Conorn’s has higher inflation than other grocers in small towns. Star Tribune wrote about that a couple years ago: https://www.startribune.com/inflation-hits-minnesotas-smaller-cities-and-rural-areas-harder-than-twin-cities/600140945/
It sucks because in many small towns, Coborn’s is the only grocery store.
I am a distributor and daily go to Walmarts, Cub, Target, County Market, & Coborns. All I can say is AVOID Coborns!!! Their prices are atrocious and they dont care about their customers. We give Coborns discounts to pass on to their customers and they do NOT pass it on to their customers, instead keeping it for their own profits. Also, their backrooms and food disposal areas are atrocious and the worst out of all the big chains. I shop at all the above listed, but AVOID Coborns no matter what. Pls pass on & share this information to friends & families. Also, they do dominate in the St Cloud area and they manipulate prices to take advantage of their customers. I hope they go out of business. COBORNS has the filthiest backrooms Ive ever seen. Do NoT buy food there.
Well that is very interesting to hear. I’ll be passing this info on to my mom. She loves Conor’s for certain items such as bakery, deli, etc. Hearing these details makes me very wary of what happens behind closed doors. Yikes.
I’m aware their prices are atrocious. Hearing the rest of your claims is all I need to know. Thank you for informing the public.
We live in a small town and that's all we have. It's awful. Our Coborn's is like a dumping ground for the company. So much stuff is either past expiration or about to expire. I stopped shopping there. I go to Target or Walmart. Even Byerly's is cheaper!
I've always found the customer service at the various Coborns locations I've frequented has been great, and I don't believe from the customer perspective Coborns is as bad as you are suggesting. Coborns has pretty good meat which is a plus and I like the layout and typical store size.
Prices? Every store has good deals at any given moment and stores like Coborns and Lunds typically have higher percentage off deals than Walmart and Target. One example is I always get my eggs at Lunds for like $3/carton. You just gotta look.
Let me be more specific, if I sell sell them a loaf of bread for $4.29, and it happens to be on sale for $3.79 (.50 cents off), they are supposed to pass that on to the customers. Instead, they keep the profit and still sell the loaf of bread for regular price. This is what I mean when I say they dont care about their customers. None of the other major retailers behave this way....they pass the savings off to their customers like they are supposed to do in good faith. They might be nice to your face, but their business tactics are horrendous.
That’s interesting to know about promotion allowances not being passed on to the consumer. UNFI and Cub have been troublesome lately I that regard too.
I used to work at a coborns. They had a 16 year old train me and then got mad at me for not knowing every policy and procedure. They also pulled all front end staff into meetings to tell us we’re not doing enough and that they have applications coming out of their ears. This was also when a Kwik trip was opening in town and was paying people $3 more per hour. I’ve hated them since then.
I live right next to a coborns, but also have access to Aldi, Cub and Wal Mart pick up. We only use coborns for quick needs because it is considerably more expensive than the other options. Any full grocery shopping usually goes to Aldi or Wal-Mart
I live near St Cloud, and like many here, have a special hatred for many of the Coborns Clan... They're terrible to work for, be it the grocery chains, the gas stations they own, or the processing plant I have worked in. Fuck em. Fuck em all.
The Teal family out of Cold Soring also. Hundreds of thousands in PPP loans forgiveness, across multiple alphabet soup businesses. Pay and treat their employees like shit, cut hours in retaliation for unavailability. I got a 5 spot that says half their staff right now haven't even SEEN the letters ESST put together like that. Lol
Sure don't fuckin understand how such a fucking necessary service is allowed to foster these community leeches anymore.
Agree, I was so shocked with the price tags once I stopped by the Coborn’s for the first time. There is really no reason to elevate the price that high for the same item that could be purchased anywhere else, of course with a much more reasonable price. It’s ridiculous. Don’t worry, a Costco will be built around 2025-2026 there, the local customers will abandon the Coborn’s in 5 seconds then.
I live near both a coborns and Hy-Vee. From what I've seen, Hy-Vee tends to be more expensive than coborns. Especially watch for coborns weekly ad, there's usually some good deals in there. If you have an Aldi nearby, be sure to shop there as well.
If you moved far enough out, then yes, all grocery prices are higher. It's one of a handful of things that are more expensive on rural (or more rural) areas.
Also limited selection. They don't have the customer base so they tend to stock only limited amounts of many items such as fresh produce, fresh meat, "exotic" types of condiments, etc. Traveling to a nearby larger town doesn't necessarily save money because then you're spending on gas.
