Overall the best thing about this store is a Manager named Daniel. He realizes his store, for whatever reasons, does NOT have the selection or options of some other (perhaps larger) Lucky stores. Eg - when I went to get a raincheck on an item (then found out they didn't even carry it) he made it right by giving me the option to buy the same item in different size at a pro rata same price as the raincheck. Otherwise imagine - I would have had to drive maybe 7 miles or more to another Lucky. That might or might not have the item... Lucky chain seems to have taken a hit from the online ordering stores such as Whole Foods Market. So this is not a glamorous store. If rating just the store, I might rate it a 3 (I need to give them credit for being open in the area when other stores are closed etc...I know the Lucky off San Pablo Dam Road totally CLOSED... Hate to see that happen to this one). The 5 rating is for Daniel working to make things right. I observed him helping others, and trying to be patient with an employee who made a mistake. I think it's hard for retail managers to find good long term employees these days. And that likely makes it harder to be a manager. Ie - I would imagine few people at the top of the talent pool enter a Lucky grocery store expecting a long term career anymore....Anyway, Daniel is excellent / top of the talent pool material. If he ever needs a promotion or applies to another employer, I hope he can use this review as an example of his managerial skills. read more

Went to Lucky in El Cerrito tonight and had one of the worst customer service experiences over two yellow bell peppers. The peppers rang up differently from the sale sign, so I asked for help. An employee named Eric repeatedly insisted that my son and I had taken larger peppers from another section to try to get the sale price. We told him clearly that we did not, and he still kept repeating it. At that point, this was no longer about a sale price. He was basically accusing us of being dishonest over two bell peppers. Incredibly disrespectful. I don't need an apology, or an explanation. I'm just leaving this review because customers should know how they may be treated here. Honestly, if it weren't for the Amazon return locker, I probably wouldn't have walked into Lucky in the first place. Grocery stores are not hard to find around here, and after this experience, I certainly have no reason to come back. read more

How can you have a supermarket with no carts? No carts. Ever. I inquired why there are never any carts. No one wants to go collect them. Really. No wonder this place looks like it does. read more

I had one of the most volatile experiences at this Luckies in El cerriot plaza. I went there and needed help at there customer service desk, but no one was stationed there. So I went to politely ask the older Luckies staff member woman named Donna standing at the self check machines, if she could call someone when she was able. Her response was to immediately cut me off rudely and say that she "couldnt help me cuz she was busy"...even though there was no one at the self check machines at that moment. So I patiently waited at the customer service desk thinking she would call someone when she had the chance but instead I waited around 15 minutes. I then asked Donna once again if she could call someone, and finally she called someone using the phone beside her. Literally, that is all she had to do when I asked her the first time. But I guess standing there doing nothing while spacing out was more important to her. When the assistant manager came out to help me, he was very kind and professional. I asked him what Donna's name was before I knew it and he told me her name, followed by an inquiry to what happened. I explained the situation and Donna became irate while listening near by. I told her she needed to improve her customer service skills, but she immediately told me to shut my mouth and to "shut the hell up". While this was happening, another Luckies staff member named Zaiyah, started yelling from the check out area "not one more word, shut the f**k up!" Hearing this, the assistant manager was apologizing to me and he decided to call another assistant manager who was visiting and helping out at the El Cerrito location that day. He told the visiting assistant manager that he just "witnessed a disturbing interaction from fellow staff members towards a customer." When the visiting assistant manager approached me he asked me what happened, to which I explained. The visiting assistant manager was apologetic and regretful to what transpired, and he even stated that if this happened at his store location, the employees would have been reprimanded immediately for their behavior. Especially since they were so aggressive towards me using profanity and raising their voices at me. Both assistant managers advised me to report the incident to the store general manager who was out that day. Both assistant managers were phenomenal and exhibited excellent customer service skills. Especially the visiting assistant manager. I wouldn't be surprised if his store location was much better since they don't allow their staff to treat their customers like this. However, Donna and Zaiyah need to be retrained and also need to understand that good customer service is important. They should not let their personal issues in their life affect how they treat their customers. They should be ashamed of themselves but I doubt they are the type of people that care. read more

