Atlantic Superstore

I finally got to this Superstore location last weekend. My first impression was that it’s definitely one of the best Superstore’s as far as vegan options go.
You walk right in to the natural food section. I love that the natural food and international food aisles are in one big area together. You can basically do most of your shopping without going anywhere else in the store. I love that you can completely avoid the meat section in this store too.
They had a good selection of everything vegan really but particularly happy with their frozen section as they offer a few different Gardein products other places don’t have and they are also much cheaper here as well.
It was worth the bus trip and frigid temperatures.

Thus far, this is the only one-​star rating I’ve ever given. This is far and away the worst grocery store I’ve ever had the displeasure of visiting.
I’ve been living in Halifax for 5 years and have been to this Superstore about 4 or 5 times, always because I needed something simple and quick like eggs or milk, or I was one ingredient short on a recipe and didn’t want to run all the way to the Barrington Street Superstore (which is easily one of the best grocery stores in the city).
I’ll list my grievances below:
1) While plastic-​free is admirable, they seem to be too thick-​headed to realize that everyone is simply paying $ 1 for reusable bags and then never reusing them. Why not bring in paper bags like every other chain that claims to be eco-​friendly? I’ve seen people simply walk out and leave their groceries at the check-​out after finding out that there are no bags. That said, I do understand that many people are very pleased with this plastic-​free policy, so I can accept that I may be the minority on this one and won’t really hold it against them.
2) A lower-​order primate does their inventory. If you’re looking for something specific, they don’t have it. No need to check. It’s not available.
3) On the off chance they do carry what you’re looking for, and by some miracle have it in stock, you’ll never find it. I hear college kids often go in looking for kraft dinner and end up dying of old age near the cleaning supplies.
4) Assuming you’re the luckiest person in the city, and they do carry what you’re looking for, they do have it in stock, and you survived the hunt to find it, it will most likely be rotten or past its best before date.
5) The place is filthy. Like, always.
6) Someone thought «Let’s make our aisles 4 feet wide, and our carts 2.5 feet wide» while donning an evil grin. Fortunately, you’ll never last long enough to fill a cart, so not being able to fit through the aisles when anyone else is present won’t be an issue, you can just grab a basket. If you can find one.
The term student ghetto really comes to mind here. They are dumping minimal amounts of funds into this store because of the low-​rent apartments and student housing nearby, knowing that they’ll still get the business because there’s nothing else close by.

Quinpool Superstore… My dear friend. Are you having a midlife crisis? Have you recently suffered a loss? A traumatic event? Please get help my friend. I’m only telling you what I think you need to hear. You know?
Lately, you seem to have lost any ability to keep your shelves stocked with the things I love. I know my food tastes are different from most but if other stores can keep their shelves in good order, why not you? You see what’s happening here? You’re forcing me to see other stores.
I’m sorry hon. You just can’t seem to meet my needs any longer. Please take care of yourself. :’(

I have to say the major disadvantage here is the layout. It is very «smushed» there also is no cosmetics selection at all. It does have a decent natural foods section which is great. I wish the isles were bigger — can’t fit two carts down the isle at this location! Also, the prices seem to be a bit higher here.

I don’t mean to be rude but the entire time I was in this grocery store I thought I was being punk’d. No seriously, I could have sworn that Ashton was about to pop out from behind a nonsensical aisle organization sign in a trucker hat. This Superstore is smaller than most, crazy outdated, and just generally frustrating in every conceivable way.
Aisle contents don’t even come close to the consistency found at other branches so don’t be surprised when you find granola bars next to the chips, coffee next to Mexican food, or crackers by the cleaning products. This place is totally random and for someone like me who writes out his list based on the department and order in which you naturally walk through the grocery store (efficiency is important, people…), this throws me into a complete tizzy.
What’s worse, is that while you’re backtracking over and over to find things, none of the aisles are actually big enough to allow for two carts side-​by-​side. Not kidding. So, walking through one aisle takes about eight minutes as each senior shopper gives you the stank-​eye for not hurling yourself into a Pepsi display so that they can have a clear passage.
When I finally managed to navigate through the Frogger-​like puzzle of moving carts to get to the cash, they don’t have *any* plastic bags at the cash. Like… not even a single one. So my visit was capped off with having to juggle a cart of groceries over to the car, or pay for yet another reusable bag that I never remember to bring with me.
Bottom line: if this was my local grocery, I’d have to move.