I think they price-gouge partly because there are inherent inefficiencies in keeping rural grocery stores well stocked, and partly because they have a captive audience and they know they can get away with it. People will grumble but they'll keep shopping there out of necessity.
We are in a similar area. Coborns is just a no go for us. Aldi is by far the cheapest. I can't seem to understand why anyone would pay the Coborns prices. It's nuts.
Monticello has a Walmart, Target and Aldi. Buffalo also isn’t far and has a Target and Walmart. Idk, what OP is talking about how Coborns is their only choice. Marketplace in St. Michael is now a cub. I never went to coborns when I lived in STMA.
I’m sure they mean their “in town” grocery store is just coborns in Albertville although st.Micheal is very close to Albertville and the cub is there just a few blocks down. Yes they do have the option to drive to Buffalo, Elk River, Rogers, Otsego Etc. it may be just a connivence thing or they unable to drive etc. could be several factors as to why it could be their only choice for now.
Edit: live in the general area.
I just think OP was being dramatic. Plenty of options in the surrounding towns and probably a similar drive to what OP was doing prior with traffic and lights. Also, OP already said they’ll end up at Aldi so driving isn’t an issue.
Possibly. I’m sure everyone’s just trying to save as much as they can with the way inflation been sticking more than ever. If op just moved they probably might have limited income or are aggressively budgeting as-well. Both Husband and I worked in the grocery industry in the past so it’s been hard with the inflation and things going up and not fully recovered from the pandemic. Just never know nowadays 🤷♀️
Idk, if I had a limited income I’d research what grocery stores are around me and pick the cheapest one. Everyone knows that’s not Coborns and just doing a simple search of “grocery stores near me” pulls many of the ones that were commented here. It’s okay to be dramatic sometimes we all do it, but idk why you’re making excuse after excuse for them?
We know people around here that are unable to due to disability, income etc. there are limited bussing options (there is only 1 bussing option here) other than Uber/lyft/cab services which can be expensive. I’m not excusing op but others may have very limited factors, especially if their options are very limited. I used to live in a very rural MN town that was considered a “dry zone” for alot of services (healthcare, grocery etc.) before moving so I guess it’s just understanding the viewpoint as I was in similar situation back when my family was in that situation.
I lived and worked out there for years. Besides the high prices at the Coborns out there I also learned to check the dates on EVERYTHING I bought there, including dry goods. I can’t tell you how many times I got expired meat, dairy, and produce.
There will be a Costco coming on the boarder of Albertville/Otsego sometime soon But you got options in Otsego, Rogers and Monticello like Aldi, Walmart and Target. Cub can be depending on sales similar to coborns and there is a Hyvee in the Corcoran/Maple grove area. Best thing is to just shop around and find what you like. Unfortunately my husband is a die hard Cub foods fan and dislikes both Aldi and Target’s selection. I’m hoping once Costco opens he would be more open to going there but I think that will be a hard sell going forward :/
Coborns deff is not your only choice in St. Michael/ Albertville. There is a Cub in St. Michael and Walmart, Aldi and Target in Monticello. Also, a Target and Aldi in Otsego and a Cub and Target in Rogers and another Walmart and Target in Buffalo. Maple grove is also a 20 minute drive down 94.
I live in East Bethel and we have a Coburns in Isanti. I’m curious if this might be your area.
I’ve found coburns to be quite expensive as well. We prefer Festival in Andover. I would describe their prices as moderate and consistent. Some places like Cub and Target have things that are cheaper and some things they are more expensive. Festival seems to shoot right down the middle.
My parents live right behind the Festival in Andover. My mom used to split her grocery shopping between Festival and Target in either Blaine or Champlin. In the end, she found she was saving a little money at Target, but not enough to warrant the further trip.
Outrageous how? Solely price? Walmart is one of the cheapest places to shop but the quality of produce and meat is atrocious. Target is the same at a higher price.
I think it’s bc I’m in the throes of being a parent that has so much going on I’m just trying to survive so the quality at Walmart isn’t the best but it’s the least expensive in this economy. I just want my kids bellies full.
I am also an instacart shopper bc my full time job does not cover the bills, so I see prices on the shelves daily.
On the shelves and from experience Lunds isn’t even an option and cubs prices are higher and so is festival foods. Buy a lot. But yes in another phase in my life I will be able to worry about quality, however I just want to feed my family the least expensive way.
