I visited this store at about 6 p.m., just after sunset. I was visiting a friend in Bungalow Heaven and Googled for "chicken sale" to see which store had a good price. This store had chicken legs for 67 cents a pound. A bit unsure of the area, I asked a couple of neighbors for their opinion. Both said I'd be fine but they actually recommended Fresh & Easy or Vons.
I decided to go for the sale, and I was prepared by the reviews to avoid those men asking for money. I parked under the light and grabbed a cart, walked past three men at the entrance who were trying to get my attention, not making eye contact. The store itself was easy to navigate. It definitely looked like a discount store, but that was fine. It seemed as clean as any store, though I didn't look closely.
I headed back toward the fresh meat section right away. They had multiple shelves of the sale chicken. Some non-sale chicken was also there, so it was important to check the labels. I got two huge packages of good-sized chicken legs for about $7.15. About 36 legs, so about twenty cents apiece. Not bad. I have an InstantPot and got one package worth into it with fresh lemon juice, a few tablespoons of tamari sauce, roasted garlic and a big bay leaf, plus half a cup of water. Set it for five minutes on high, let it sit on Keep Warm for a little while till it lost pressure, and it was delicious. Easy, delicious, and cheap.
Also picked up a pack of 80 corn tortillas for $1.99 and a ripe avocado for 99 cents. Everything I bought was on sale.
There was a female security guard inside the doors. As I left, three men all side by side were talking at me, trying to get me to talk to them, presumably for money. I didn't look at them, so I don't know for sure that they were the same guys, but I think they were. They looked healthy and not in distress. The store should do something about that issue.
I'd shop there again for the deals if I visited my friend again nearby. Their produce looked decent though I didn't look up close. It doesn't seem to have the variety of processed foods and specialty items you'd find at many grocery stores, but it does seem to have the basics and more.
Other than the significant and very annoying panhandling issue, I don't have a problem with this store. If they'd get that panhandling taken care of, my guess is that they'd have more business. It might be that having more security is not possible with their prices. I didn't really feel unsafe, but I could see how an incident could happen late at night with people going there just to try to harass other people out of money. I honestly didn't get the impression that those people were homeless, but I can't say for sure. They were a lot more aggressive, cleaner, and better fed looking than the homeless people I see around South Lake. read more