Are There Any Senior Discounts At Wegmans?

Before their Amazon merger, a Whole Foods butcher told me that their 365 chicken was the same chicken used by Mary’s (a great quality), just rebranded. I’m not sure if that’s changed. Also, none of Costco’s meats are grass-fed, organic or otherwise. A Costco butcher told me it was because it just wasn’t selling as fast as the normal meat. Bummer.

Costco definitely has the best, freshest and least expensive meat in the city I live in. We have Publix and they are not bad, they are much more expensive though. Costco has their on butchers and the meat is always fresh. I buy it in larger amounts and freeze it as soon as I get it home. The only problem is that some cuts of meat just aren’t available there. As with everything at Costco, selections are limited.

I once had a membership at Cosco and dropped it. Their prices are basically the same as BJ’s, but BJ’s has memberships for over 50% less per year and you don’t have to be a member of some exclusive Credit Union to apply. As far as meats go I prefer a home town chain with only 3 locations currently. Geresbeck’s in Balto, MD. They actually have real butches cutting meat where most stores only have guys in white coats stocking shelves and re-wrapping torn packages. Another complaint is markdowns. I went into a Weis store yesterday and happened to look at markdown packages in a display the ones going out of date had red labels showing a 50% reduction in price and were all on the same shelf with regular items the same price. I looked closer and they doubled the price and marked it down 50% and printed the red stickers. I asked a manager about it and he just said don’t buy it then. I’m never looking at markdowns in that store again.

We shop certain stores for certain things. I stopped buying meat and most produce from Walmart years ago. We buy canned, boxed, and some dairy due to its usually a lot cheaper than the local groceries that we get meat and produce from. Love Costco, but unfortunately, none close where we live now. We have never bought meat from Aldi they don’t have a good selection, but they do have great deals on a lot of other products. We love shopping at Super 1 & Rouse’s here in Louisiana they have pretty good meat prices and the quality is great. Super 1 being the cheaper of the two a lot of the time. Rouses has great speciality meats & local seafood.

In Minnesota we have High end “Lunds & Byerlys”. “Hi Vee” “Cub”. We have “Fresh and Thyme” a sister store to “Sprouts”. We have “Aldi” and other stores you mentioned. Target and Walmart. I buy all my meat from Fresh and Thyme. Trader Joe’s. I love their Vanilla Ice cream. And vegetables. Including frozen. Cub. I don’t like their meat. Aldi. I don’t buy meet there. Lunds has great meat. Very Spendy store. Their stores are around the high end districts. Wayzata and Edina. We have Organic stores. Lake Winds. Harvest Moon. Whole Foods. And etc around the Twin Cities.

One thing that you didn’t mention in this script is the customer service at Publix, or the lack of it at Costco and Aldi. I always go to Publix first, then supplement with cheaper stuff at the other two. You will pay more for everything at Publix, but shopping there is really “a pleasure.” Missing from the list of stores is Winn-Dixie, “The Beef People.”

Saw a roast at Walmart that looked old the blood around it had turned black and so I looked at the expiration date and it was old. I pointed it out to the guy that works in that dept. and he thanked me for pointing it out to him. Another time a half gallon of milk was 4 months past the expiration date, I showed the guy that worked there. I went to another Walmart in another city looking for swiss cheese . The cheese that I found was 1 year past the expiration date I kidd you not. It was not just 1 pack of it. The employee that my sister showed it to went through the rest of them and he found a lot of them that were that old and was not happy about it. Must be an ongoing thing with them now. The city that I live in is so small that Walmart is the only big supermarket to shop at.

Sam’s Club used to be my first choice. However, they have changed their approach. Now they sell mostly snacks and junk food. We’ve downgraded our membership from prime to regular. Recently I risked and bought steaks. Conveniently tucked under and out is sight was a separate piece of fat that weighed more than the steak. Yikes! The store is close to other places we go. Gas is cheaper, of course. The pharmacy is excellent. Unfortunately almost every time I go there they have discontinued something else on my list. Then the send me a survey which they don’t seem to take seriously. Hi, Sam’s, are you listening?