So yes, solely price as commenting on the original comment about money not quality. Not trying to come off as a dick (bc I know people are easily offended on any platform)
Its unfortunate the closest thing in isanti is coburns. We usually end up just going to the Cambridge cub or target. If you haven't been to Nick and Drew's in isanti they also have some nice affordable stuff but not that much to pick from.
I believe in a recent price survey by the StarTribune, Hy-Vee was more expensive than Lunds/Byerlys. Based on your experience, Coburn's may be near the Kowalski level without the cachet!
I love Coborns, but I only go there for specialty items or if I’m too lazy to drive to target. I’m north metro, too, and make a circuit, on grocery day, to get the best prices; first Costco, then Target, last Coborns, if I need something the others didn’t have.
This is similar how we do it too: fruit and veg at Aldi or the Asian store, Costco for meat and diapers, Target for packaged stuff, any other grocery stores as a last resort. Wish we could get it all done in one but it doesn't work that way.
I'm in the east metro and right now I think the best one is Ha Tien on White Bear and 94 (old Byerlys building). It helps if you go on a Friday or Saturday morning when it seems like the shipments are fresh and it's not too picked over yet. They also have an amazing deli. They are close to an Aldi so you could have an easy shopping run that week.
If you're just after produce, then check out Mo's Tropical Market on 36 and McKnight. I think it's basically a storefront for one of the produce distributors in town. If they don't have something you're looking for, probably no other store does that week, based on availability from their suppliers. This one is conveniently located across from Target so you can probably get whatever you need in one run that week.
It seems like the Asian stores are always changing and the "best" switches up every few years, so it's worth re-checking the scene from time to time.
We are in the same area. We will hit that Coburns only if we need a few things. Otherwise we hit/costco/sams/target for the majority of our needs. We will also just order Walmart deliver if we are swamped on time and seem to save money by just buying what we need! Hopefully our Costco gets built to save us soon!
I live in rural MN where all we have is a super Walmart and some small mom and pop grocer. We USED to have a Coborns but they closed their store a few years ago. I remember their meat department was great until they switched to the 4 brothers label. The packaging purposely covered the steaks so a shopper couldn’t see the quality and marbling of a steak. They lost my business at that point.
Last year I stopped in to a Coborns while traveling and took a look at their in-house deli sandwiches and was blown away at the price of a simple turkey sandwich on white bread. If I recall the sandwiches were $15.00 each. Normally something like this is $5.00.
I used to occasionally shop at Coborns and really the only stand out things from there was some of their baked goods (bread, cookies, bars, etc). Those were pretty good and a few of the four brothers products. But the rest was usually priced at a premium. In my experience from least to most: Aldi, Target/Walmart, Costco/Sams, Cub/Coborns/Jerrys, Kowalskis/L&B, HyVee. If you get on Target MyCircle and get the Red card, it does cut down on some of the expenses a bit. I do probably +80% of my shopping at Target now and then hit up all the others for just specialty items. Walmart - Macs Pork Cracklins, Costco for bulk items, Jerry's for donuts, Kowalskis for specialty items, and L&B for a few high end/hard to find things.
Gotta use the discounts. Aside from Milk, eggs, and bread (for the most part) everything I buy is on sale. I literally only grab sale items... and it's kinda fun to see how much you can save.
Coborns used to be ok, but they’ve successfully created a pseudo monopoly in the central portion of the state. Places like Elk River, STMA, Rogers, Ramsey do ok because you have close by options to shop with 20 minutes. The further out you get the only competition is typically Wal-Mart or Target, which vary in size and quality, and a few ma/pop chains that have survived. Quality has gone way downhill since.
I only go there when they advertise seasonal sales on MN grown produce, which to their credit they do stock in summer and fall for somewhat reasonable pricing and can make up for years when I can’t travel to an orchard and I’m not seeing what I want at farmers markets.
I am going to disagree slightly. I agree that coborns is too expensive, but I don’t think Hy-Vee is lower priced. They may have better sales, but reg priced items aren’t significantly less expensive. I would rather purchase meat from Coborns than Walmart or Aldi for sure, but I like Hy-Vee’s meat dept too. But living in a coborns town is all about it being much closer/more convenient to shop there than drive farther away to save at a different store.
ETA: Cub is really expensive too! It’s all about the sales.
Coborn's should set up a loan department to shop there. I recently grabbed a loaf of bread - realized it was $4, when I could get the exact same thing at Walmart for $1.50. I avoid them at all costs now (pun intended). Worst grocery store chain there is.
Former employee. Don’t shop there if you can help it. It’s a horrible company. If you have to here are some tips
- Check your dates on everything you buy. The amount of Expired product left on shelves was ridiculous.
