Haggen Food & Pharmacy

Change is inevitable, but one of my two of my close friends who are on a fixed income have also recently commented about the negative financial impact for the immediate locals in this neighborhood… so I was rather over-​generous in both my assessment & stars before… so now a downgrade to two stars.
While I am glad that we still have a slightly upgraded
Supermarket here… rather than none, or worse another Whole Paycheck Market (who also claimed that they would not make adverse chances here), the prices
SHOULD NOT HAVE GONE UP THAT MUCH, if at all.
Especially since places like Ralph’s can still be significantly cheaper.
It is a positive that Haagen seems to have kept most of the preexisting employees
who are super-​nice & helpful. They also seem to be positive about the improvements
that Haggen has, or are, implementing. Yes, prices are probably unjustifiably higher, but improvements, change of ownership, inflation, increased costs (e.g. the Bird Flu disaster), but this may be inevitable.
The positives:
1) They open at 6 AM… so it is really easy to pick up something for lunch when you work nearby.
2) More Organic Veges & Fruits, in addition to regular ones… with prices still way below WPM.
3) Local eggs from Cal-​Poly & Cal-​Poly Grads.
4) Milk in Glass Bottles in various permutations & favors (Coffee, Orange, Choc).
A good fresh dairy selection, Heavy Cream, Whipped Cream, etc.
5) Excellent Fried Chicken, that they may cook-​up a fresh batch for the asking. For just a few dollars you get a whole fresh fried chicken, that will stay nice & hot in their reflective aluminum bag all the way home. This is the very first time that I have dared to try a supermarkets fried chicken, & I found it delicious.
6) A limited but a clean & fresh butcher/​fresh fish section, which appears to be a significant upgrade in quality from the old one. The Butcher will also do custom cuts & trimming before they leave at about 5 PM.
7) They kept the good Selection of local wines, at OK prices.
8) They have fresh Angel Hair pasta, Gnocchi, and others.
9) A limited but decent prepackaged gourmet section.
10) They still pack a fresh flower section, a Starbucks, a Deli, a Butcher/​Fish section, a Bakery Section, Fresh Cooked Chicken, a Deli, and more into this tiny store.
11) Some of the Haggen branded items are more cost effective.
12) They still remain the only real choice in the immediate area for a wide range of products.
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Negatives:
1) Certainly many items have gone up in price which has some of the following adverse effects:
a) it negatively affects the locals, especially people on a fixed income (i.e.- people who are retired & on SS or a pension, the lower income students, people down on their luck/​ill, and for those who do not have a car/​or can’t drive).
b) some people with the means can compensated somewhat by some going elsewhere to Costko, TJ’s, etc… (but then you burn more gas & waste more time).
c) all waste more time & thus money by running around to more places for basics.
2) They continue to cater more to the richer Cal-​Poly crowd & the pricey Foothills area richer residents, which has mixed benefits… but does keep them in business.
3) They have a reduced selection of some Deli items, which apparently did not sell, such as fresh Prosciutto. Unfortunately, in this town, the one of the only places that has a limited, but way pricey fresh slice Prosciutto & such is at WPM… where it is up to $ 30/​pd…& their fresh baked rare Roast Beef is an astronomical $ 16.99/ lb, but is oh so yummy.
4) No Olive bar… but where would they fit them?
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All in all, even though I have mixed feelings about this place, I am glad that we still have a choice, but a pricey one at that, in the area, especially since it is a drive to all the other places.
Regardless of what your needs or budget is, it remains in your interest, if you have the time & money, to frequent several places for your needs. We are fortunate that we still have lots of great Farmer’s Markets thru the whole week… even on Saturdays in AG Village (for local organic/​inorganic produce), CostKo for bulk & below cost Rotisserie chicken, TJ’s for select gourmet/​specialty items, Various Discount Markets for the budget items, A Real Old School Butcher Shop in AG, Fresh Fish in Morro Bay (& at a big mark-​up in WPM), Various Old School Bakeries (like Sweat Pea in Grover or Eclairs in AG), and even WPM…
If you ever lived in or shopped for ordinary grocery items in Hawaii (especially Lanai), you would see how you are blessed to have such a variety in such a beautiful area.
The greater Central Coastal area of SLO County, may not have the warm waters of Hawaii, but having lived in both places for many years, I vastly prefer it here… and it is cheaper here.

Overpriced and not competitive. Quality is not superior to anything else. The only thing this location has is that it is convenient. Avoid the store unless you have to go here.

