The first time I visited a Food Lion when I moved to Roanoke I wasn't impressed at all. It wasn't…read moretoo clean nor organized. But today, while at Old Country Plaza on Starkey Road, I had some time before the restaurant Ben Gui Sushi opened and so I decided to give this Food Lion a visit to purchase some things I needed and to give this supermarket chain, located in another location from the first I had visited, another try. Old Country Plaza is a neighborhood strip-type shopping center located in Cave Spring, one of the nicest neighborhoods of Roanoke, Virginia. It is anchored by this Food Lion supermarket and a Buffalo Wild Wings restaurant, and has a variety of other restaurants and stores, with a good size parking lot. The first thing I noticed when I walked into this supermarket was how clean and well-stocked it was. Its shiny floors and ceiling lighting treatment seemed to highlight this, together with the freshness of the food. An example of how well-stocked it was is the little glass bottles of Starbucks Coffee. At the Kroger where I usually shop because of its convenient location to where I live, they are almost always out of the Starbucks Café Mocha bottles. And here they not only had plenty in two areas of the store, but they were also on sale. Even though I could notice the age of the shelves themselves were not too current. They were clean and well-stocked and organized. The Bakery & Deli department had fresh a nice variety of fresh breads, bakery products, and deli meats, all very well presented. The Produce department had some fresh fruits and vegetables. And signs posted all around such as "Savings Start Here On Your Family Favorites," "Fresh baked hearty savings," "Quality and freshness always guaranteed. It's our promise," "Priced low everyday on items you buy more often," and "THANK YOU. We look forward to seeing you again soon," all seem to lead to the important topics of Quality and Savings. The sale prices were placed on good size labels under each product on the shelves. On areas the price of every product was $1 off. Some items had Bogo Sale: Buy one get one free. I also was surprised to find they had a nice size Beer & Wine department with excellent selection at reasonable prices. And something that we no longer see in other big name supermarkets: a large station with an extensive Magazine and Greeting Cards selection. And services to rent a deep clean machine as well as a Coinstar machine to conveniently change you piggy bank coins. At the cash register a friendly young gentleman cashier explained how I could get a Food Lion card either at the computer on the Customer Service counter or by downloading their app. He used a generic one for the time being so that I could take advantage of their sale items and also was very helpful in allowing me to pay with two cards, my Anthem HealthKeepers Benefits Prepaid Debit Card and my Harvard Alumni World Mastercard. When I got home I downloaded their app and obtained a Food Lion account number. And in doing so I was fascinated and very impressed by the graphic design and resourcefulness of their app. That visit to that particular Food Lion won me over. My compliments to the management and staff. I highly recommend this supermarket and plan to continue visiting it myself for all my food shopping needs.

The store is clean and well-stocked but almost all employees are rude with a serious attitude…read more This has happened on more than one occasion. Enough for me to leave a review about it. Edit: I do live in the Roanoke Valley - don't know why it says im from California.

Nicholas was such a sweetheart. The young man helped me grab things off the top shelf. He is so…read moremuch more helpful than my lazy ass husband. He is such a charming young man and I hope he gets the recognition he deserves.

This is a nice-looking store, like most Fresh Markets. The selection was, as I often find, a bit…read morepuzzling. I came seeking the little protein shakes that are common in health food stores. Finding them neither with the vegetables or with the alternative milks or with the coffee-based mixed drinks, I assumed they didn't have any of this sort of item, only to find a small freestanding cooler that did have some, but not quite the price or selection that I was hoping after all that searching. Similarly, some elements of the fruit and vegetable section didn't quite have everything I was hoping for. This store also had a longer wait in line than I would have expected despite three registers running. There were still some good quality food items to be had, but trying to shop comprehensively at Fresh Market often leaves me a bit frustrated.

I miss this local gas and convenience station since moving from Salem. The people were very nice…read moreand in a time that most places make you prepay for gas - you can fuel up and pay once you're finished and go inside for snacks or a cold drink. Alice is awesome and has a great personality as well as all the others. My apologies for not remembering all of their names...but enjoyed my regular banter with all of them. Love the local feel and treatment as a friend and not just a random acquaintance. People at the register are quick to ask you how your day has been and are nice to talk to. We miss them as well as our life we lived for six years not far from the store. Its a gem and we highly recommend it to others.

Never find yourself in a shop during Covid19, where folks argue over the use of face masks…read more Walked in. Heard: 'I'll have to start wearing a mask in a few week..' No pump numbers. No receipts! Review: 2 shack

I agree this store has a great selection of international foods but guys, check the expiration…read moredate!!!!!!! I was so grossed out when I found old expired curry paste from 2017 and we are in 2020. Last year I came regularly for the same product. When I wanted to buy it in May of this year, it was expired. They refused to go down with the price. When I checked for the same product again a few months later, it was still in the shelf all expired (August). Today I checked again (Nov) and nothing has changed....all expired products are still on the shelf. This is disgusting and could be dangerous. When you point it out to the store worker/manager they act indifferent. Nothing will change! That's it for me...

Great variety of food and customer service! You could find any ingredient you're looking for at…read morethis store.