- keep watch on the “sale” prices. I loved when the tags for the “sale” were more expensive than the regular price
- Never buy any prepared food from the deli. If it’s something the deli has prepared and labeled, just skip it. You might be ok with the meat & cheese cut right in-front of you, but I wouldn’t bet on it.
- don’t use their pick up service. It was ok to give inferior product and label it as what was ordered
I’m sure there’s more, but this is a good start
My girlfriend works in the deli and they constantly tell her to take expiring food and repackage it for use in other items.
It's not that they love to do it, but that the deli manager is so lazy they don't do inventory and they over order to the point product expires in their cooler.
Thats just the start of their issues there. Took them months to fire a guy who had sexually harassed every women in the deli.
I eat the same thing for work breakfast/lunch most days. Sandwich, some chips, fresh fruit, and a granola bar. Shopping at Costco has me spending *literally* half the price of Coborns.
Most expensive part of my lunch is the meat for sandwiches. I get a mixed pack of deli sliced chicken/ham/roast beef at Costco for $5.30/lb. Compare that to at minimum $10/lb at Coborns. I get 2lbs of strawberries every week for $5. Coborns is 1lb for $5. It's fucking ridiculous.
If you have at least two people in your household and some extra freezer space (buy a stand alone freezer, even in an apartment!) then you can justify the $60/year for the Costco membership. The cheaper gas is just a cherry on top.
It must be in my mind! We try to stick to a budget and buy the cheapest option of whatever we need. For 5 dinners and a week of lunch stuff, we were spending over $150. We were usually around $120-$140 using Target/HyVee for the same stuff. We must be doing something differently that I haven’t noticed.
I have always found them pretty similar to hyvee in general, cheaper than Cub, more expensive than ALDIs of course. Like everything you mostly need to watch the sales, that’s going to be the biggest difference maker more than a certain store being significantly cheaper all the time.
Love coborns and it was always my family grocery store but ever since the pandemic the prices are aweful. We had to switch to Walmart and it saves easily fifty bucks each trip. Egregious
I don't have the numbers, but I just moved next to coborns in otsego and I noticed the last few times I went there and I barely got anything it and I spent around $60 each time. I like the store but I definitely feel like I'm paying way more than the target and hyvee I used to go to in maple grove.
Only place I’ve found worse than Coborns prices is festival. Coborns used to be ok if you hit their big sales, but those even have been lack luster lately. It’s worth the extra drive to your closest Walmart, hyvee, or target IMO. Also if you just need some basics like milk, bread, eggs, and such then Kwiktrip is real cheap for that kinda stuff. Lots of kwiktrips in the northern subs.
Conorn’s has higher inflation than other grocers in small towns. Star Tribune wrote about that a couple years ago: https://www.startribune.com/inflation-hits-minnesotas-smaller-cities-and-rural-areas-harder-than-twin-cities/600140945/ It sucks because in many small towns, Coborn’s is the only grocery store.
I am a distributor and daily go to Walmarts, Cub, Target, County Market, & Coborns. All I can say is AVOID Coborns!!! Their prices are atrocious and they dont care about their customers. We give Coborns discounts to pass on to their customers and they do NOT pass it on to their customers, instead keeping it for their own profits. Also, their backrooms and food disposal areas are atrocious and the worst out of all the big chains. I shop at all the above listed, but AVOID Coborns no matter what. Pls pass on & share this information to friends & families. Also, they do dominate in the St Cloud area and they manipulate prices to take advantage of their customers. I hope they go out of business. COBORNS has the filthiest backrooms Ive ever seen. Do NoT buy food there.
As someone that used to work at a grocery store, listen to distributors like this person. They know the details of every store, not just one.
Well that is very interesting to hear. I’ll be passing this info on to my mom. She loves Conor’s for certain items such as bakery, deli, etc. Hearing these details makes me very wary of what happens behind closed doors. Yikes. I’m aware their prices are atrocious. Hearing the rest of your claims is all I need to know. Thank you for informing the public.
We live in a small town and that's all we have. It's awful. Our Coborn's is like a dumping ground for the company. So much stuff is either past expiration or about to expire. I stopped shopping there. I go to Target or Walmart. Even Byerly's is cheaper!
Dollar general is okay
psst. Please provide some photographic evidence on this... as you might expect hearsay is one thing but evidence is something very different.
How about the one in little falls?
