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| - Smart & Final is a bit of an odd one. It's part normal grocery store, part bulk club store, and part restaurant supply store.
Now I'm not a huge fan of Costco or similar club stores... the prospect of having to pay a fee to shop somewhere annoys me on principle. Plus, every time I go I realize they simply don't carry what I like. "Oooh, great price on toothpaste - if I want to get a different kind than I normally get," or "Oooh sweet, they have a great price on soap... just not the scent I like." I don't know - I can either load up a cart with shit I don't actually want because it's cheap or I can pay more to get exactly what I want.
Smart & Final does have bulk items, but the prices are only marginally better than grocery store on most stuff. They do have some great deals, but don't expect to come here to save money. What they do offer is great quality stuff... in mass quantities. They carry "restaurant-quality" foods. I love the coffee they sell and some of their ready-to-cook stuff is fantastic (like Shrimp Scampi or raviolis)... plus, it's a great place to pick up household supplies.
If you're like me and you don't like to go shopping more than once a month and you also can't stand the idea of paying a membership fee to shop somewhere, this place is great. If you run a little restaurant or shop, this place is perfect. Also great for if you are planning on catering your own party. Snacks, pasta, fruit, bread, pie, gum, coffee, detergent, tp, serving trays, etc...
About that - if you are having a bunch of people over for a dinner party or a reception or something but you don't want to hire caterers, you can buy everything you need here for any style or taste.
The wine selection isn't that good, the prices aren't going to blow your mind, you do sign up for a card (though they don't spam you with junk mail), and they do lack in a few areas, but this place is worth checking out sometime and definitely worth checking out if you are hosting a party.
This place is a 3 and a half for me, but I'm going to go ahead and give it a 4 since we can't do half points.
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