Smart & Final

This place continues to baffle me as to how badly it is ran. No carts in the lot! Not one stinking cart! Amazzzzzzzingly stupid. Why do I torture myself by coming here? They have big bags of ice and I have a party but honestly it is not worth the few bucks I save

ZERO STARS (it got one star so that Unilocal would allow me to post this)
I’ve lived in Glendale for 50 years & shopped at this location for most of those years. But after tonight I will NEVER come back.
We parked on the far wall of the parking lot that was completely empty, to go to the local high school for an hour. We returned to go shop at the store within the 2 hour parking limit, as we have done before, when we found our car missing & apparently towed. Other people also reported their cars missing.
Apparently an employee stood there watching us all leave just to call the towing company to come. Smart & Final on Verdugo Blvd, Glendale, lost an opportunity to extend a TINY bit of goodwill to their local community, local schools and LOYAL customers who help pay their salaries. He could’ve told us, «please don’t park in the empty lot» & we would’ve gladly moved or shopped FIRST letting all our groceries sit in the car for an hour! Oh wait, they would’ve towed the car with the groceries inside!!! I forgot, Smart & Final could care less.
How did they select the cars that got towed and those that didn’t? «Oh, these owners of an 11 yr old car must have lots of expendable cash to pay the towing company $ 315! Yes, I repeat, $ 315!» Is that what the 3 managers tell their employees to do everyday? Was manager Dario the one telling the employee who called the towing company «Go stand in the empty parking lot in the far corner for an hour» doing nothing instead of helping customers inside?! Clearly, that was the priority. I looked inside the store tonight while waiting for a ride home and saw super long lines at every register with MORE than ample parking in the lot for shoppers. Unbelievable. Customer cars OR customers? Hmmmm, let’s concentrate on getting cars towed! Looks like the customers can wait. It makes one wonder if Smart & Final gets a cut from the towing company. Glendale News-​Press, can you please find out?
Yes, there is another Smart & Final on Glenoaks Blvd., but I am SO soured by this experience I don’t even want to think about giving anymore money to another Smart and Final!
The signs in this parking lot should really say «Glendale shoppers, thanks for giving us your money, but you are shopping here at your own risk!» Adiós Smart & Final. It was good while it lasted. They do not do SMART business for the community, and that’s FINAL!

4^th of July Weekend came quicker than expected. We had family from New Mexico visiting and had to buy more last minute things and Costco was closed. Smart & Final saved me! They even had corn at a special price and everyone love how the hubby cooked them. Great success thanks to Smart & Final.

Perfect place me and my family love this store you can find everything you need. Staff are very nice & helpful great service and great food.

5 stars just for cashier Stephanie E’s customer service. Fast, efficient, and friendly. Just the cheerfulness I needed heading home at the end of a long day.

This Smart & Final is a standard store. All of the aisles are fairly organized and clearly marked, but it’s sometimes still difficult to find what you want, as the signs do not indicate every group of items sold in each aisle. It is a large space and easy to maneuver. Sometimes they have good deals/​weekly specials, but for the most part I shop elsewhere.
parking — large lot with ample availability

As the Vice President of Campus Activities for Glendale Community College, I had to do a lot of shopping here for several events we hosted on our campus. We’ve been using this particular Smart and Final since before my time as a vice president. They are the cheapest and most reliable store to buy ANYTHING from. We have a tradition of cooking and giving out hot dogs twice a year, several occasions where we give out cotton candy, Sno-​Cones, popcorn, etc., and this is our one «Stop-​and-​Shop!» I’ve never been unsatisfied with their customer service. Once I’ve had to make a quick stop to pick up something 20 minutes before an event started (with over 1500 participants). I called ahead and they were more than happy to get the item off the shelf and leave it by a register for me to just go in and pay.
As my term ends as a vice president, I will surely continue to do my personal shopping from here. You can never go wrong!

My favorite grocery store in Glendale! Cheap, convenient, caters to all my grocery needs!
It’s basically Costco wholefoods goodness without the membership needed. Great place to get your everyday food needs, BBQ needs, alcoholic needs…
Definitely the go to place for all your general needs. The cashiers work fast and are courteous too.

Writing this review in this slow, horrid line.
Evelyn is the slowest, unenthusiastic cashier ever. I got in her lines multiple times and thought the first two times were off days but shes always like this. Last straw.