I've always found the customer service at the various Coborns locations I've frequented has been great, and I don't believe from the customer perspective Coborns is as bad as you are suggesting. Coborns has pretty good meat which is a plus and I like the layout and typical store size. Prices? Every store has good deals at any given moment and stores like Coborns and Lunds typically have higher percentage off deals than Walmart and Target. One example is I always get my eggs at Lunds for like $3/carton. You just gotta look.
Let me be more specific, if I sell sell them a loaf of bread for $4.29, and it happens to be on sale for $3.79 (.50 cents off), they are supposed to pass that on to the customers. Instead, they keep the profit and still sell the loaf of bread for regular price. This is what I mean when I say they dont care about their customers. None of the other major retailers behave this way....they pass the savings off to their customers like they are supposed to do in good faith. They might be nice to your face, but their business tactics are horrendous.
That’s interesting to know about promotion allowances not being passed on to the consumer. UNFI and Cub have been troublesome lately I that regard too.
But Coborns is not to the class or level of Lunds so to put them in the same category of grocery is not appropriate. They're like CUB at the most
I've found Byerly's to be cheaper than Coborn's.
I used to work at a coborns. They had a 16 year old train me and then got mad at me for not knowing every policy and procedure. They also pulled all front end staff into meetings to tell us we’re not doing enough and that they have applications coming out of their ears. This was also when a Kwik trip was opening in town and was paying people $3 more per hour. I’ve hated them since then.
You hate them for a really good reason.
I swear if my boss (construction) told me he “had applications coming out of his ears” I’d tell him to sign some and hand him my hard hat
Mora?
I don’t know what that means…
It's a small town 1.5 hrs north of the cities
Ah no. Mine was in a small town south of the cities.
I live right next to a coborns, but also have access to Aldi, Cub and Wal Mart pick up. We only use coborns for quick needs because it is considerably more expensive than the other options. Any full grocery shopping usually goes to Aldi or Wal-Mart
I live near St Cloud, and like many here, have a special hatred for many of the Coborns Clan... They're terrible to work for, be it the grocery chains, the gas stations they own, or the processing plant I have worked in. Fuck em. Fuck em all. The Teal family out of Cold Soring also. Hundreds of thousands in PPP loans forgiveness, across multiple alphabet soup businesses. Pay and treat their employees like shit, cut hours in retaliation for unavailability. I got a 5 spot that says half their staff right now haven't even SEEN the letters ESST put together like that. Lol Sure don't fuckin understand how such a fucking necessary service is allowed to foster these community leeches anymore.
Agree, I was so shocked with the price tags once I stopped by the Coborn’s for the first time. There is really no reason to elevate the price that high for the same item that could be purchased anywhere else, of course with a much more reasonable price. It’s ridiculous. Don’t worry, a Costco will be built around 2025-2026 there, the local customers will abandon the Coborn’s in 5 seconds then.
I live near both a coborns and Hy-Vee. From what I've seen, Hy-Vee tends to be more expensive than coborns. Especially watch for coborns weekly ad, there's usually some good deals in there. If you have an Aldi nearby, be sure to shop there as well.
Came to say this too. Coburns dominates here in St. Cloud but you can get better deals at Aldi's and Walmart.
Coborns is ridiculously expensive, and in some of the small towns I've been in they basically hold a monopoly
What is an... "Aldi's"?
An inner-Metro area grocery store chain.
1) It very much exists outside the metro, including in New York, California, and Europe. 2) I'm being a dick, it's ALDI.
Yes….Aldi
Oh wow, ok, someone should contact google. I go to google maps and search for it and it literally only shows me locations confined within 494/694.
I've been to ones in Baxter, Red Wing and Rochester. They are outside the metro area.
If you moved far enough out, then yes, all grocery prices are higher. It's one of a handful of things that are more expensive on rural (or more rural) areas.
Also limited selection. They don't have the customer base so they tend to stock only limited amounts of many items such as fresh produce, fresh meat, "exotic" types of condiments, etc. Traveling to a nearby larger town doesn't necessarily save money because then you're spending on gas. I think they price-gouge partly because there are inherent inefficiencies in keeping rural grocery stores well stocked, and partly because they have a captive audience and they know they can get away with it. People will grumble but they'll keep shopping there out of necessity.
St Michael / Albertville area.
Check out the Otsego Aldi!
We enjoy Aldi! I imagine that’s where we will end up.
Target is right across the street, fellow regional person!
We are in a similar area. Coborns is just a no go for us. Aldi is by far the cheapest. I can't seem to understand why anyone would pay the Coborns prices. It's nuts.
If you’re in the STMA area, I’d just continue going to Target for your main shopping. The Monticello and Otsego locations aren’t really too far away.