As a butcher for 35 years I find Costco’s meat not that great. It’s not the quality, or grade. But rather the preparation. Costco does not trim, or do any of the detailing that make a truly good cut. That’s fine if your like me and can do that when you bring it home. And to be honest most people wouldn’t even no the difference. I do buy chicken there but when I’m paying $50.00 kg. for rib eye it needs to be done right, just don’t want to pay for all that waste. Just as a note most of the other stores aren’t any better. Fully trained butchers just don’t exist anymore!

Oh I love and always have loved Wegmans. Even my mom who was super tight with her money did too. Here in Syracuse we have quite a few Wegmans stores. They are based in Rochester. They carry quality food, vegetables, and fruit. Fantastic bakery. Prepared meals. If you want it they have it. Carry a lot of high quality regional products. Their store brands are exceptional in every department. Stores super clean and stocked. Personnel very knowledgeable and professional. Checkout organized and efficient. Fantastic grocery store. Fantastic food etc.

The key to any store or shop is smell, to determine both freshness and cleanliness. Sometimes hard to sniff out, as most meat departments sell pre-cut shrink-wrapped meat (often processed off-site) and have cutting rooms sealed off from the public. If everything is wrapped, the cutting room is sealed off, and it still smells bad, RUN! The best deal is, if you can, to buy a half- or quarter-beef (or lamb, or hog) from a local producer. (Interned search local sources– they’re everywhere.) Have it cut and wrapped to order, and stick it in the freezer. (Those who are hunters can do everyone a favor and take out a couple of wild boars, and have a sausage-making party.)

@Mashed You have it wrong with Stater Brothers meats. A good 15 or so years ago Stater Bros changed much in the meat dept. They mostly sell/offer SELECT GRADE beef which very few stores stock. When you buy beef at Staters, you have to check the packaging or ask the “butcher” if that package is Select grade or Choice because they do offer small amount of Choice. When Stater Bros was saying “Our meat is what made us famous” that was long ago when they did offer nothing less than Choice grade. These days, they offer more Select grade than Choice plus the folks behind the meat case are not real trained butchers, they are assistants and know very little about a side of beef and their cuts. Also, you have it wrong about Walmart because Sam’s Club is very similar to Costco in their beef suppliers and Sams beef is in the Walmart stores which is as good or better than the well known grocery store beef. The major problem these days is volume is taking the place of quality which means most of the big players are processing sides of beef before its delivered to the store. So, Stater Bros is not really a butcher dept as they take processed primals then cut them into steaks and roasts in the store. Same for a lot of the others, Vons, Albertsons, Walmart etc. they all have no real butchers so the packaging is pre processed and you can tell when just about every package of beef weighs the same as the other because they have machines passing out “portions” vs. the normal cut of beef yielded from a primal.

Completely disagree with you with regards to Aldi produce – Aldi in New England provides great prices per pound as well as how long the produce lasts which is a calculus in the overall cost of product overall. Also, their salmon and beef roast are always well below Shaws, Stop n Shop and Walmart – sorry but Aldi is a great option in Rhode Island!

We have a Piggley Wiggley in our small town, many things are more expensive than they are at the big box stores, but I buy our meat at the “Pig” because they buy locally when they can, I know where much of the meat comes from and for the most part it is fresher and no more expensive and less so at times than the big stores.

We live 1 mile from a Costco. Only thing I buy there is gas. A Sam’s Club is 9 miles from us. I go there. To me, they have superior fruits and veggies, along with meats, AND their Rotisserie chickens are also better, as they are generally larger in size, and are more well done. Too often, when I did shop at Costco, their chickens were not cooked through, and pink inside. And the people at Sam’s are nicer! I have their premium membership, so I can also get in there between 8 and 10 am, before the store opens for regular members. AND their Rewards can be applied “when received”. I was there yesterday, and had $18 in rewards that reduced the bill by that much. ONE thing I was surprised at on this review, was their negative review of Trader Joe’s meats, although I do not shop meats there. I also go to Two Different Butcher Shops for special cuts on occasion or when needed. You wouldn’t call a carpenter for fix a sink leak, would you? haha…

At 11 seconds when I heard, “Target is a quality store…” I was done. Of course this was before they began marketing their tuck bathing suits to kids… No Target, No Wal-Mart, No HEB, DONE WITH WOKE COMPANIES… Local slaughter house for meat; Brookshire Brothers or Aldi for the rest… I stopped shopping at HEB when they pulled “My Pillow” products; I decided to agree with their employee t-shirts “Be the change,” and changed where I shop.