Convenient, Clean & huge.
This Smart & Final Extra really hit the right marks which makes for a stress free grocery shopping. Located at the corner of Verdugo & Wilson it is almost impossible to miss this store.
The store is nice and clean, shelves are well organized and stocked, The staff are courteous and friendly, I pretty much got everything in my list in one convenient stop. If you keep an eye on those weekly flyers, it could definitely save you a considerable amount of dough compared to paying full price.
The parking lot is plentiful and decently spaced, if you come during odd hours of the day, there’s a great chance you won’t have to fall in line too long to check out or park all the way to the next block.
This Smart & Final is good in my book, clean, affordable & convenient that’s good enough for me.

This store and location is pretty good. i have enjoyed shopping here many times because they keep it very clean and the employees are very friendly and helpful here. The parking lot is never a problem because it is very big and it never gets too crowded, it is very well stocked and they have a wide variety of bulk items to chose from, and the restrooms are always very clean…

When we’re getting ready for a (large) party, we’re glad that S&F is in the neighborhood.

This store has a lot of great deals and a great selection! I am really hoping to make it my go-​to store for grocery shopping.
I would say that about 85% of my groceries consist of fruits and vegetables. I was really excited when I saw the reviews on how fresh and well stocked the produce is. They were right about one thing, they are well stocked! My only complaint about their produce options was that they don’t offer unpackaged mushrooms so I had to purchase a lot more than I actually needed. As far as freshness goes… they totally failed. I had purchased a variety of vegetables including zucchini and mushrooms. I took them out THE DAY AFTER PURCHASING THEM and they were already bad. The zucchini had a layer of slime on the outside. They mushrooms were also slimy and soft. I couldn’t tell that the mushrooms weren’t fresh until I opened them because they were prepackaged and looked good from the top.
I might be wiling to give them another shot, but I hate wasting money and there is nothing more frustrating than going to cook dinner with «fresh» ingredients just to realize that your ingredients have turned in less than 24 hours.

Great selection, easy parking.
It’s a Smart and Final, you know what you’re getting.
This one was clean and not crowded on a Saturday afternoon.
I’ll be back.

Was heading to a short notice BBQ and needed to pick up about 20 burgers and 20 hot dogs. Luckily this Smart & Final was on the way or everyone would have been sh! t out of luck with some frozen patties from Ralph’s. This location is actually a Smart & Final Extra! which means its larger and has more selections than your typical store. Excellent.
So I grabbed a cart and wandered in. I was in luck as they still had patties that were not frozen. $ ¹³⁄₁₀ pack of burgers that were ⁸⁰⁄₂₀. Not too shabby. Sure the frozen ones were a lil cheaper but I didn’t have the time to defrost them. Also grabbed a pack of approximately 24 chicken hot dogs for around $ 4. Now that’s what i call a deal.
They also had a great selection of beer. I went with the Mexican sampler (XX, Sol, Modelo, Pacifico). On my way out I spied some potato salad and macaroni salad and I’m glad i did, cuz it was a hit at the party.
Parking: they have their own lot but it can still get packed.

