NJ is missing out on all these incredibly popular grocery stores

Feeding your family, a basic responsibility of parenthood, is feeling more impossible. Between 2023 and 2024, grocery prices in New Jersey, one of the hardest hit states for increases,  went up by nearly 7%. According to a study put out this year by LendingTree, New Jersey’s average household is spending $7,549 per year on groceries.

It seems no matter where you go, you’ll be paying too much. While discount grocers can be popular, not everyone makes price their only criterion for where to shop. After all, because we need to go at least once a week, some other factors play in.

Things like how a store is organized, how well-stocked they are, and cleanliness. I’ve even been turned off by a store based on how narrow their aisles are. We all know food shopping isn’t only annoying because of the prices. It’s often “others” and their behavior within aisles that are too narrow.

Read More: Here is what the average New Jersey household spends on groceries

Our favorite

According to research by gobankingrates.com, New Jersey’s favorite grocery store is ShopRite. And to be honest, even though that annoying “can can” jingle from my childhood still haunts me, I do go there. ShopRite’s prices seem reasonable, and for whatever reason, I swear I don’t know if I’ve ever seen an unfriendly worker there or one who wasn’t in a good mood.

But something in the study floored me. Even though the chain is in six other states, it is only the favorite here in New Jersey and New York.

Delaware, Connecticut, Maryland, and Pennsylvania all chose another. It had me wondering about all those grocers across the nation that don’t have a presence in the Garden State and whether we would choose them if given the chance.

What we’re missing out on

Publix

Known mostly for being in Southern states, you will find them in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia. They have over 1,400 locations compared to ShopRite’s over 300. But they probably have a grits aisle.

Kroger

It’s pronounced with a hard G if you wondered. This one is a giant. 2,719 grocery stores across 35 states.

Just not here.

When I lived in Michigan, this is where I shopped. Oh! And when you’re a kid who grew up in New Jersey, you know what’s weird, going to a Kroger? How can you buy wine and beer there?

Albertsons

Would we like them? Who knows? They’re not in Jersey, and I’ve never set foot in one.

But they have 2,253 stores in 35 states. In fact, they’re the second-largest grocery store chain in North America behind Kroger. Yeah, but do their carts have little drink cup holders built in? Some ShopRite ones do. Just sayin’.

Meijer

This is pronounced ‘Meyer’, and I know that because I would occasionally shop there in Michigan. A smaller chain, they have 259 stores in six states, but half of those are in Michigan. They’re not just a grocery store, though. They pioneered the superstore concept in 1962, combining a grocery store with a discount retail store selling clothing, bedding, electronics, and everything else under one roof.

My take on Meijer is it was just okay. You could imagine them by thinking of our own Walmart Super-centers here.

Winn-Dixie

I feel like I can guarantee they will never have a presence above the Mason-Dixon Line. I doubt they’d want to.

The chain has been around since 1925 and has locations in Florida, Alabama, Louisiana, Georgia, and Mississippi. They are almost synonymous with the American South. If they don’t sell Confederate flags at impulse racks at checkout, I would be shocked.

Piggly Wiggly

While I don’t think I could respect myself shopping in a place with this name, and a logo that looks like Porky Pig, there are 500 of them in 18 states, with the most being located in Wisconsin. Also, I think I’d feel guilty buying bacon there.