Dave’s Supermarket

I’ve had a few pleasant run ins with employees, but for the most part they are very rude.
I go here out of convenience because it’s a half mile from my apt but I may just start buying groceries when I visit my family on the weekend. I know everything in Cleveland is a little more pricey, which is not a huge issue for me. But I really hate coming here only to wait in line for 20 minutes (cashiers are generally pretty slow) or to wait for an employee to finish restocking something before they are willing to move over so I can grab an item. I don’t expect to be treated like a princess going to the grocery store but if I were in their shoes, I know that I would realize I customer was behind me and move out of courtesy.
If you decide to shop here just make sure you are not rushed for time. On my last visit I was the only customer checking out with two cashiers at the front and the one in charge of the lane I chose made it obvious she was doing something else and that I could wait. I had time to unload my entire basket, walk across the store to return my basket, and walk back, and even check my Facebook news feed before she started to come over to me.
Another time when I checked out I felt incredibly uncomfortable because the cashier was crying. I asked what was wrong and felt bad for her, but idk there’s always something weird and time consuming that happens when I come here.
I feel bad writing this because I know customers in Cleveland are pretty rude and customer service must be annoying but even a little more could go a long way. It’s just frustrating.

Decent grocery store. Produce
Is typically pretty cheap, and they always have a large amount of day old produce on sale and in still good condition. Decent selection of other foods
Including kosher foods. They also have a great bakery and everyone has always been extremely friendly.

Over the years, my opinion on this grocery store has completely gone down the drain. The pricing and parking lot are manageable issues, but when those are combined with the horrible employees, I can’t even bring myself to go back.
When you walk in Dave’s you can tell it’s not a grocery store for much more than the bare minimum staples. The whole store smells pretty horrible, indicating the seafood is a huge issue here. As I mentioned in my previous review, the produce is often hit or miss as well.
But, the biggest problems I’ve run into here have a lot to do with the actual cashiers. There are a few that are willing to do their jobs and do them well, but for the most part, cashiers aren’t very friendly and tend to wander and ignore customers that are ready to check out. I’ve had my food bagged horrendously on more occasions than I can count on one hand, resulting in smashed bananas, bread, avocados, etc. One cashier in particular HATES that I bring my own bags. I always say as I’m unloading groceries, «no plastic, I have my own bags.» This was clearly not appreciated twice, as the first time, she literally THREW all of my groceries into my bags, overpacking them, and squishing all of my items. The second time, she must have recognized me because I got a scowl and she started bagging in plastic after I told her not to. Of course, when I stopped her, she got more upset and started her usual grocery toss. I then told her the gallon of milk and oversized bag of romaine lettuce didn’t need bags, so she put those in their own separate plastic bags… no idea why. Upon reiterating «no plastic» and «no bags» for those items, she literally took the bags by the bottom and upended them, dumping a gallon of milk and romaine lettuce down into my cart.
These instances were enraging on multiple levels. One, don’t punish me for trying to not use plastic bags. Those things are annoying and paper or reusables are better for so many reasons. Two, your job is to handle people’s food. People’s food that is overpriced and shouldn’t be destroyed before it even leaves the store. Three, attitude is everything when you have a customer-​facing service job. I get that working in a grocery store isn’t always fun – I’ve done it and there are certainly bad days. But, I make a point to be super nice to people that are serving me, whether cashiers or waitstaff, especially when I have a specific request that is out of the norm and potentially frustrating.
After the second bagging catastrophe, I decided to boycott this store. I haven’t since returned and I don’t plan to. We live right in Cleveland Heights, so little needs here and there can be met by Zagaras and for other groceries, we can easily drive to Whole Foods or Giant Eagle.

I go here out of convenience. The number of times they’ve overcharged me on an item is way too frequent. It seems that every 2 – 3 times I come here, I get overcharged on something.
The most recent trip led to being overcharged on a shocking two items, which is pretty insane since I only bought three things. An item rang up as 3.99 when it was marked 2.99. So the cashier had to go check on the price. As she came back, she was confronted by another customer who had paid, left, and came back wondering where the soda she had paid for was. The cashier stood there for a whole minute wondering what to do, definitely not helping either one of us, while I stood with an inpatient face. After I paid, which took an unusually long time since the credit card machines were having trouble, I realized the cashier didn’t scan another item. Annoyed, I had her scan my last item, paid in cash and high-​tailed it out of there. When I got home, I realized that second item was marked as being 1.99/lb since it was on sale. I was charged 3.49/lb.
It’s funny, because I convinced a friend, who doesn’t like Dave’s, to come with me since I was just picking up a couple things. My friend picked up three items and was also overcharged on two of them as well (to be fair, the two items were the same thing). This triggered a price check, followed by price correction, then an excruciatingly long «did my credit card get rejected?» wait for the credit card machine («It’s acting up today» said the employees). Needless to say, I don’t think my friend will be coming back.
In the grand scheme of things, it’s a couple bucks, but since this keeps happening and I can’t always catch it in time, it’s become a frustrating shopping experience for me. Maybe Dave’s should just change its prices to correct ones so I won’t feel like I’m getting cheated every time I walk out.

