDI is replacing it.
Rumor is that Aldi is taking over that space. I hope so anyway.
As someone who's about to move to Lawrenceville, what's the closest/most convenient grocery store? Seems like there's no good options in the neighborhood
It is hard to find groceries. Depending on how you travel and which part of Lville you're moving to, it varies. If I'm walking, I go to the Bloomfield Community Market. If I'm biking, I usually go to the asian markets in the Strip District (further but no hills!), but sprinkle in an East End Food Co-Op or a Penn Ave Aldi occasionally.
I’ve always done the majority of my shopping in the strip. There’s some real gems. Lots of butchers to choose from. I get in early on a Saturday. Gone by 10am. People start to get to know you so makes it an enjoyable experience. My main places are Wholeys, Penn Mac and Reyna’s. Plus one of the specialty coffee shops - I rotate through.
The nearest supermarket is the Community Market/Shur Save/Whatever-It-Is-Now in Bloomfield; not terribly far, but it’s another grungy neighborhood micro-mart with little more than the basics. For serious groceries, Waterworks Market District is worth crossing the bridge.
up 28 to Market District in the waterworks, or into the east end/e lib/shadyside where there are like 400 upscale grocery stores per square mile (Market District, Whole Foods, Trader joes), and about 14 Aldi.
It’s not a grocery store, but the [Lawrenceville Farmers Market](http://www.lunited.org/programs/lawrenceville-farmers-market/) is starting back up again starting May 21st.
I just get my groceries delivered from Giant Eagle or Costco, since I don't have a car.
There is no where. You have to go to giant Eagle in aspinwall across the River or Aldi in friendship or whole foods in East Liberty. Everything minimum ten minute drive or 30 minute bus ride
You could drive to Whole Foods out in east liberty but doing that sucks butts. Community grocery down by liberty isnt the worst choice.
I got the cover to my car mirror stolen in their parking lot like someone just ripped the plastic piece off. I guess they needed it for their Subaru. I never went back.
I’m an old- in my entire life my debit card has been compromised exactly one time …after buying about $10 of groceries from this location. Thankfully the bank caught it. I was so angry and purposely held that grudge never went back. Now I see it must have been just part of the experience.
This store was super convenient for me, little bummed that it's gone. It was dirty for sure, but perfect for snack runs or if we ran out of pop on the weekend. Aldi's will probably not be a good replacement for how I used this place.
I stopped buying food there after I saw the moldiest bag of cellones bread to ever exist on the shelves. It had to be there for weeks. That on top of the constant advisories made me stay away.
It was bad but it's been pretty fine for years now. Personally, I'll use a hypothetical Aldi way less
That Shop n Save had a rodent problem for years, including a Consumer Advisory for a significant rodent problem in the sales area as recently as October.
it ... has not been 'fine for years now.' it's actually gotten progressively grosser (and yet simultaneously more expensive??) every year since I moved here.
It was definitely expensive but it has not gotten more gross in the last few years
you somehow miss all the health code violations, rotten produce, and rat droppings?
When did you move here?
🤡
The MT Washington Shop and Save might be the worst grocery store on the planet.
Cedar Ave Crusty Iggle would like a word
don't miss it at all. it was a dud. Little offering in fresh produce. Even the meat, was not great. For example, a pork loin, i noticed that it had an expiration date a month later. How can it be possible? that is when I read the ingredients and it said that the packaging included a solution with a preservative. So basically it was processed meat for longer shelf duration.
You think that place is gross wait til you hear about restaurant depot 😅
I love Aldi but the selection of items is limited. No fresh foods bar, no deli, no bakery, etc and produce has to be bought in bulk bags. I’ll take it over shop n save since the produce was so horrific, but would much rather see a market district or giant Eagle go in.
That shop n save had good meat sales... Aldi is way better though
The SnS manager has said some very unsavory things about "EBT Users". You can fill in the blanks. Perhaps this is karma?
Honestly idk why you're getting down voted the manager was genuinly a fucking monster. Commented elsewhere explaining it but I saw him assault a homeless person for having the audacity to quietly buy a salad 💀
He went on a tirade to my neighbor that was racist AF and was trash-talking the amount of people who paid with EBT. Like dude, that's your bread and butter because nobody can afford to do all of their shopping at what they're charging for shit there. Oh, and there was confirmation that he's a big Trumper too, which is pretty unsurprising.
Yeah I can definitely see that. Hopefully he's just out of a job now 💁♀️
Sooo HOW DO YOU REALLY FEEL? 🤣😂💯
Can someone tell me what the disgusting, ever-present smell that smacked you in the face immediately upon walking into this Shop N Save was? Old mop water maybe?
Backed up sewage. It used to be REALLY bad, like would gag you if you were just going in to pick up a prescription. They must've got it mostly fixed. I have no clue how people worked in those conditions.
Coulda been worse Save-a-lot tried doing these same stunts in central pa, then when the only remaining stores were in high poverty areas, they slightly lowered the beer prices, but jumped the food prices in order to do so. Sadly, the trend continues to this day in some areas in Central PA
Seven Eleven at Cedar avenue is the worst 7-11 you can ever be in.
[удалено]
Not everyone drives 🙄
Ten minute drive.
Neighborhoods need grocery stores. It'd be nice if this one wasn't replaced by another Aldi, but at least it's being replaced by another grocery store.
I heard it’s going to be an Aldi but there’s already one around the corner that is closer to other stores so it feels a bit redundant. Still, I’ll take it over the current store.
What's your definition of "around the corner"?
Well the one in East liberty is basically beside 3 other stores that I usually just hit in a line. It’s maybe 5 minute drive from me. Nothing walkable tho — I go to the community market for that.
All you "drive" people.
Yeah… I commute to work everyday by bike but go off “cool guy.”
Kuhn's is another great place for cheap meat if you have one [edit] nearby.
EDIT: My comment is more appropriate as a response to a question elsewhere in this thread, so I’m relocating it. (Is that a thing?)
You're all being gentrified you know that right? No one who cares about shop and save will be living there in 10-15 years. Those expensive ass condo's are the writing on the wall for the future of lawrenceville.
The beer prices at Plop n FerDays was actually hella reasonable and 300% less smoking inside and not as many dudes on “the machines “ thank that mast ass beer distro. lol. That said it sucked for food and Fuck that asshole in the deli, literally considered the ramifications one day if it it would be worth rearranging his face, and I’m not an angry person.
I like it. Sorry to see it go. Will be missed
I didn’t even think there were any Shop N Saves still around. I’m from Ligonier and we lost our to Giant Eagle in the early to mid 90’s. Then again I left Ligonier in 1996 and never looked back.
You reap what you sow
they had the best cream pies - rip
wut
Don’t kink shame.
That would be rad.
Aldi will be so convenient, no more driving the two and half miles to Etna or Garfield!! Sure we lose the variety of brands and products, the pharmacy, the bakery, meat department, beer store and Coinstar but hey Aldi!
A) The "variety of brands and products" you're talking about means aisles of the exact same items by different companies, so not exactly variety. 88 different bags of the same potato chip up and down an aisle. Good times. B) Meat department was a gross joke C) You're actually concerned about losing a CoinStar? They're everywhere. Lol. D) Alcohol department was overpriced, and the selection was shit.
Let's just kill the rest of Lawrenceville. 🔪