The "convenience center" is not convenient. Always locked, nobody around. This sucks because this is where all the health/beauty supplies are - the saline and Aosept for contact lens, the depends for my folks, lotion, soap. I mean seriously who is going to steal this stuff. It's unfortunate because this is the closest grocery store to my parents. I'm always glum shopping here but what are you going to do. Understaffed, lack of management.... at least they carry my Dad's favorite cookies - Polvorones. (Shortbread orange cookies) read more

Something is wrong with their freezers. Don't buy frozen food/ice cream from them. What a waste of my money.

Nice place to shop and the employees are nice and work hard!!! 10 out of 10. Luckys always has great deals

Who is the short Caucasian man working at the self-checkout station? I believe he is either new or I have not visited this location recently. However, this is the second incident involving him that I have experienced. On the first occasion, the employee who has been at this store for several years was either changing shifts or going to lunch. I required assistance, but he completely ignored me. The more experienced employee noticed his lack of acknowledgment and intervened. She approached me with her bag and offered assistance, noting that he only responded when I used the checkout terminal requesting help. My terminal did not require assistance, as I had not scanned my groceries yet. Additionally, I encountered an issue with a store coupon that failed to apply the $4.00 discount correctly when using the digital coupon. She explained that the discount only applies when purchasing more than one item, although the coupon itself does not specify this requirement. I would be reluctant to buy additional items solely to receive the discount. I showed her the photograph of the coupon, and after the other employee again ignored my request, I decided to leave. I find it unacceptable that he tends to others around me but neglects to assist when I inquire. This time, I am submitting a review because the same behavior occurred once more. I approached him at the self-checkout station, greeted him, but he ignored me and walked past without response. When I was ready to check out, I asked him for help with another coupon, and he once again disregarded my request. This raises concerns about the level of customer service. Why does he consistently ignore my questions or requests for assistance? read more

This has to be the worst luckys ever with the laziest workers. it says it closes at 11 but they close at 10 or whenever they feel like it, just so you can go home people need feed & get off late assholes read more

It seems like Lucky is short staff when using the self check out. When you need assistant it takes awhile for help. I am not going to give Lucky a low rating. I will give Lucky a good review. I find this location easy to find what is on the weekly ad. They surely stock well. When I don't find what is advertise I am able to find someone to help me find it. I enjoy going to this location due to Starbucks, Verizon, Traders Joe, CVS Pharmacy, Wells Fargo Bank, and Barnes & Noble being in the same center. read more

Today I saw several frozen dinners I often buy for $2.00 less than Lucky charges at El Cerrito Natural Foods.I was at Lucky last week and had to throw away the apples,blueberries and grapes that I bought.This was not the first time I got bad produce there.I am done with this store. read more

Most employees at this Lucky's are courteous and friendly here. However, a security guard at the El Cerrito Plaza store gave me a hard time today about placing plastic bags in Lucky's plastic-bag-recycling bin, by the door. He unkindly told me those bins are only for Lucky plastic bags. My impression has always been that these bins are a way for Lucky to give back environmentally, allowing frequent customers, which I am, to recycle plastic bags. When I asked another employee moments later, he confirmed my understanding was correct. If those bins are really only for Lucky plastic bags, some signage to that effect would be appropriate. UPDATE: I received a thoughtful, genuine apology from Trevor, in customer support, about this incident. I very much appreciated his taking the time to send a note. read more