(Shopped 10÷22÷12 M @ 1pm): You would be stupid if you didn’t shop here!
For those who grew up in Glendale back in the 70’s, 80’s and 90’s, the location of this Smart & Final used to be a Safeway. As I’ve gotten older and Smart & Final became more prevalent, I perceived them as the bastard child of the grocery industry… the Rodney Dangerfield of entertainment… and in more recent times, the Pluto of our planets — no respect! They’re the size of a standard grocery store with the comparable prices and selection of a warehouse but without the membership fees. Plus, they have since done away with their membership cards, so everyone gets the same low prices without capturing your data!
It was my day off which meant I had to do all the errands I couldn’t do otherwise. The fruit and veggie bins at home were depleted and they needed to be filled up fast. This Smart & Final has become my place to buy good quality pieces of these items at very competitive prices. Sure, I still visited the local Trader Joe’s and picked up some $ 0.19 bananas (been doing that for years), but as I always emphasized, it’s all about value. My weekly shopping spree garnered me the following: 6-​pack of romaine hearts ($ 2.99), a huge stalk of celery ($ 1.29), mixed bag of fruit [four pieces each of Washington and Granny Smith apples, and navel oranges] ($ 5.99), and a 2-​lb package of red seedless grapes ($ 3.49). I ventured out for other frequented items since they were on sale such as Activia 4-​pack yogurts (3 @ $ 1.99 ea.), 4-​pack of unsalted butter ($ 2.79), and 1-​lb bag of shredded Mexican cheese (2.39). And of course, there were impulse buys: 1-​lb bag of Tim’s sweet Maui onion potato chips ($ 3.79), Zacky Farm’s 8-​pack turkey dogs ($ 1.25), and an 8-​pack of white hot dog buns ($ 1.19). There you have it — my grocery list to last me for the week!
As far as selection, don’t expect to find many options for a given product as they are limited. They carried the bare-​bones necessities (usually one top name brand) and their own label called «First Street». You would find packaged items in mid-​sizes (i.e. bigger than normal grocery but smaller than warehouse). But be surprised by their fruits and vegetables section as well as their meats. There are several mid-​range length aisles of goods as well as the items all along the walls (i.e. refrigerated foods, frozen foods and beverages). And, five checkout aisles.
The service has always been good, but the last few times I’ve shopped here, I’ve had the pleasure of Dwayne, an affable African-​American man, being my cashier. He was as happy-​go-​lucky as can be and truly a salesman in every sense of the word. The last time I was here, he commented on a particular cheese I bought and raved about it and recommended a complementary cheese to go with it. This time, he espoused about how to «…do my [hot] dogs right…» with the cheese I bought and other items. Make sure to look for Dwayne and get into his line so you can strike up a conversation.
Parking was ample and I have yet to ever see it really packed. Most times I parked along the short wall that faced the KFC (the aroma would kill me every single time!).
Overall, the experience I had at the Smart & Final in Glendale was an enjoyable one, similar to previous times I’ve shopped here. More people have certainly caught on as the lines have gotten longer, of which was bittersweet for me. I found great value as noted by the prices I quoted above (total bill was around $ 31.00; no tip required), but what I bought in addition to what I had at home would tide me over for lunches, dinners, and snacks during the work week. It recently went through a renovation, so the atmosphere was less of a dank warehouse it once was and more of a grocery store. I felt they did an admirable job as it was more of an amalgamation of the two concepts. The attire was casual, so expect me to be in a t-​shirt, boardshorts, and flip-​flops. And they accepted my credit card of choice… AMEX!

This is the easy fix to Costco. I’ve been avoiding Costco due to it’s crowdedness and inconvenience and this is just a great alternative. Got my veggies and fruits, which are really fresh, they always have a great deal on eggs and chicken, and I just buy in bulk so I don’t have to shop in another week! Super convenient!

Case of Sugar-​Free Rockstar after tax $ 30.30 that’s a savings of $ 18.00 who wouldn’t love that right???
With a large parking lot with plenty of spaces one doesn’t have to worry about your car being pound like a piece of meat by someone else’s door… When entering the store you will see very clean and well inventoried isles. The hard liquor is priced pretty cheap and is located up front for easy access to the register.
I have always been greeted with a smile by the Cashiers & treated with the upmost respect never rushed… This is my favorite Smart & Final because it is never packed and lines move fast.
Ohhhh and if you like Wings you can make at home they have some very good ones…

Smart & Final is almost a typical grocery store, but also with items in bulk and the kind of stuff the average shopper probably wouldn’t need, like a package of 100 styrofoam trays. As others have mentioned, the produce section looked pretty good, and the selection of everything else was roughly what you’d find at a typical grocery store, but at a better price.
True story: I always have a tendency to think I’m going to buy less than I actually do, and end up walking around with my arms full. I was looking at a display of something-​or-​other when a little boy on a razor scooter zoomed up, put an empty shopping basket down next to me, then zipped back down the aisle to his mom. «Is this for me???» I asked the quickly retreating boy. His mom smiled and nodded, and I thanked both of them.
In conclusion, while shopping for cake mix and toilet brushes I was reminded that there is good in the world. Thank you, Smart & Final.

I have to give this forgotten grocer props. I was in need of a sugar and red pepper flakes shaker; after thinking and thinking it finally dawned on me; Smart and Final.
I was pleasantly surprised when I walked in. Admittedly it had been ages since I had last shopped here, everything is better!
I must give Smart and Final credit, the fruits, vegetables and dairy were all fresh, easy to find and priced much better than Ralph’s or Von’s. The hot sauce selection is muy bueno too! Cleaning and cooking supplies were large and in charge.
The lines were efficient, the supplies I needed were easy to find, and the fruits and vegetables were crisp, sweet and good. My sugar is happy and I am happy to have found a clean, efficient and economical alternative to the other grocery stores in town. Smart and Final; I promise I won’t forget about you (again).