I spent a month in Washington DC once upon a time. My local Safeway was affectionately known as "Soviet Safeway" because it was so grim and dreary. The lovely Whole Foods nearby made it look especially bleak. I like to think of this No Frills as "no eye contact No Frills". The clientele are quite mixed to put it kindly. There are some normal people, but many scary ones. By the time I'd made my way around to the baking section I was starting to absorb the atmosphere and think "what are you looking at? I could take you!". Considering I'm a midget who couldn't fight her way out of a wet paper bag, I can only assume the adrenaline from the fear was driving me slightly insane.
There are definitely bargains to be found. Far cheaper than Longo's/Metro/Loblaws for many things-although all of them have good prices at times if you shop the specials. The fruit and veg have looked pretty tired any time I've been in there. The effort required to find some edible produce meant far too much extra time spent actually present in the place. Probably best to go early in the morning.
Checkouts are packed together like sardines. The trolleys don't even fit through them all. One cashier I had was nice, another was surly. They were both moderately efficient though so I'm not too bothered.
So-worth a trip for the savings. My advice is to keep your head down and get in and out without too much dawdling. Remember-no eye contact!