In my opinion the absolute worst place to buy steak, or ham is Walmart. I have found that at times other cuts of meat are bad as well. In the last 5 years I haven’t bought a steak from Walmart that was edible they were so tough the couldn’t be chewed, by the way that was after marinating it for over 24 hours. The last two hams bought at Walmart were 60% – 80% fat they looked ok but after cooking it was a total waste of money and time.

Disagree about Safeway. At one time Safeway was not good. They sold a store brand of beef called Ranchers Reserve that was select grade beef. Safeway was bought out by Albertson a few years ago and now they sell choice grade beef and the quality is quite good and often have good prices on sale items.

I had a super bad experience at Costco. Purchased a slab of salmon. When I unwrapped, the stench was literally nauseating, as well as the texture and feel. It was obviously old smelly rotted seafood that I was foolish enough to purchase. I immediately tossed it out. When I returned with my receipt for a refund, I was given a hard time. I persisted and got my credit for the purchase. I will never buy meat or seafood from Costco again.

The interesting chain is TJ because I remember it as a good party cheese/wine store. You could pretty much get good wine, crackers, cheese, nuts and some grapes and get it for very good value in a nice friendly place. Then they expanded to full grocery plus tons of frozen stuff. I actually shopped there almost exclusively at some point. Their quality has been really declining lately. The meat quality is pretty bad, fruits and vegetables are mostly half rotten or completely tasteless, mostly imported generic be it organic or not. Most of frozen and ready made food went down the hill as well and uses cheap oils and bad additives. In essence it is kind of good for what it was at the begining actually at this point only which is ironic: cheese, wine, nuts, pantry items. I don’t buy anything else there, but those items are good. Actually, unless you go to real local grocery store for meats where they have real butcher counter, most others are pretty much the same be it Sprouts, Safeway or Whole Foods. They are just “handers” of piece of meat, not real butchers and prices and choices are pretty comparable at least in my area. They will also have good deals on already prepackaged stuff especially and quality is fairly similar so I go or what looks good at the moment in either of the stores. Some are better then others for availability: I can pretty much just buy duck at WF and veal at SW for instance. In terms of veggies and fruits WF is probably the best, but it is still beat in terms of both quality and price by local farmers markets.

The real secret to steak is in the aging. If you start with a decent grade of steak and age it properly it will be good and tender. While in college I worked in a meat market. The market manager, who came from a long line of butchers, instructed me on steak. I could buy steak at half price because it was slightly brown. My landlord’s family, and my family ate like kings. I now buy my meat at an Army commissary, and it is very good.

Definitely not a Publix fan on meat. They used to have top quality beef about 10 to 15 years ago, but they have been on a cost reduction drive like crazy the last 10 years and sacrificing quality is something they won’t bat an eye at. Any way to cut costs are acceptable. But as their costs drop their prices increase! It is definitely pretty expensive grocery store in all food categories.

I shop at Shaws/Safeway (same company). While i have never had a problem with Shaw’s meat, I have bought seafood 2 times that was inedible. “Fresh” deli Salmon that, when I got home and unwrapped it, was slimy, mushy and smelled horrible. Another time I bought “Fresh” muscles and most of them were dead and the smell was putrid. I no longer buy seafood from Shaws.

Oh yeah, I am in the Carolinas…I currently have a Publix literally about 4 or 5 minutes from my house. Now, they are clearing land to put another Publix in my area, that will literally be about 4 minutes away from my place ( just in the opposite direction). I think this is ridiculous!!! I really get upset, as more and more trees and wild areas are being torn up. More areas for wild animals are being plowed under and paved over…and for what???? Just for commercial greed and urban sprawl. I especially hate to see this precious wild land being torn up for something as stupid as this second Publix coming in, when we already have another Publix so close. What a tragedy for Publix to destroy more wild areas unnecessarily! For this reason I am really angry at Publix!!!

There are certain things I will never buy in a supermarket. Meat, bread, vegetables, fish. Fortunately I live in a small town in southern Mexico and have specialty local stores for those. There’s even a German butcher with his Meisterbrief and I make my own bread. I know the store owners and they know me. Sorry Waltons, I’ll buy my schnitzels and chops from Hubert.