This convenience store is located off Bradshaw Rd on top of a mountain in Roanoke County. I ended…read moreup there looking for Hunt Brothers Pizza, a convenience store pizza chain. And boy I'm glad I did. It was worth driving the narrow, circular, streets less traveled, to reach this one-of-a-kind store. Watkins Market is a neighborhood-focused, friendly country convenience store, with a warm and welcoming environment. After an amazingly unique ride in my pearl white Lexus, it was a relaxing feeling to be greeted by a friendly lady with a lovely personality, as soon as I entered the store. She not only has been an employee there for around five years, but also lives in the community. She filled me in on how the owner of the convenience store and Marathon gas station also owns the Hunt Brothers Pizza kiosk and how it is very popular there because it is conveniently located right in the middle of the rural neighborhood of which it serves. On top of this, the pizzas are reasonably priced at $11.99 for a 12" original crust or thin pizza, with all the toppings at no additional price. And each additional pizza only $10.99. It also sells wings and wingbites, ideal to order to eat while watching a game at home with family and friends. And if this wasn't enough, for the morning crowd, they had Breakfast Pizzas which were also available all day. And after purchasing an Original Crust Loaded Pizza and eating it at home, I can vouch for the quality and tastefulness of the pizza. The convenience store was stocked with a good selection of routine grocery items, household necessities, snacks, and drinks. It had an ATM machine, sold Virginia Lottery tickets, cigarettes, and ice cream, among other things. I invite you to view my photographs accompanying this review to get a better sense of the place and the other merchandise it has available for sale. I was surprised to find "Fresh Farm Eggs for $5.99." In conclusion, I highly recommend this convenience store to the community and to all those driving by looking for a place to get a snack or two. The service is so welcoming that I promise you'll feel right at home.

Since coming under new management, Watkins Grocery has come a long way to meet the needs of the…read morelocal customers. Their shelves are stocked and selection has grown and the people who work there are excellent people. Its great to interact with them and find them to be very helpful. Like some of the other gas stations in the area, they will let you fuel then come inside to pay rather than prepay. They have a laid back environment and a feel one can only get from a small town and locally-owned business. They were my go-to shop when we lived nearby and we miss them.

Through word of mouth I heard about this quaint, little neighborhood convenience store located…read morealong Walnut Avenue, in Vinton, Virginia, featuring an adjacent Valley Metro bus stop ("Walnut Eb at Booker") for convenient public transit access. It ignited my imagination to want to go visit it and write a review so that people of all walks of life could know about it, and know that it's there for those times when one has a need of an item or even a want of a particular product to enjoy as a snack. So I turned on the GPS of my pearl white Lexus and headed towards there from Orange Ave where I was coming from. It took me through narrow streets going up and down and around the hills, until I heard: "You have arrived at your destination." To my surprise the store was located in a nice little area with a small parking lot that was almost completely full of cars from customers shopping there. It had a clean storefront with lit signs all over behind the store windows and a nice store sign that seemed sponsored by Pepsi on the rooftop. I like it when large companies help out small local businesses by providing them with a deasent store front sign, even if by doing so they advertise their product as well. Right close to its front entrance there was one handicapped accessible parking space. Just this fact said a lot about the owner. Up front there was also an Air Pump not only for customers with cars to take advantage of it but there was a customer who came riding his bike, and he too could use it to fill his tires with air. When I walked inside, it was amazing the great variety of products contained within. As I looked through the store, I seemed to have captured the owner's attention since it was my first time there and he gave me a warm greeting from behind the counter and we immediately started a conversation. When I asked if he was Spanish, he told me he was of Egyptian immigrants. Right away I told him of the Egyptian I had met in Salem, who owned the Abrakadabra tiny Mediterranean restaurant. Well, it turned out to be his brother. What a small world. He told me he was expecting a large shipment of products today, but even with this coming in, he had a great variety of products that rather than naming them all I invite you to view my photographs accompanying this review to get a better sense of the place and its available products. Basically the store stocked household essentials, pantry staples, snacks, drinks, fresh produce, and specialized specialty items. Thus providing local residents with a convenient one-stop shopping destination for everyday needs. It's welcoming atmosphere brought new and old customers in, and its reputation for friendly service kept them coming back for more. I highly recommend this convenience store and urge you to give your total support to this kind-natured local owner.

This place is the best place to get snacks and drinks at, recommend. The service is amazing and abe…read moreis so nice and hard working! If you need and cat food or dog food this place gotcha, and the things are cheap so you can afford alot of stuff!

My husband and I went into BJ'S today and was in the process of checking out, when one of the items…read morewas not ringing up. The cashier tried 2 times and the item could not be found. He tried once more and then he set it aside and said that he would need to go to the guest service and see about finding the price. We were cool with it except for the fact that the manager on duty (we will call him H) stared at the worker and saw him struggle all 3 times and then gave him a number for the item and it still could not be found. Props to the worker who was trying to help us. Thumbs down to H for not willing to help the employee out after seeing something was not ringing up.

While out of town I utilized my BJ's membership to shop an out of town store…read more My son needed an upgraded TV. BJ's has a very strong selection at great prices. I also had reward points on my BJ's credit card. My son chose a 43 inch Samsung. No issues checking out. Staff was ok checking out and receipt check. I'm sure I will be back at some point with my son now residing in Roanoke.

Very local food store. Items you don't see at a Kroger. We even bought milk in bottles. Lots of…read moreinteresting things to look at and buy