"We were really taken by surprise and flattered. User started her video with a PSA saying "Ontario friends, you need to visit this store" before sharing an impressive haul she was able to purchase at a GTA Grocery Outlet for $37.91, and comparing the price she was able to nab for some items to their cost at grocers like Metro. Though the store has been around for 25 years and has 13 locations across Southern Ontario, some residents may not have been aware of its deep discounts of 30 to 70 per cent off all types of products, including specialty items and brands that would usually be quite expensive.Īnd, after one TikToker this week shared her hack of frequenting the store to keep her grocery bills down, a lot more people are jumping on the Grocery Outlet train. While Loblaws heir and billionaire Galen Weston remains the arch nemesis of Canadian shoppers due to his stores' exorbitantly high price points for basic necessities, an independent competitor called The Grocery Outlet has emerged as the hero we've all been desperately needing at the check-out. He and his wife trained at the Everett Grocery Outlet before opening the Renton store.Grocery prices have been putting pressure on budgets everywhere thanks to record inflation and profiteering grocery chains, but there's one smaller supermarket company in Ontario that has managed to keep costs for customers low - and thanks to a popular TikTok showcasing the store's deals, it's seeing more foot traffic now than ever. “I can’t even tell you how many people up in Snohomish County said ‘I use to bowl there,'” said Jeff McNeil. Coming soon, the owners hope to add bowling league jerseys to display, which people have already started to donate.Ĭustomers come in and tell them they use to bowl on the premises and so do other Grocery Outlet workers.
Bowling pins light up the checkout lanes and employees have some of the original lockers left over from the bowling alley days. Parts of the original hardwood bowling lanes line the checkout aisle floors. One thing customers seem to appreciate is the Hillcrest Bowl touches the owners incorporated into the store design. In addition to the Renton regulars, they have received business from customers from Mercer Island, Bellevue and Issaquah. They say they have a pretty good balance of those that need them and those that seek them out for particular deals. The McNeils are still trying to define their core customers. The Renton store has both, in addition to a wine section, health and beauty care, diary, frozen foods and organics.įor Thanksgiving dinner shoppers, this came in handy as the price to fill the table increased by about 1.3 percent this year, according to the American Farm Bureau Federation. Shoppers who haven’t been in a Grocery Outlet in awhile will be surprised to know they have fresh produce and meat in some locations. “We can’t offer everything to everybody,” Jeff McNeil said.īut, they cover all four corners of the grocery landscape.
Then they can go next door to Safeway for the rare, seasonal or hard-to-find items, he said. It makes for one-stop shopping for consumers to check out the deals at Grocery Outlet first.
He likes that they are located close to Safeway, which is in the next block. “It’s kind of a treasure hunt,” said Jeff McNeil. But, the company does try and source some of the basic products conventionally like other stores. It’s called opportunistic buying, a term the retailer uses to describe when they purchase products from a manufacturer’s surplus “for pennies on the dollar.” About 75 percent of their products are sourced this way, making the selection of products not always consistent. What makes Grocery Outlet different from traditional grocery stores?
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