I stopped buying protein at Wegmans. First, I bought some strip steaks and when I opened the package, I found globs of fat under the steak. I weighed the steaks and I paid for that fat. I spoke with the Wegman’s manager and was told that other customers had reported the issue. No apology, nada …. So I stopped buying beef. Then I tried seafood. Asked that they take the skin off the salmon. The guy was wrapping it up and another guy came over and said, oh, we need to charge you for the skin. I said ok and he went and got the skin out of the trash and put it on the scale with the fish. When I asked for a new piece of fish, he seemed surprised and again, told me he needs to charge me for the skin. So I reported to the manager and he threw the first guy under the bus .. well, you know, he has learning challenges … wow … just wow …. and again no apology. I will never, ever, ever, purchase any type of animal protein from Wegmans again

Aldi has a bad reputation ( I guess because, in the US it was, for many years, seemingly confined to almost ghetto neighborhoods and they didn’t even have meats or fresh veggies…all canned goods, hyper sweet cereals & the like.). As I discovered during the pandemic, when I found Aldi to be among the few stores that did not have higher prices for delivered goods (…of course, there’s a charge for Instacart, but it’s fair.) Anyway, their product selection has changed big time and, though their selection is not huge (they’re relatively small stores), I find what meats and veggies they have to be equal in quality to any average supermarket. Plus, with a policy to restock more often, rather than bringing in more stock less frequently…and ’cause of that limited selection…what is on their shelves is always fresh. Don’t hesitate to buy their fresh chicken pieces, half pork loins or frozen chicken thighs or breasts, hot or sweet Italian or fresh breakfast sausage, etc. I live on those guys and have no issue whatsoever with the quality or freshness. And, all are surprisingly lean. Their 85% lean burger patties are among the best frozen patties. (Here’s a tip to pick up any burger…sprinkle lightly with beef bouillon powder, onion powder & pepper if desired, before grilling, frying, instead of plain salt. No garlic powder now, as burnt garlic tastes horrible, unlike charred onion.) In addition, many of the generic brands are company owned, & put out products as good as the brand names.

I wouldn’t buy steaks at costco, especially if you like rare or medium rare steaks. They blade tenderize their steaks which will drive any bacteria on the service into the meat, their label even says to cook to a higher temperature because of this. If you are really selling black angus choice beef you shouldn’t need to do this.

This is bs. All they did was choose best for stores with in house butchers and worst for supply-chain butchers. Which is bullshoot and has very little to no impact on the quality of the meat. And whatever impact is present is probably weighted more favorably toward supply-side butchers over in house when it comes to large chain grocery stores and big box stores.

WEGMANS is a great store in many ways, BUT MEAT IS NOT ONE OF THEM!!! On a low carb diet, I’ve purchased a lot of meat from 2020-2024, and what they’re trying to pass off as steak, roasts, pork and even chicken is highly suspect!!!! I haven’t had a good steak that was tender, juicy and flavorful from Wegmans in years!!!! And I know how to cook them.. And what they’re trying to pass off as chicken breasts these days is even worse, it’s literally mush in a package, that would never make it out of the store with me!!! At least the steak and other beef “looks” like steak, but I don’t know where they get it from…..I’m assuming some Chinese lab probably somewhere in the US where all this crap is coming from. BOYCOTT WEGMANS MEAT!!!!! RAGEOUS PRICES FOR GARBAGE THAT DOESN’T COME CLOSE TO WHAT REAL MEAT SHOULD LOOK LIKE, SMELL, OR TASTE LIKE!!! SAVE YOURE HARD -EARNED DOLLARS!!

I have to be honest I live in England and we have top end supermarkets, waitrose,Mark’s and Spencer, a little cheaper are sainsbury’s, Tesco, Morrisons ( used to be Safeway) Asda ( owned by Walmart). Also aldi and lidl. Lots of choice also stand alone butcher’s shops. I personally shop in Sainsbury’s and occasionally Waitrose. Price for me is secondary to quality.

Your judgment on Aldi’s meats is entirely wrong! First, you never really explained why they are a “worst”. Their meat quality is far superior than many many grocery stores. Their packaging is clear and concise with prices being less expensive than many. You need to do better research before publishing bogus information.