I love that it is so close to where I live, BUT I have officially boycotted it for any fresh veg.
THERE IS NO SUCH THING at this location. TIME and TIME again I have picked up a vegetable or fruit and had a swarm of fruit flies attack me/​my face. I have a hard time finding any produce that, if not already «expired» it is well on its way. It just baffles me that whoever is putting it out on the display doesn’t say to his/​herself «hmm that one looks like a rotten hunk of gunk, wont put that one out.»
Aside from that the meat selections are cheap (er) then Sobey’s (for the most part) but its almost worth driving out to the Joseph Howe location for better deals, and a more organized store.

Quinpool’s Superstore does not demonstrate the best of layouts. The store’s entry and exits are a little confusing, as one must re-​enter the store to make the Quinpool exit. Otherwise, customers will find themselves in a large parking lot and a bit of an ordeal in getting back on the main street.
Halifax really needs to step up its Superstore locations. There are a collection of them throughout the city, and none of them have followed suit with the world-​wind of store renovations. Why is this? Are we not deserving enough for the likes of Joe Fresh and modern design?
Service and stock of food are adequate, although I’ve noticed this location to be a little unkept at times. On top of this, the isles are a little tighter than usual, which can surprisingly makes a difference in ones grocery experience. Its the little things that make the difference– am I right? Perhaps we’re just spoiled now… as big wigs go the extra mile to accelerate our spendage. But I’ve come to expect a cleaner, more efficiently designed store during a collection of my weekly food intake.
I’d like to see some revisions here. Quinpool is a super area in Halifax, and a super Superstore would make it even better.

I thought that the Young Street Superstore was my least favourite Superstore — but I forgot about this one!
I find the location of this Superstore to be incredibly inconvenient. The parking lot is ill-​designed and nearly always packed, leaving you parking down by the Canadian Tire and dragging groceries (and carts) halfway to Timbuktu.
This Superstore is a left-​over design from years ago, when people liked their stores smaller and poorly laid-​out. I can never find what I’m looking for here — the placement of items seem to be random and not at all intuitive.
The two saving graces are the post office and the liquor store — the NSLC recently renovated its outlet here to make it much more shopper-​friendly and easy to check out.
Now, if only the rest of the store could follow suit…

Garbage swirls overhead and the bleak grey lot beckons you forward: it’s grocery time and this is your neighbourhood chain. The wind tunnel created by this flattened lot and ill structured buildings will have your cap flying high and your bike tires swerving. Watch out for pot holes accompanied by garbage tornadoes, as you approach the sliding glass doors.
This is your run of the mill Superstore. I manage to visit this location around three times a week. I try to buy as much as possible at local shops, but when a gal needs T. P or some processed tofu treats, the superstore rings clear as the cheapest destination.
The «healthy» food section is pretty good. You can find some okay variety as well as an entire wall dedicated to chips… yeah, why are there so many chips? Their prices for «natural» body products are far better than Planet Organic, but their produce is lacking in quality and appeal.
I like to pick up 50% items, which are quite regularly available if you’re okay with pushing the boundaries on expiration dates. If you like surly biddies, then you’ll definitely be in luck if you head in during the morning. Some of the cashiers are lovely and cool (Ray, anyone?) while you’ll find some other clerks to be inexplicably mean. It’s a mixed bag ‘o fun every time you line up!
A neighbourhood grocer isn’t really a choice; you end up near one and you shop there — it’s just the way it goes. However, if you end up in this neck of the woods don’t dismay, it’s a pretty good place and hey, they’re satellite radio beats are pretty rad.