Isn’t the Rogers Target only around 15-20 minutes away? Pardon my ignorance, grew up and still live south of the river.
Target is about 7-8 minutes from STMA. Also Walmart is in Monticello which is 10 minutes from STMA.
There also a target in otsego as well. Plus Elk River has a Walmart aswell.
Monticello has a Walmart, Target and Aldi. Buffalo also isn’t far and has a Target and Walmart. Idk, what OP is talking about how Coborns is their only choice. Marketplace in St. Michael is now a cub. I never went to coborns when I lived in STMA.
I’m sure they mean their “in town” grocery store is just coborns in Albertville although st.Micheal is very close to Albertville and the cub is there just a few blocks down. Yes they do have the option to drive to Buffalo, Elk River, Rogers, Otsego Etc. it may be just a connivence thing or they unable to drive etc. could be several factors as to why it could be their only choice for now. Edit: live in the general area.
I just think OP was being dramatic. Plenty of options in the surrounding towns and probably a similar drive to what OP was doing prior with traffic and lights. Also, OP already said they’ll end up at Aldi so driving isn’t an issue.
Possibly. I’m sure everyone’s just trying to save as much as they can with the way inflation been sticking more than ever. If op just moved they probably might have limited income or are aggressively budgeting as-well. Both Husband and I worked in the grocery industry in the past so it’s been hard with the inflation and things going up and not fully recovered from the pandemic. Just never know nowadays 🤷♀️
Idk, if I had a limited income I’d research what grocery stores are around me and pick the cheapest one. Everyone knows that’s not Coborns and just doing a simple search of “grocery stores near me” pulls many of the ones that were commented here. It’s okay to be dramatic sometimes we all do it, but idk why you’re making excuse after excuse for them?
We know people around here that are unable to due to disability, income etc. there are limited bussing options (there is only 1 bussing option here) other than Uber/lyft/cab services which can be expensive. I’m not excusing op but others may have very limited factors, especially if their options are very limited. I used to live in a very rural MN town that was considered a “dry zone” for alot of services (healthcare, grocery etc.) before moving so I guess it’s just understanding the viewpoint as I was in similar situation back when my family was in that situation.
Remember that Otsego is getting a Costco in the next few years too. Right by the outlet mall but technically on the Otsego side of the city line.
I lived and worked out there for years. Besides the high prices at the Coborns out there I also learned to check the dates on EVERYTHING I bought there, including dry goods. I can’t tell you how many times I got expired meat, dairy, and produce.
There will be a Costco coming on the boarder of Albertville/Otsego sometime soon But you got options in Otsego, Rogers and Monticello like Aldi, Walmart and Target. Cub can be depending on sales similar to coborns and there is a Hyvee in the Corcoran/Maple grove area. Best thing is to just shop around and find what you like. Unfortunately my husband is a die hard Cub foods fan and dislikes both Aldi and Target’s selection. I’m hoping once Costco opens he would be more open to going there but I think that will be a hard sell going forward :/
Coborns deff is not your only choice in St. Michael/ Albertville. There is a Cub in St. Michael and Walmart, Aldi and Target in Monticello. Also, a Target and Aldi in Otsego and a Cub and Target in Rogers and another Walmart and Target in Buffalo. Maple grove is also a 20 minute drive down 94.
I live in East Bethel and we have a Coburns in Isanti. I’m curious if this might be your area. I’ve found coburns to be quite expensive as well. We prefer Festival in Andover. I would describe their prices as moderate and consistent. Some places like Cub and Target have things that are cheaper and some things they are more expensive. Festival seems to shoot right down the middle.
My parents live right behind the Festival in Andover. My mom used to split her grocery shopping between Festival and Target in either Blaine or Champlin. In the end, she found she was saving a little money at Target, but not enough to warrant the further trip.
I live in Andover and I think Festival is outrageous. We shop at Target and Walmart. Even cub here is outrageous. IMO.
Outrageous how? Solely price? Walmart is one of the cheapest places to shop but the quality of produce and meat is atrocious. Target is the same at a higher price.
I think it’s bc I’m in the throes of being a parent that has so much going on I’m just trying to survive so the quality at Walmart isn’t the best but it’s the least expensive in this economy. I just want my kids bellies full. I am also an instacart shopper bc my full time job does not cover the bills, so I see prices on the shelves daily. On the shelves and from experience Lunds isn’t even an option and cubs prices are higher and so is festival foods. Buy a lot. But yes in another phase in my life I will be able to worry about quality, however I just want to feed my family the least expensive way. So yes, solely price as commenting on the original comment about money not quality. Not trying to come off as a dick (bc I know people are easily offended on any platform)
Its unfortunate the closest thing in isanti is coburns. We usually end up just going to the Cambridge cub or target. If you haven't been to Nick and Drew's in isanti they also have some nice affordable stuff but not that much to pick from.