Well, this is for the corporate Haggen, but since I live on the Central Coast, and have been to the Haggen here, here you go:
Hope you are REALLY REALLY proud of yourself! Wow, I mean, in ONE SWOOP, you fired FOURTEEN developmentally disabled clerks. I mean, that takes BALLS!
And of course, in order to stay on when you all took over, they all had to sign contracts saying they were not allowed to look for work at another grocery store for one year.
Wow, DOUBLE BALLS!
Just remember this: karma is a bitch.

UPDATE: ⁹⁄₂₄ — Shame to be losing this store, they hit the ground running with great staff, products and quality, never had such a good experience in SLO and so much better than both prior occupants of this location. So angry with the equity firm and the prior corporate ownership. And frustrated with a community that trashed talked the store from day one in a very unforgiving way, the best I can tell only because they were not familiar with the name. When Albertson’s opened at this location they fell on there face for months, sold spoiled food, higher prices etc and not one peep except how great the new Albertson’s was (but it wasn’t). Looking like TJ’s, Kroger locations, and Costco for options later this fall — frustrating! Not wanting to spend money with any of the companies that created this mess. I’m sure we are too remote to attract a store like Raley’s or Gelson’s …
ORIGINAL Review:
Great to have Haggen’s in SLO. A great mix of high quality foods, higher quality house brands, organic, and regular and economy brands too. Best beef in town, fresh and clean produce, great house brand dairy and also top quality ‘Dairygold’ at a regular price just a little more than the already very good Haggen’s brand milk.
This is not ‘Food 4 Less’ or Trader Joes nor are they trying to be. Think a step up from Ralph’s with better house brands and better meats, with a little Whole Foods influence. The store is full of local, and west coast sourced foods. I have found the staff to be helpful and friendly.
I’m at a loss of price complaining in other post. When I need low quality bargain price, bulk foods, and spotty selection or discontinued or overstock goods I go to the stores that sell them. And yes I also go to Trader Joes, Costco, Food4Less, and Von’s occasionally and like them just fine, but for my primary food shops I now go to Haggen’s.

When our neighborhood Albertson’s signs were replaced with Haggen’s, I didn’t think much of it. I went inside to do my grocery shopping until I saw the prices! I left the store and drove to Food 4 Less and Trader Joe’s. If we need milk or cereal, I pick them up at Rite Aid (next to Haggen) because the prices are half of what Haggen charges.

Went to go buy a gallon of milk. Figured they would have their own brand in stock, I was wrong. They had replaced where they normally keep their milk brand, with gallon water jugs. I don’t know how a store runs out of their own brand of milk and leaves only expensive half gallon milks to purchase. Avoid this store if possible, overpriced and poor selection.

I thought Albertsons was expensive but haggens is ridiculous! I don’t shop here any more.

Haggen’s acquisition of Albertsons is sending me to a different grocery store even though I live right next door. Why? Because they have:
1)Stopped carrying many of the goods I went there to buy. Seriously. Pick an item and in 1,2,3, poof Haggen no longer stocks it.
2)Raised prices.
3)Failed to improve on any features of the original Albertsons. This is still mainly a glorified liquor store with mediocre produce and terrible store layout. In fact, the new Haggen displays at the end of the aisle make the line situation even worse than before.
To top it off, there is a serious chance that you will not make it into the grocery store due to the terribly dangerous parking lot entrances and interior.
The levels of rage Haggen has inspired in me and my family was something I never thought possible of a grocery store. Congratulations Haggen, in that one aspect you topped the charts!

This grocery store looks promising from the outside and the knock-​off whole foods signage and layout, but you’ll quickly discover they lack options. Don’t expect organic or local quality goods. They hugely lack in this arena. It’s not much better than the Albertson’s that once lived here. Just a recent face lift.
No bulk section, almost zero organic options. Good thing Lassens is opening across the street.

Albertsons had the best bakery and the gals that worked there were great and accommodating. This new place what a joke! I have never heard the word «no» used so much my entire life. We don’t do this we can’t do that we don’t do this we don’t have that… And all of the prices doubled! It’s like someone took away the customer service and double the prices. Albertsons please come home! This place is a freaking joke.

