There’s no real surprise here for anyone who’s used to renting a ZipCar or making Philly CarShare reservations just to properly stock their pantry with regular, essential provisions: If you want the best possible grocery shopping experience, you have to trek out to the ‘burbs. Why? Because that’s where you’ll find clean, safe and sane supermarkets, as opposed to the Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome-like setting the majority of the city’s grocers go with. According to Consumer Reports Wegmans is this area’s shoppers’ top pick for supermarkets. That’s the consensus the magazine’s editors came to after conducting a nationwide survey of regional grocery chains.
Granted, it could be a lot worse for city dwellers. In nearby Chester, where there’s a casino and a sports stadium, the impoverished community — one of America’s neediest and hungriest — there are no supermarkets at all.
Still, if you’re averse to driving, right behind Wegmans in the report is Trader Joe’s, followed by Costco. Whole Foods falls in right behind that. As for Philly neighborhood fixtures Acme and Pathmark? They both turn up at the bottom of the list.
Best And Worst Supermarkets [CBS Philly]
Related: What Good Is a Grocery Gift Card in the Middle of a Food Desert?
