Food 4 Less

I’m a bit surprised I haven’t written a review for them yet considering I religiously go to this grocery store for food.
The store has an aesthetically pleasing layout that has a nice flow to it. Its aisles are wide enough for people with disabilities to get through and for 2 carts to be able to be moving in opposite directions. It’s nice that it’s not tight and packed.
The staff are excellent. Some are more friendly and up for small talk as they check you out, others are more reserved and all smiles. I’ve never gone down an aisle without at least 1 employee asking if I need help with anything. I especially love it that they always ask when I have this really puzzled look on my face. It’s like. they know. hahaha
I understand the mixed reviews about their produce section. That’s partially because there is always mixed quality. I however, am a hardcore fan of their sweet potato/​yam section. If you’re looking for small ones good luck. They rock the large and in charge lifestyle over here, their niche selection of vegetables and fruit from all over the world (they have more selection than other grocery discount stores), and their apple selection. Quality varies, but it doesn’t hurt to ask a staff member what date they get fresh produce in and align your grocery shopping date for that time.
I have only encountered this once in the year and a half I’ve been going here, but double check when a canned product has expired. I have bought an expired can of soup from them before. They may be reimburse you for your purchase. I’ve known other Food for Less/​Food Maxx stores at other locations who do that so I would be surprised if this location did not.
If there is only thing I would critique about the store is that it needs to have a better designated section for the motorized grocery carts for their disabled clients. They also need to be properly charged and checked that they are charging. Outside of that, this store is very disability friendly.

I love this store. I’ve been to other locations around here and I think this one is the best. Aisles are wide, clean and easy to maneuver in. Shelves are always stocked and I’ve been able to find pretty much everything I need here so it eliminates having to go to 2 or 3 different stores to gather ingredients. The staff here is clean looking and always friendly, they look genuinely happy to be working. Bagging your own groceries is a small price to pay when you save so much shopping here. I give it 4 stars because sometimes they don’t have enough checkers at peak times which makes waiting in line a little bothersome.

I have been a loyal Food 4 Less shopper since 2007. Their staff, as well as their selection is top notch. You, literally cannot beat their prices in Paso Robles. I will continue to be a shopper here!

Truly dreadful produce. A lot of wilted lettuce, fruit flies (seriously) and sad looking tomatoes & peppers from Mexico. Produce staffers have always been friendly.
Meat section’s OK. Dairy prices are fair. Canned goods & frozen foods are reasonably priced.
Overall the store’s clean & there’s plenty of parking. Never go on a Sunday afternoon/​evening. It gets so crowded!
Sometimes express lane’s open, sometimes it’s not.
Bring your own bags or pay ten cents each (stupid SLO county ordinance, not the store’s fault.)

If I could give no stars, I would. I just complained to some very young manager that when I wanted to run in for a few items, he has barricaded store to make me run a marathon thru aisles. He replied with a smirk that it was because we, his customers, might «steal» something. I will never ever step foot on this store again or even think about buying their rotten seafood.

This place is a joke. Ran in for just one item. The store is designed so you have to walk all the way around to the back of the store and then back towards the front to get what I needed. Top it off, no bags. Not that I needed one for one item but its good to know in the future not to go in there for anything more. No customer service and the prices aren’t any better than Albertsons or Vons.

Depending on the time of day, I can usually get in and out no problem. I love that there is such a wide variety of produce and meats. My husband was always reluctant to let me buy our fresh meats there but we have never been ill, it is great quality for a really reasonable price. They have a lot of ethnic foods too, ramen in the fresh foods section, lots of asian seasonings and sauces as well as a huge hispanic foods area. Bulk beans and rice helps me save money and I love the prices in the frozen foods section.
My advice if you’re squeamish to try out a big discount grocery place like this is to stick to name brands and choose meats that have today’s date on it (should be nice a bright in color).
Customer service has been hit or miss over the years, mostly good though. I was there once and walked out towards my car, there were some men hanging out around my car LEANING up against it. It was night, so I was scared to walk over. I went back inside and asked one of the produce guys to walk me to my car, he did and even yelled over to the losers to get lost. That’s really great service. Another time, I bought a bag of potatoes and a few of them were rotten. I called and asked if I could return them, they said yes and didn’t even make me bring the nasty rotten crap back in my car!
I love the lay out, it’s easy to shop. The lines get crazy long around the 1^st and 15^th and on Sundays as well as holidays like Easter, Christmas, etc.

A great option of if you need to pick up some staples while staying in Paso. Much cleaner interior than most of the LA-​area locations (which are more like Ghetto-​4-​Less). If you want to pick up some of the local lower-​end wines, this is a better option than buying them at the wineries. For instance, Castoro cellars wines here are about $ 4 – 5 less than at the winery.