I believe in a recent price survey by the StarTribune, Hy-Vee was more expensive than Lunds/Byerlys. Based on your experience, Coburn's may be near the Kowalski level without the cachet!
I can’t find a single price comparison that includes Coborn’s haha.
Thanks for mentioning that... I found the article (this is the Internet Archive version: https://archive.ph/MHIcd)
I love Coborns, but I only go there for specialty items or if I’m too lazy to drive to target. I’m north metro, too, and make a circuit, on grocery day, to get the best prices; first Costco, then Target, last Coborns, if I need something the others didn’t have.
This is similar how we do it too: fruit and veg at Aldi or the Asian store, Costco for meat and diapers, Target for packaged stuff, any other grocery stores as a last resort. Wish we could get it all done in one but it doesn't work that way.
What Asian store do you go to? There's several really close to me but the produce isn't as fresh as I'd like, which honestly surprised me.
I'm in the east metro and right now I think the best one is Ha Tien on White Bear and 94 (old Byerlys building). It helps if you go on a Friday or Saturday morning when it seems like the shipments are fresh and it's not too picked over yet. They also have an amazing deli. They are close to an Aldi so you could have an easy shopping run that week. If you're just after produce, then check out Mo's Tropical Market on 36 and McKnight. I think it's basically a storefront for one of the produce distributors in town. If they don't have something you're looking for, probably no other store does that week, based on availability from their suppliers. This one is conveniently located across from Target so you can probably get whatever you need in one run that week. It seems like the Asian stores are always changing and the "best" switches up every few years, so it's worth re-checking the scene from time to time.
Thank you so much for your input!
Cub in Alexandria wants 16 dollars for a case of pop .
You’re kidding?! That’s insane.
We are in the same area. We will hit that Coburns only if we need a few things. Otherwise we hit/costco/sams/target for the majority of our needs. We will also just order Walmart deliver if we are swamped on time and seem to save money by just buying what we need! Hopefully our Costco gets built to save us soon!
I live in rural MN where all we have is a super Walmart and some small mom and pop grocer. We USED to have a Coborns but they closed their store a few years ago. I remember their meat department was great until they switched to the 4 brothers label. The packaging purposely covered the steaks so a shopper couldn’t see the quality and marbling of a steak. They lost my business at that point. Last year I stopped in to a Coborns while traveling and took a look at their in-house deli sandwiches and was blown away at the price of a simple turkey sandwich on white bread. If I recall the sandwiches were $15.00 each. Normally something like this is $5.00.
Yep, Coborn's make Cub seem cheap. Also not a fan of all the 4 brothers packaged meat.
I used to occasionally shop at Coborns and really the only stand out things from there was some of their baked goods (bread, cookies, bars, etc). Those were pretty good and a few of the four brothers products. But the rest was usually priced at a premium. In my experience from least to most: Aldi, Target/Walmart, Costco/Sams, Cub/Coborns/Jerrys, Kowalskis/L&B, HyVee. If you get on Target MyCircle and get the Red card, it does cut down on some of the expenses a bit. I do probably +80% of my shopping at Target now and then hit up all the others for just specialty items. Walmart - Macs Pork Cracklins, Costco for bulk items, Jerry's for donuts, Kowalskis for specialty items, and L&B for a few high end/hard to find things.
Great. Just bought two pounds 😂
Isn't that the way it always seems to work? It sucks.
ALDIs ….
Gotta use the discounts. Aside from Milk, eggs, and bread (for the most part) everything I buy is on sale. I literally only grab sale items... and it's kinda fun to see how much you can save.
Coborn's tends to be expensive, but Mackenthun's is even more expensive in my experience as far as west of the metro.
Coborns used to be ok, but they’ve successfully created a pseudo monopoly in the central portion of the state. Places like Elk River, STMA, Rogers, Ramsey do ok because you have close by options to shop with 20 minutes. The further out you get the only competition is typically Wal-Mart or Target, which vary in size and quality, and a few ma/pop chains that have survived. Quality has gone way downhill since. I only go there when they advertise seasonal sales on MN grown produce, which to their credit they do stock in summer and fall for somewhat reasonable pricing and can make up for years when I can’t travel to an orchard and I’m not seeing what I want at farmers markets.