The experienced cashiers are great. Product selection and quantities? Management seems big on bait and switch. The croutons that are on sale are not in the area, the crouton area. Do they carry them at all? Fresh Gourmet brand is advertised in their app as on sale. See pic for the entire crouton section. No Fresh Gourmet to be seen. Disappointing but not exactly a big ticket item so yes, I purchased one of the slightly more expensive brands. I got there after 7pm, so less than three hours before closing and they were after the $5.99 fried chicken. I asked the friendly deli counter person when they sold out. I was told that ship sailed about an hour earlier. OK, I'll pick up the toothpaste I came for. Walked through all the aisles nothing. Saw a young woman wearing a Lucky cap coming out of what I thought was an employee area. I asked her if she knew where the toothpaste was. She said in an accent that I was unfamiliar with that she was new. It took a few tries to confirm what she was saying. It's tough learning new languages. For all I know she was hired to do overnight stocking and not have to do public-facing interactions. OK, so I walk all the way to the other side of the store. Still don't see toothpaste. Then I start my return trip to where I had seen the young woman in the Lucky cap. Back at that section I overhear a customer asking about where to find Capri Sun. I hear a man's voice answering with clear directions. He's in the section that I thought was some kind of employee entrance or section. No, I did not see any signage, but it's through that little door that you'll find toothpaste and other health and beauty, completely separated from the rest of the store with no signage. I think the helpful male employee with the Capri Sun info was a guard or there for "security." I'll probably just stick with Raley's and the occasional delivery service. Going into this store was much too much wasted time. Crouton section pic will be up later tonight. read more

The mentally challenged bagger is back at the store causing disturbances and forcing conversations in which he constantly says, "I'm sorry". He refuses to follow the cashier's instructions and when firmly told how to behave he broke into an angry a rage shouting, "this is a hate free workplace" about 20-30 times until a manager removed him from his station. He had punched 4 fingers thru a package holding a 3 lb beef roast when he picked it up with one hand. After I paid the cashier asked if I wanted assistance to the parking lot and I said, "He was scratching his butt just 30 seconds ago, NO! I don't want his help" read more

Not in my weekly routine for groceries - I'm more of a Safeway shopper - but when it comes to convenient grocery store baked goods for a kids birthday party, this place literally takes the cake. Are the cakes good? Not particularly. For adult taste buds I typically go to Whole Foods. But, for Sara Lee-esque sugar laden vanilla or chocolate cakes/ cupcakes completed covered in bright, cartoonish frosting that makes my 3 and 6-year-old girls' eyes get big... this place is it. $7.99 for 12 cupcakes that have Lisa Frank colored frosting and Happy Birthday plastic decorations? And I don't necessarily have to reserve in advance? Sold. One note, my kids don't have any food allergies or sensitivities. I tried looking for some cupcakes that were gluten free etc, but couldn't find any easily. Also - I wouldn't necessarily shop here for grocery staples or produce. You might find fresher products elsewhere, including the El Cerrito farmer's market in the same plaza on Tu/ Sats. You might also find better bargains elsewhere. I really just come here infrequently for kids' cakes. read more

What a joke! To stop shoplifting, they've got everything cordoned off. You can't get into the pharmacy section unless an employee comes along with a key. Only problem is, there are only two employees working, and they're both at the cash registers. Way to lose customers while supposedly preventing theft. I won't be back. read more

This store makes me sad every time I visit. This is why I shop at places that don't look so drab. I remember coming here when it was newly open, that was shortly after my mom's passing almost 20 years ago and I thought, "Mom, you'd totally love this." But now, it's another story. They are moving stuff around, so I was greeted with an open store, once I found the entrance. The signs above each aisle, didn't tell what was in the aisle. I could see that they were moving the aisles about, you can see the scrapes on the floor. Why, I couldn't tell you. But meandering through the aisle, I wondered what happened? On top of this, the one thing I wanted, didn't exist. This is a sad store and I'm surprised that they are still open. Why??? read more

Lucky - The emptiness. What's going to go here? - Grocery Near Me - El Cerrito, California

Chronically understaffed. Expect long wait times. Prices considerably higher than nearby Trader Joes for like items

Just want to give you guys heads up that Jacob at the lucky store in El Cerrito very kind very informative went out of his way to be nice guy in the Hat named Jacob really cool should be manager guy in the Hat named Jacob really cool should be manager one day read more

Terrible service I was having trouble finding the cat food. I asked a young lady to point me in the right direction she gave me a nasty attitude read more