The location is superb. The fish and seafood selection is great, much better than Zagaras. The selection overall is pretty good. The customer service is good. Love the oldies they play over PA. That’s the main reason I go to Dave’s;)

I really have tried to like this Dave’s, but every time I go here and ask anyone in the store for help, they just stare at me in confusion and don’t know anything and when I go to the deli or seafood area there’s always a long wait or they don’t even go by numbers and just take whoever they want. On my last trip here, I stood at the seafood counter for 15 minutes and the girl complained and cursed because she didn’t want to work and joked and cursed the whole time while joking with other co-​workers. When did open cursing in front of people’s children while at work for a customer service position become OK…
Only good thing about this location is that they do keep the shelves stocked and the store is fairly decent

Too expensive. The prices are like Whole Foods, but the food is like Marc’s. The fresh seafood is good though.

When I go to Dave’s, I go because it’s convenient. I would much rather shop elsewhere, but when time is short, I usually go. The prices are not that great and the brands are limited. I am especially disappointed in their produce. I have never had so many vegetables and fruits go bad so quickly, as the ones I buy from Dave’s. No bueno. I got some glazed donuts for a meeting once, and by the time I had gotten home, the glaze had liquified and the donuts were disgusting. Stay away from their baked stuff. On top of that, the stuff they have is very expensive. Hi price and low quality do not sit well with me. The staff is always friendly though, and are helpful if the need arises. In the end, I’d rather shop at Zagara’s, but I usually don’t have time. Only go to Dave’s if you really need something and can’t go anywhere else.

This Dave’s somehow ended up with the nicest workers in all of Cleveland. It’s so amazing how the staff really goes out of their way to help you! Overall, there’s nothing to complain about– the service is wonderful, price is decent, and location is convenient!

Dave’s is a nice market to have around for the convenience as other’s have mentioned. It is a fairly large store with a lot produce, wine & beer, frozen foods, canned, boxed, you name it, and also a bakery and deli. I have even found a few harder to find things here. I enjoy walking here and grabbing ingredients a couple days a week for cooking. However, as others have mentioned, some items are rather pricey, for instance spices seem on average to be about $ 8 – 10, although they have a handful of really cheap ones for $ 2, and throughout the store have some cheaper food club brand items. You could be stuck next to a worse store, but if you are stocking up you might want to hit up a discount grocery store.

How can they try so hard to be friendly but have employees who clearly wish they didn’t have to service customers? Serviceable. Quality and selection if fine. Service is awful

Seriously, I cannot understand why other people have given this location such poor reviews.
This location is exceptionally convenient.
The staff is extremely friendly & always willing to give you individualized attention. There is ample parking.
This location has an excellent beer selection for the limited space (ex. they have craft beer from WI that I have not been able to find anywhere else!).
In my experience, check out is always fast.
Only drawback is that Dave’s is a bit pricey. That being said, Dave’s is a family run company and the owner is extremely committed to Cleveland and the individual neighborhoods each location is found in. Personally, I am willing to pay a little more at a place that values it customers and employees.

My thoughts on Dave’s? It is convenient to where I live. They have things there that I can’t find easily at Marc’s (example: canned pumpkin).
Friendly service, easy parking.
My problem with Dave’s is mainly that it is overpriced, in my opinion, for the quality and quantity of food. There’s nothing about this place that makes it special. I’m all about special grocery stores… which is why I primarily get mine from Trader Joe’s. But for convenience, this place wins.

This supermarket and the predecessors that shared this location have one strong thing going for them — a convenient location. The store is old and dated. Somewhat dark. It is also small, okay compact. You have to search for items, but they have what you need. Nice wine and beer selection. Limited bakery, fresh produce, seafood and meat selection. Employees are generally courteous and helpful. Overall, a safe bet to get what you need.

I basically go to Dave’s because it is convenient and close to my apartment. The selection is OK, but is lacking compared to say giant eagle, whole foods or even the other Dave’s supermarket location in Severance or Shaker Square. I find the prices to be a bit high and sometimes it takes forever to check out, but for the location and convenience, I still go here.

I think of Dave’s as just another neighborhood grocery store. I would rather go to a better store with more good options than this one if I will have an option. It’s okay.

A bit overpriced for the quality

This place is Exhibit B in «The List of Sub-​par Establishments That Survive Only Because They’re Close To Case Western.» (Exhibit A is The Coffee House – at least Dave’s has some good food, The Coffee House doesn’t even have good coffee!)
Honestly, Dave’s is not bad in a pinch. I lived in the Cedar-​Fairmount neighborhood for 3 years, and Dave’s was still the closest grocery store when I lived in Little Italy. While I preferred to stop at Aldi’s and save a lot of money on my groceries, I used to go to Dave’s when I realized that I only needed 1 or 2 items.
While Dave’s bailed me out in a pinch several times over the years, my wallet unfortunately got pinched very frequently at Dave’s. I always thought their prices were very high, especially for beer and produce. Furthermore, I thought that their advertising campaign that said something like, «You don’t need to sign up for a special card or program to get discounts here!» was some kind of a joke… because there were rarely many great discounts there! I realize that this is the closest grocery store to Case, and this is pretty much the only option for anyone who doesn’t have a car and who doesn’t want to take the RTA anywhere, especially if you live on the south side of campus… which is a shame, because it’s not like students (or the parents who fund them) have a ton of disposable income to spend these days.
Additionally, this place’s selection was somewhat wanting at times. I can’t think of anything off the top of my rapidly-​graying head, but there was at least one time that I went here and couldn’t find something relatively common.
I will say, though, that their day-​old bakery section has some great finds. While you’re keeping your eyes open for great stuff like their homemade cheese bread (which is amazing), though, be sure to keep your eyes open for mold – I once found mold on some of their day-​old bakery!
When you’re in the middle of making something and you realize you need just one more item, Dave’s is great. However, when you’re doing your weekly\monthly grocery shop… you can do better than Dave’s.