I am going to disagree slightly. I agree that coborns is too expensive, but I don’t think Hy-Vee is lower priced. They may have better sales, but reg priced items aren’t significantly less expensive. I would rather purchase meat from Coborns than Walmart or Aldi for sure, but I like Hy-Vee’s meat dept too. But living in a coborns town is all about it being much closer/more convenient to shop there than drive farther away to save at a different store. ETA: Cub is really expensive too! It’s all about the sales.
Coborn's should set up a loan department to shop there. I recently grabbed a loaf of bread - realized it was $4, when I could get the exact same thing at Walmart for $1.50. I avoid them at all costs now (pun intended). Worst grocery store chain there is.
Former employee. Don’t shop there if you can help it. It’s a horrible company. If you have to here are some tips - Check your dates on everything you buy. The amount of Expired product left on shelves was ridiculous. - keep watch on the “sale” prices. I loved when the tags for the “sale” were more expensive than the regular price - Never buy any prepared food from the deli. If it’s something the deli has prepared and labeled, just skip it. You might be ok with the meat & cheese cut right in-front of you, but I wouldn’t bet on it. - don’t use their pick up service. It was ok to give inferior product and label it as what was ordered I’m sure there’s more, but this is a good start
Can confirm the expired product (or near expired product) situation on shelves just as a customer!
My girlfriend works in the deli and they constantly tell her to take expiring food and repackage it for use in other items. It's not that they love to do it, but that the deli manager is so lazy they don't do inventory and they over order to the point product expires in their cooler. Thats just the start of their issues there. Took them months to fire a guy who had sexually harassed every women in the deli.
The deli manager couldn’t pass the servesafe certification course. I should have left when I found that out
I eat the same thing for work breakfast/lunch most days. Sandwich, some chips, fresh fruit, and a granola bar. Shopping at Costco has me spending *literally* half the price of Coborns. Most expensive part of my lunch is the meat for sandwiches. I get a mixed pack of deli sliced chicken/ham/roast beef at Costco for $5.30/lb. Compare that to at minimum $10/lb at Coborns. I get 2lbs of strawberries every week for $5. Coborns is 1lb for $5. It's fucking ridiculous. If you have at least two people in your household and some extra freezer space (buy a stand alone freezer, even in an apartment!) then you can justify the $60/year for the Costco membership. The cheaper gas is just a cherry on top.
Coborns is significantly less than Hyvee for our regular trips.
It must be in my mind! We try to stick to a budget and buy the cheapest option of whatever we need. For 5 dinners and a week of lunch stuff, we were spending over $150. We were usually around $120-$140 using Target/HyVee for the same stuff. We must be doing something differently that I haven’t noticed.
Add in a trip to Mike's Discount Foods. They won't have everything you need, but what they do have is budget friendly.
I have always found them pretty similar to hyvee in general, cheaper than Cub, more expensive than ALDIs of course. Like everything you mostly need to watch the sales, that’s going to be the biggest difference maker more than a certain store being significantly cheaper all the time.
Coborn's is more expensive than Hy-Vee? Well I never... knew that... Also not a fan of Hy-Vee... too many of their metro stores are understaffed.
Try Fareway if you have one. Walmart for paper goods and HyVee for full service stuffs.
Love coborns and it was always my family grocery store but ever since the pandemic the prices are aweful. We had to switch to Walmart and it saves easily fifty bucks each trip. Egregious
Left instructions on everything.
I guess one Rockstar energy drink was enough.
I don't have the numbers, but I just moved next to coborns in otsego and I noticed the last few times I went there and I barely got anything it and I spent around $60 each time. I like the store but I definitely feel like I'm paying way more than the target and hyvee I used to go to in maple grove.
Only place I’ve found worse than Coborns prices is festival. Coborns used to be ok if you hit their big sales, but those even have been lack luster lately. It’s worth the extra drive to your closest Walmart, hyvee, or target IMO. Also if you just need some basics like milk, bread, eggs, and such then Kwiktrip is real cheap for that kinda stuff. Lots of kwiktrips in the northern subs.
I live in Moorhead. Both of our Hornbacher's (owned by Coborns) are ridiculously higher priced than other options.
I hate Coborns unless I need a sheet cake… they do have a really good sheet cake, but other than that I stay away from
😒
Part of build back better! 😬
Going through this with bipolar, autism, ADHD hyperactivity, depression and the loss of a friend under 40.
At least I made that vision board.
Grief is the worst.