Be careful renting the Rug Doctor machines here. Have done that for several years and they are getting worn out. They dump water over the floor instead of sucking it up. The store is way understaffed and is dumping the work on too few people, read more

This 5 star review is for my experience today with the manager, Yesenia and the cashier, Karla. I went into purchase the bone-in ribeye roast for the Xmas holiday. The ad said $5.97/lb. But my mistake, I didn't notice you need to clip the digital coupon to get that price. So I downloaded the app while in the store. When it was time to check out I entered my phone number but the register didn't show the discounted price with the clipped digital coupon. Karla, the cashier was super patient and nice and told me to enter my number again, like 4 times. She eventually called the manager, Yesenia, over to ask about the issue. We tried again. I told Yesenia I just downloaded the app and she said that might be part of the problem. But when we checked my phone, turns out the phone number I typed in was minus 2 numbers. Yesenia was kind enough to take me to another register and manually check me out with the $5.97/lb price. She said she has seen it before where customers phone numbers were lacking 2 numbers so not sure if there is a problem with the Lucky app or my mistake when entering the info. I think any other manager would probably tell me to correct my info on the app then come back and buy the roast. But Yesenia went out of her way to accommodate me knowing that I did clip the digital coupon and wasn't trying to pull something fast on her. Now I have to contact customer service to correct the phone number error as it won't allow me to do it on the app. Not sure why that is since there is an option to do so. Maybe because I just downloaded the app... read more

Don't buy your birthday cake from Lucky's El Cerrito it was the worst tasting cake I had in my life . I'm angry that I don't have the transportation to take it back for a refund . read more

I purchased my item receive my receipt here. I am walking to my car with my son and a security guard walks up to my car and tells me my transaction did not go through. I proceed to let him know that I have a receipt that I was just giving from the cashier that same cashier. I received the receipt from walks to my vehicle in states what did you not pay for hun I let her know that I pay for everything because she was the one that just scanned all my items so I'm totally confused. It wasn't until I pull up the transaction on my bank account that she proceeds to say oh OK. Have a nice day. Nothing else. I called the one 800 number and the lady talked to was very short with me and I still have not heard anything back from anyone like I told them I feel like I was racially profiled. The unprofessional worker name is (Annabel) read more

Where is management? The last time I came to this store there were no carts and I was told I needed to bring one in from the parking lot. This time there was only one checker who was also handling problems with the self-check-out machines and other issues. Prices are high; it's hard to find things (I never found cottage cheese); and the lines are long because there aren't enough checkers, and of course there are no baggers. read more

This place sucks! Always a line. Distracted cashiers and simply an F in all categories!

This place is soooo expensive I do not recommend coming grocery shopping here. I know inflation is up but this place robs you.

Lawanna Kizzee 2 reviews I was in the Lucky's El Cerrito store on 3/22/24. At 7:20pm I was in line at register #1 and Patty D was my cashier. To start she never said Hello or even ask me did I find everything I was looking for. My bill was roughly $84.00. She bagged up everything except for my last 3 items and began helping the next customer behind me. So I was giving her the benefit of the doubt. I thought maybe she had missed it by mistake. So I said to her "those items are mine also". To my surprise she said " I know, you can do it". I was totally flabbergasted. So I told her that she needed to do her job and finish bagging my groceries. That's what she gets paid for. I did report it to someone named Sean but I didn't really feel confident that anything would be done. Patty D was very unprofessional and her customer service skills were very poor. read more

Once again The remodel of the store has been wonderful for our visits there. We find everything quickly. I love this store. I'm still waiting for them to become the low price leader again. read more

The Lucky Supermarket in El Cerrito is probably the worst market in the East Bay. It is huge, way bigger than it needs to be. Periodically they change where the front door is from one end of the market to the other. But no matter where the entrance is they never have baskets or hand baskets. I suppose they save money by not having someone collect the carts from the parking lot. Today I went in for three items. One was a pint of vanilla ice cream. They had none and all the other flavors had ice crystals all over them. They had one of the other two items I went for. The meat is appalling. They often do not have their advertised specials. It is way too big and instead of have variety they have complete aisles of the same thing. It is a waste of time going there. I don't go to this market often but I am always disappointed when I do. read more