This is one big ol’ store, and most of my friends who live by it are fans, if only for the convenience. I always find something odd about the produce section when I go. For instance, it is surprising to me that such a huge store would not have carrots in stock. I could understand this if they were, say, only selling Atlantic Canada produce, but they are not so I am perplexed by it. On the plus side they do have a surprisingly large natural foods section (although «natural foods» here is used in the loosest supermarket definition) that proves useful to me.

One thing I love about the Superstore chain is that every neighborhood has something special about it. The one on Joseph Howe might be bigger, definitely has the best Joe clothes line and electronics, and the one on Barrington is open the earliest (7am) which works well when I drop my husband off at the office at the crack of dawn.
That said, still my favorite is the one on Quinpool. I love the organization and the great selection of natural, organic and ethnic foods, as if it were a separate store. So easy to find things.
The staff is beyond helpful, making sure they take you to wherever the mystery item is supposed to be. Case in point… this morning I was on a mission to find bean sprouts — yesterday being unsuccessful at two other stores. I even went to Pete’s downtown and couldn’t find any. Pete’s is the place I go to for things no one else seems to carry. But not today… today only the Superstore on Quinpool had some. And not yet on the shelves mind you. The sweetest staff stopped what he was doing, went to the back and brought out a box full.
Great friendly, efficient service — a huge deal in my opinion.
T

Atlantic Superstore is a big company that occasionally likes to think small and locally. It’s refreshing to see in a company as big as Loblaws.
This store in particular is Atlantic Canada’s first bagless store. This means there are no plastic bags available at this location. You have to buy reuse able bags in store or bring your own. I like this idea and am happy to pay every time I forget my bags… which can be often because I am forgetful.
Unfortunately, this positive approach does not help the store’s produce section, which is almost always awful, especially if you’re looking for a green pepper.
The rest of the store is stocked as well as you would imagine, you can find just about anything you could want here and as always the PC brand gear is just as good as name brands. If it’s good enough for the president… then it’s good enough for me!
I’m a fan of their bag-​free policy, even if it’s got more to do with the store saving money than the environment. If you live in the west in this is a fine grocery store all in all, but check elsewhere for produce.

One of the best!
I’ve always loved this particular Superstore. Of course it has the same items most other Superstores have but the layout of the store is what really attracts me to it. As soon as you walk in from Quinpool Road, you can make a left and you are right inside the healthy, organic section. If you make a right, you are in fruits, vegetables, sushi, cheese etc. Go straight and you can walk past the post office, photo center, pharmacy and head towards other aisles.
The only thing missing from this particular Superstore is the Superstores brand of clothing called JOE. I love that brand since it is cheap, high quality and fits me perfectly. So that is why there is one star missing.
The staff at this Superstore are very helpful and most are very friendly. Sometimes there is a very young cashier who isn’t having a good day, but I’ve had far more good times than bad times.
Pricing is the same as all other Superstores and is very competitive to other grocery stores in the city. Their organic section is a wee bit expensive but also can be cheaper than other organic stores around. I just long for the day that I can eat all organic. But my budget won’t allow that all the time yet.
Some would praise this particular Superstore for another practice they have that has only started up in the past year or so. They have completely eliminated plastic bags! And I hate that. Because I have gone there several times and purchased groceries only to find out I forgot the fabric bag the Superstore sells. So I have ended up buying so many of these fabric bags it is ridiculous. And I see where the good business sense comes in on this one. They get rid of plastic bags that cost them money, only sell fabric bags at a dollar and some change that only cost them probably less than five cents to make and ship, and then boom, a new profit making scheme. Especially since people will keep forgetting their bags and have to buy new ones.
I don’t believe in getting rid of plastic bags but I do agree with continuing to build a stronger system for recycling. So I’m just not a fan of that new practice. But all that being said, this store deserves the four stars I’m giving them.