Which is more affordable: Rainbow or Cub? (prices, shop)

[MN-Born-n-Raised]

Originally Posted by Slig

That's what you'd like to think but due to the ridiculous lines the trip ends up taking as long as a cub trip for me and I come away with less product. I'm not sure which Aldi's you go to, but the one on East Lake St and Hiawatha is a zoo. Also, I'd like to be able to see what is available at places like Sam's and Cost-Co, but I'd have a really hard time justifying the annual fee....maybe if I had 5+ kids it'd make sense.

I go to the ALDI's in Coon Rapids (by Applebees). It's never busy.

Slig. We have an "Executive" 2% rebate membership at Costco. If you don't spend enough to pay for the $50 fee, they give you the difference back at the end of the year. I then got their Costco AMEX (no annual fee) which gives you 4% off of my gas at Costco. It's already cheaper ($2.40 a gallon yesterday before 9 cents off or $2.31 a gallon).

Generally speaking, a single guy cannot take advantage of some of the bigger package sizes. But it is hard to pass up $1.47 a gallon of milk, $6.20 a pound of ribeye steaks, etc. The pharmacy price is a FRACTION of the cost as compared to Wallgreens, etc. Generally speaking, it will always be cheaper at Costco than any other retailer. That is why Best Buy won't match prices. BB's operating margins are about 25% on average.

They also have a policy that if you are not satisfied, return it. They modified the policy on TV's and computers to 90 days. But if you bought something that didn't last like you thought it should, take it back with no questions asked. I buy everything I can there because they back what they sell.

For business owners, the Visa transaction fees are THE best anywhere. I get cold calls from people wanting my merchant billing monthly. I tell them I have Costco and they say, "thanks for your time".

[Cruz Azul Guy]

Yeah, I mean I'd definitely be tempted if there was one really close by. Within a mile and a half of me there is a Cub, Rainbow, Aldi's and 3 or 4 Mexican corner store/supermarkets. The closest Costco is off of 394 west of downtown and the closest Sam's is in St. Louis Park or Richfield.

[NumberPlate]

I just casually started purchasing some food items from Super Target few months back. Soon Target became one of my favorites to go there. I purchase from both cubs and target. Sometimes we really found prices are cheaper than cubs and always wondered why we didn't find earlier. We will try Rainbows this week and see how it goes. But for a piece and relaxed shopping I would goto target.

[Cruz Azul Guy]

I'm curious, how is the meat/produce at Super Target compared to that of Cub Foods and Rainbow? Do they have a deli there? I haven't taken a really close look but it seems like they have a very large selection of boxed, canned and frozen and refrigerated foods but may be lacking in the deli, meats, bakery and produce sections.

[golfgal]

Originally Posted by Slig

I'm curious, how is the meat/produce at Super Target compared to that of Cub Foods and Rainbow? Do they have a deli there? I haven't taken a really close look but it seems like they have a very large selection of boxed, canned and frozen and refrigerated foods but may be lacking in the deli, meats, bakery and produce sections.

The produce, meat and deli at Super Target is woefully lacking. Cub is much better, which isn't saying much. We get most of our meat at Sam's Club-which is surprisingly very good. We make due with the produce at Cub unless I want really good produce then I stop at Byerly's.

Cereal, junk food for the kids, etc. is less expensive at Target than Cub though.

[Cruz Azul Guy]

That's also been my impression, which is why we rarely go there. Alot of people I know, co-workers, etc. say they only grocery shop at super target and I just don't get it. I agree that Cub's produce and meat section is far from spectacular, we probably get about 50% of ours there and get the rest at the farmer's market and the Mexican supermarket. The one thing I like about Cub though is that I can usually find some deli meat on sale and they stock the majority of the produce we use.

[Haver]

Originally Posted by theprincefan

I agree about Super Target. I just picked up our favorite juice concentrate for $1.59 on sale at Rainbow, yet their regular price at Target is $1.09!!! So, there's something going on over at SuperTarget and I like it! ;-)

Rainbow and Cub have unions. Target does not.

[shizzy]

Location is a major driving factor for me. I prefer Cub (no real reason) but there is a new Rainbow across the street so I walk there. any loss in savings is gained by NOT driving my truck 2 miles up the road to Cub or Super Target. Plus I only buy what I can carry home so thats a saver right there.

[sparksals]

Jumping in late. If you are a coupon clipper, Cub has a much more friendly policy on coupons because they accept them up to 3 months expired. I always have trouble with coupons at Rainbow and Target doesn't accept expired either. Although, I heard a rumour that they are now accepted expired coupons, but it is hit and miss.

If I didn't actively coupon, I would probably shop more at Super Target, but since it's just the two of us and I usually use expired coupons, I get the greatest bang for my buck at Cub.

[Globe199]

Cub's prices and selection are vastly superior to Rainbow. All Cub stores are 24/7, some Rainbows aren't. Rainbow stores are occasionally cleaner and nicer-looking. They also once had a reputation for having better produce than Cub, though I'm not sure if that's still true. I don't think so. Plus, I believe Rainbow has started using those club cards again. Didn't they learn that lesson the first time?

The way Roundy's has operated Rainbow has been rather peculiar. They did a major overhaul of the store in Roseville near Best Buy, then proceeded to close it. The new Rainbow on Larpenteur looks great from the outside, but the inside is too dark. Plus with the opening of their liquor store, they pushed out the nearby Cellar store. Rainbow also opened that huge concept store in Shakopee, which was really nice, then they closed it. Weird.

Regarding Target, maybe you can get away with it if you don't cook much. Their selection is smaller than even Rainbow, though prices are generally decent. Their produce seems better controlled than either Cub or Rainbow, but again, selection is limited. We'll pick up food at Target if we're there for other stuff, but we never make a Target grocery run.