This place literally looks like a glorified Albertson’s. I was expecting there to be more of a change but there wasn’t much that was too different. The employees are very friendly and will strike up a conversation easily with a smile. As for the place itself, it’s really neat and clean, aisles are a bit tight but not that big of a deal.
There are nicer milk bottles ($ 2 extra unless returned) though. One thing I did notice though, the shelves seem to be stacked one shelf higher than what’s normal. I typically don’t need to climb to touch (not reach items) the top shelf, but here… I’d either risk my neck to climb or turn to a tall person to ask for help (yay short people problem!)
As for the groceries, things seemed to be 2x in prices at least. The meat section reminds me of whole foods with the marinated meats and such, looks delicious though. Produce does seem a bit sparce and a bit limp (the lettuce)…but the section itself isn’t too big anyways.
Final Thoughts: This would be a good place to just pick something up but I’d rather spend the time to head over to Ralph’s if I can.

Ridiculously expensive and basically exactly the same as the Albertson’s it replaced. No new/​interesting products. They simply upped the prices with no added value. Will go out of my way to go to Ralph’s/Vons.

It’s like someone switched the sign on Albertsons, waved a magic wand that doubled all the prices and then crossed their fingers hoping shoppers would become disoriented and think they were at Whole Foods.
While it is amusing to browse the aisles and gape at their comically high prices, it isn’t a store I’d actually *shop* at. I feel bad for the people in the surrounding area, now faced with a choice between being price gouged or driving out of their way to a Ralph’s or Vons.

I never thought I would see the day when I missed Albertson’s. The changes that Haggen has made have so far been pretty dire. One thing I need to thank Haggens for is that they have motivated me to revisit other shops in the area, because Haggens is ridiculous. I’m not obsessed with prices if something is good quality, but this is somewhat obscene.
The prices have become comparable to Whole Foods for the same old products that Albertson’s sold. Just go look at the Campbell’s soups at Haggens for an idea of their inflated prices on normal grocery goods. Nearly everything in packaged goods is at least 33% more expensive. And Haggens have so far done a pretty poor job of marketing any decent sales.
For one, they have different prices for their butcher counter items and their meat rack. If their ads suggest store-​brand meat is on sale, don’t bother looking at the display at the butcher counter, because none of that stuff is on sale. The sale items are all sealed in packs. Their butcher counter is not all that impressive, either. I bought two prime cut filet mignons (at almost 30 dollars a pound) and they were untrimmed and already tied with string. So once they were cooked, about 10−20% of the cut was pure inedible garbage. Why should I have to go home and untie and trim a filet that is selling for 30 dollars a pound?
The deli isn’t much better. They want the display to look more rustic than Albertson’s, so their solution was fewer items that cost more. The deli got rid of about ¹⁄₃ of the dishes and their salads are now 9 – 10 dollars a pound. Pretty shocking, considering the quality did not go up in any way. As of the last time I was there, they had about 4 or 5 choices of cheeses in the deli case, compared to about 20 from before. I have yet to see any sliced meat or cheese on sale to make it worth sampling.
The one area that is a positive, and why they get an extra star, they do offer store-​brand staples like eggs and milk for much lower prices than Albertson’s. Not sure if that is just for the time being, but they have been aggressively lower.
The produce department is pretty much the same as before, except they expanded the organic offerings.
I could not stand Albertson’s. But Haggens has done nothing to entice me to spend more money for the same low quality standards to which Albertson’s held itself.

I paid over $ 5 for a salad from the deli (medium size) and It wasn’t good. $ 8.99 for salad by the pound, really? I used to go to that store all the time being a employee at a local hospital but not anymore I live in Morro by and I’ll get what I need at the albertsons there. Albertsons is already pricey but this store takes the cake. Thumbs down. Also, the Starbucks sucks there always running out of cup sizes and lids.

Close your eyes and imagine any Albertson’s (or any generic grocery store). Now open them, and you are at Haggen. It is a nice enough (very clean) store with a decent selection though it is a small store over all. Great selection of tortillas. A whole wall in the back for just tortillas. You must wait to buy your tortillas, though, as they often have have long lines.
There is really only one small difference from Haggen and an Albertson’s which was formerly here (Albertson’s was forced to sell the store when they merged with Safeway) and that would be the price. Albertson’s was already pricy, but Haggen brings it to a whole new level. $ 5 for a box of cereal. And it was a small one too! Ralph’s will get all my cereal shopping from this point on.

The store is identical to the once standing Albertson’s except the prices are now incredibly high and the staff, though I’m certain the majority were the same, some of the new staff seemed rude and inattentive. I remember spending no more than $ 21 for spirits and now prices have sky rocketed to $ 32.99. A pack of Coors has gone to somewhere over $ 24.99, previously less than $ 20. The produce prices have gone up as well. I could get mushrooms for $ 2.99 per pound before, now I’m at over $ 5.