NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) – Solitaired, a site that features hundreds of popular games, asked its users where they play the games the most, and were surprised to see ‘the grocery store’ appearing as an answer. The company decided to take the question in a different direction and find out which grocery stores were considered the best and worst in the country. So they examined the Google reviews from 3,000 individual grocery stores across 100 cities and compiled the results.
Using the star rating and the number of reviews, the company then ranked each grocery store.
10 On Your Side went through the individual “Top 50” lists to see if any local grocers were mentioned. Here’s what we found.
Best Grocery Stores
Trader Joe’s emerged as America’s favorite major grocery chain and the best Trader Joe’s (based on reviews) can be found in Gilbert, Arizona.
A local Trader Joe’s made the list… the one at 503 Hilltop Plaza in Virginia Beach is ranked #27. It’s the only grocery store in all of Virginia that made the “best” list.
Worst Grocery Stores
The Walmart Supercenter on Tidewater Drive in Norfolk, Virginia ranked number ten on their list of the top 50 worst grocery stores in the U.S. The Walmart Supercenter at 1170 N Military Highway came in at #24.
Solitaired’s findings listed the top three worst groceries in the country as: Giant Eagle Supermarket on Cedar Ave. in Pittsburgh; Metro Thriftway on E. 63rd St. in Kansas City; and Walmart Supercenter on E. Exposition Ave. in Aurora, CO.
Walmart appears frequently on this list, making up 38% of the worst grocery stores.
Top 10 Worst Grocery Stores in the U.S.
| Rank | Name | Address | Star Rating | Number of Reviews |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Giant Eagle Supermarket | 318-320 Cedar Ave, Pittsburgh, PA | 3.5 | 1,769 |
| 2 | Metro Thriftway | 1616 E 63rd St, Kansas City, MO | 3.5 | 1,041 |
| 3 | Walmart Supercenter | 14000 E Exposition Ave, Aurora, CO | 3.6 | 7,620 |
| 4 | Walmart Supercenter | 2322 Ferguson Rd, Cincinnati, OH | 3.6 | 5,060 |
| 5 | Safeway | 757 E 20th Ave, Denver, CO | 3.6 | 2,797 |
| 6 | Walmart Neighborhood Market | 10400 E Colfax Ave, Aurora, CO | 3.6 | 2,679 |
| 7 | Kroger | 2000 E Main St, Columbus, OH | 3.6 | 1,111 |
| 8 | Walmart Supercenter | 3301 Tower Rd, Aurora, CO | 3.7 | 9,008 |
| 9 | Walmart Supercenter | 501 E Pawnee St, Wichita, KS | 3.7 | 8,173 |
| 10 | Walmart Supercenter | 7530 Tidewater Dr, Norfolk, VA | 3.7 | 6,945 |
Long lines and poor customer service were common complaints.
Worst Customer Service
There is a separate Top 50 list for the stores with the worst customer service.
Anas Halal Grocery on E. Virginia Beach Blvd. in Norfolk is ranked #2 on that list, with 13.21% of the Google reviews mentioning poor customer service. Tala Market Meat & Bakery on N Battlefield Blvd. in Chesapeake came in at #16.
Worst Food Quality & Prices
This list was compiled looking at keywords such as “expired” and “expensive”. The ALDI at 1600 E Little Creek Road in Norfolk is #34 on the list for worst food quality. No local stores made the list with the worst prices.
Click here to read more about the findings and see all of the full “Top 50” lists.
