To Market, To Market...

I actually didn't plan on posting about this so quickly, but thanks in part to a bout of insomnia, and also to the fact that I wanted to buy a colleague some baked goods as a "thanks" for helping me get some great data, I made it to Green Valley Market today, on opening day. 


I walked through the doors around 7:15. It was surprisingly crowded. I think the "opening" had something to do with it. The store had some giveaways - I scored a free tote - and a ribbon cutting.

I always wonder what they do with giant scissors after the ribbon cutting. Does one pair travel through a company to all locations? Do they just use it to cut really big pieces of paper? 

I also think it's a testament to how much the area was missing its anchor grocery outlet. There were definitely people doing real shopping there.

I snapped a few pictures. 

Some initial thoughts? For those of you who shopped in the Elkridge SuperFresh, the layout is actually very much the same. The interior looks newer, though. 

The bakery still looks excellent. I picked up some croissants for our "breakfast nook" at work (this would be funnier if I had a picture... but I don't.). A sample bite of a brownie with walnuts and PB icing was very tasty. Free samples... breakfast of champions. In checkout, the women behind me had gotten cupcakes that looked awesome - one topped with fruit, the other with a cannoli, each in a little domed cupcake box. 


And there was this cute cake.

The seafood and produce looked fresh.

In my first post, I mentioned that my biggest concern was prices. One nice thing is no value card is needed for this shop. I shop for certain items fairly consistently so I was able to do a walk-through price check. There were fewer sales than at my local giant, but many prices were close, particularly when I looked at value-pack meat and such. Some were pricier. I'll have to do comparisons in the coming weeks - yes, I'm that person.. aka, the poor student, remember? - but they do have a paper circular which will be really helpful. 


While the circular isn't online, I'm a big fan of the fact that the store has both a facebook and twitter presence. FB seems more updated at this point - I'm looking forward to seeing how they put social media to use once things really get running.


Have you been to Green Valley Marketplace yet? Are you a Elkridger who's looking forward to having a very close-by grocery store again? (hocoblogs@@@)


As always, please leave your thoughts in the comments below!




Edit to update (11/29): Recently noticed that the circular (or a portion of it) is in fact available on the GVM website.

Green Valley Marketplace

We got a coupon mailer for Green Valley Marketplace - the grocery store that will be replacing the overpriced and rundown SuperFresh in Elkridge - the other day.


I'm not going to lie, it's been kind of annoying not having a grocery store within walking distance. But I just say annoying. I am aware of how fortunate we are, and can't imagine how difficult it's been for people who don't have regular or convenient transportation. For me, it's been going without mushrooms if I happened to forget them. Or just going a few miles out of my way because I really wanted chicken for dinner.


Still, I'm curious about this new place. The coupons they gave us amount to $5 off of $50, for the first four weeks that the store is open. If the prices are good, we'll definitely use them. That was the biggest failing of the SuperFresh store. While the bakery was excellent, the rest of the store was really, noticeably more expensive than other options like the MeadowRidge Giant.


So much so that we would have conversations like this.




SWR: "I'm going to make a stop on the way home. What do we need from SuperFresh?"


Mr. SWR: ""As little as possible."




I'm also glad to have a new storefront in our shopping center, and hopefully there's been a small hiring bump. I'm really hoping that they get around to issuing some sort of online circular, which will make it more convenient to shop. I use that feature on the Giant webpage often.


I'll post up some pictures when I get over there, but you can see a preview on their facebook page - the store is set to open on Nov 16. (hocofood@@@)




EDIT (11/16): First impressions and pictures, here.