I love California supermarkets! Lucky supermarket is massive! You can buy anything here. I tried arrowhead water and nectarines. Not to be missed. read more

Bakery service is terrible. Nonexistent. Checkout lines are long forcing customers to use the self-checkout. Even the entry to the parking lot and the entry to the building are poorly designed. The problem is that we need worker cooperatives to open grocery stores nearby so we can put Lucky's out of business. Drive them out of town. Horrendous experience. These corporations don't give a damn about customers. read more

I usually come to the prepared foods section for a quick bite, but I don't get why are they refrying the old potato wedges and selling them as new. No reason for me to come at 9:00am to get lunch ahead of time, and the fries are so greasy you can tell they refried them instead of cooking new ones. I work in food service and I'm very disappointed read more

Lucky - Old potatoes wedges, soaked in grease because they're not fresh - Grocery Near Me - El Cerrito, California

If I could rate it 0, I would! Customer service sucks and it's such a dirty store. Just ugh! If they'd simply wipe down the self checkout and cashier spaces, the ratings would increase overnight! read more

Did my local grocery store just... cut me off from the pharmacy and shampoo? Now I have to track down an employee in order to get $3 soap, or cold meds? Sheesh. This place had gotten noticeably awful in the last 3 months. Some of my favorite, and BASIC, products have gone missing for weeks, like oranges, seasonal Reece's (cups aren't pumpkins) and certain kinds of Starbucks. And the flow is all off now. One side has a door but you have to walk to the other side of the store to actually get beyond he checkout. Why even put a door there? I'm so disappointed that a regular, good store has turned so low quality. Please go back to the old management or whatever you changed. This new Lucky sucks. read more

Very bad experience. I live in the area and this is the closest grocery store near me. I was returning a bottle of olive oil and a bag of ice, both unopened with receipt and the big black guy told me I can't return it because I don't have the credit card that was used to purchase them. I asked if I can just get a store credit and he rudely said no. I then asked if he can put it back to the card automatically. I have to have the credit card. I asked for a manager and he arrogantly said, "I am the manager". Again I asked if I can get a store credit since I have the receipt with me. No, he said. Ridiculous!!! VERY RUDE! BAD CUSTOMER SERVICE! I guess this store is not profitable that's why they don't accept returns or store credit. By the way, he even marked my receipt that looked like it was returned. THE "MANAGER" HAS TO GO ON A CUSTOMER SERVICE TRAINING! read more

Lucky - Receipt he crossed out but did not process the return. - Grocery Near Me - El Cerrito, California

The supermarket in itself is alright. The shelves are stocked regularly, the aisles are organized, and the store is kept relatively clean. The customer service is horrid. The workers will snap at you if you ask them for help, the cashiers are impatient and short-tempered, and I have witnessed one of the employees arguing with a customer and threatening to fight her. This business has a lot of potential as it is in a convenient location, but they need to brush up on their customer service. read more

Several negative experiences in the past. I don't go there anymore. Never enough lines open or workers helping customers.

The freezers take turns so DO NOT BUY ICE CREAM and careful with frozen items. There was a nice lady, Jenny maybe Jennifer who gave me a fair discount & explained but the black bald cashier (I'm black btw) was beyond rude and basically told me to f*** off. I was simply asking him to return the melted ice cream really quick and he insisted I go back to the end of the line, and then had the nerve to tell me "we have a bakery" like wtf my guy I came in for ice cream. I've actually never been so disrespected by someone from a supermarket, but hey there's first time for everything. read more

Do NOT come here if you're in a hurry or it's the weekend. There are never enough checkers and the lines sometimes go all the way up the aisles. Ugh. read more

Lucky - Never enough checkers on the weekend, so the lines are across the store. - Grocery Near Me - El Cerrito, California