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| - If heaven had two grocery stores, Woodman's would be one of them (Metcalfe Sentry being the other). After living in the KC area for the past year (which is gigantic) and trying *many* grocery stores here, I've come to realize that Woody's really has a lot going for it.
First of all, yes, their produce is *not* awesome. But, they aren't bad, and frankly, in this day and age it's just too difficult to buy all of your produce in-season from a local farmer. Sometimes you just want an orange in July. If you do, Woodman's has that and then some. And yes, their employees aren't always the cheeriest, but that's alright with me. I don't go in there to make friends (although I have had some interesting chats with some of the women employees about Filipinos in Wisconsin).
What Woodman's lacks in fresh produce is selection. The cured meat, bread, and especially cheese aisles are things of beauty. If you want something, you'd be hard pressed not to find it. We easily found Asian, Latino, vegan, and some other hard-to-find items at Woodman's. Additionally, a lot of products are from Wisconsin (although granted, they do not carry Sassy Cow milk nor Greenbush donuts--that's what Metcalfe is for!). Let's see you do that, Walmart.
As for their alcohol section, you not only have a great selection but the place is clean. I don't know if it's just something I'm starting to notice here in KC but whenever we go to a liquor store here there is a thick layer of dust on their wines and hard liquors. Not at Woodman's.
And lastly, Woodman has convenience. Yes, that's right: Woodman's is convenient. It's size makes it difficult to run in and out in just a few minutes (but it can be done, during off-peak hours), but you can get all of your groceries--meat, cheese, bread, dried food, milk, alcohol, many obscure items, and produce--at Woodman's for a really good price. And even though they don't accept credit cards I love their no-fee ATM. Additionally, it's open 24 hours, 7 days a week.
Whenever I come up to Madison I stock up on my favorite Wisconsin goods here: Usingers sausages, Stella's spicy cheese bread, cheese curds, and New Glarus beer. But I would gladly come here to do my weekly shopping once again. I see the light, and the light is Woodman's.
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