Smart & Final

Had the worst experience here. Doug as a manager you should be ashamed of yourself. The line wrapped around the grocery store because there was only one checkstand open. Her name was Daisy and she was doing an amazing job, especially given the circumstances. She was friendly and kept her cool even though no manager would come help her. I knocked on the managers door but was ignored. The prices are OK and they do have some great stuff at the store, but if this is how management displays itself I will not be coming back. Plus my fiancé bought rotten ribs from the store earlier today… Which is why I’m here in the first place.

The perfect store if you’re having a big party or BBQ.
When you buy in bulk, things get cheaper here.
Plenty of parking in the newly paved parking lot and this store is usually never really busy.
Pay no club fees and you don’t need a loyalty card to get their discounts.

Love this Smart & Final! Nicer than the ones in Lemon Grove and Point Loma.
Many people think S&F is just for business shopping, but that’s not really the case. While I can’t find as much variety as I do at a «regular» grocery store, S&F has a reasonably good selection of consumer-​size items and the prices are great! Definitely worth checking out if you live nearby!

I completed some shopping here after realizing I was out of avocados. Fortunately, they had Hass avocados on sale for .50 each. They were not locally grown, but rather imported from Peru. They looked of good quality so I picked up four, and as It turns out, since I ate two of them since they ripened, they were quite good.
I browsed the store and picked up a pack of bowls made from sugar cane. I found that interesting, so I had to have them and I needed some. I picked up several other items such as trial mix, a two pack of Guerrero flour tortillas for $ 4, an 18 count in each package. It was a good deal, because I usually pay $ 2 for 12 of the same flour tortillas near my home.
Although I pretty much already had what I needed, I also picked up some trail mix, balsamic vinegar, and a couple of bags of Sun Chips because they were on sale. The store was pretty organized and stocked, but I do recommend they open up more lanes at the register when there at least four people waiting in line.
The store does have very good sale prices, but the regular priced items are average to competitive.

Big, new as of 2014, clean and well-​stocked, especially the outstanding produce area. The prices are reasonable and you can often find a bargain. Lots of large-​size packages. Very good prices on dairy items. Excellent flan, a Mexican dessert — a real treat and not at all expensive. The meat department is good but plan on buying a lot more than you need and freezing the rest. They also have a good household cleaning aisle with everything you’d need as well as a lot of picnic-​type of housewares. People are very friendly.

Located on Poway Rd/​Pomerado Rd next to 99 Cent Store. Came here to buy gift cards half off thru Amex promo (Get $ 25 off any $ 50 purchase, so I opted to buy gift cards). Selection very limited but found gas cards.
Each transaction had to be done separately on each Amex credit card so Johanna shut down her line for us after I let a customer go ahead of me. I love good karma :)
Doh. Security alert on Amex. ANOTHER 5 min delay while we say yes it’s our cc. It’s not fraud lol.
Ok now we get to get rung up. All cards now working. 9 transactions. $ 450 gas cards for $ 225. Thanks AMEX and Smart & Final.
To get this promo you have to register thru your AMEX account (online and/​or Twitter for each card). Bummed I only got it on 3 of my cards as it’s a targeted offer. But I heard S&F participates. So til next time. Plus, since we got such good service, and the store is nice & clean, next time I’ll actually shop here and not just get gift cards.
3 stars for gift card selection. 5 stars for Johanna’s rockin’ customer service & patience and for closing her lane so others wouldn’t have to wait. We’ll be back for the next promo plus to shop!

Best price on mason jars!!! They didn’t have as many as I needed. A gentleman helped me get a couple more from a top shelf and made sure to put in an order for their next delivery. Good stuff great prices and nice staff!!!

This place has the feel of a mini Costco/​grocery store. I’ve been here once before when I was shopping for items you might find in a wholesale warehouse for coffee suppliers. What I did observe is that this place seems to be very popular among people with large families or business owners.
I like that it was not super crowded and that the aisles are very well spaced. One thing that was nice to see is that they sell fresh flowers at the front (so I will remember that if I’m ever in a bind I need to buy some flowers for under $ 12). I would probably come back here if I needed food for a big barbecue or was hosting something with a lot of people (e.g. an orgy).
They are not as big as Costco so naturally they have less stuff, but I will say that it was very easy for me to get in and out of this store. Also they do not have a food court or samples, which are both obvious drawbacks.
With that said, I didn’t do crazy price comparisons between the two companies. Why? Because I’m lazy and it is Friday and I am still on a mission to buy and drink some sake. Thank you

The Costco Alternative.
Joe, the manager runs a tight ship too.
Well stocked with everything, even produce. Roomy, well laid out and easy to get around in. Check-​out lines can be slow when busy but that’s to be expected. Parking can be hit and miss on busy days.
If the fridge is getting a little sparsely stocked, I’d hit this place up for the goodies.
They even sell Mexican bacon wrapped Danger Dogs. :)

I would go out of my way to go to this location because it’s the only Smart & Final I know that has their rotisserie chicken for sale at 6 dollars. And it’s 3 lbs and I can absolutely assure you it’s the best tasting one of all the supermarkets and Costco! Seasoned perfectly! And you can use the left over bones to make chicken stock!
Anyways, sometimes you find good deals here and just like every supermarket, keep an eye out for specials, you’ll find better deals at any of the locations. I also love how cheap disposable plates and cups and the like are. Not my first choice to buying a roast or rib eye, but for chicken, cooked or not, this is the spot.
I guess it’s because it’s a Smart & Final extra that it’s a bit bigger than the other ones? I’m not sure, I just know it got the glorious rotisserie chicken!

There was nothing necessarily wrong with Smart & Final– it was quite busy and very new and clean. I went into this store as it was my first experience with Smart & Final. We usually shop at Stater Brothers as we live closer to it. I walked around the store with my cart expecting to find some great deals but really wasn’t impressed. The products (in terms of quantity) were more bulk items like you would find at Costco but the prices were higher. I even went over to the wine section and prices were also the same if not higher compared to the deals at Staters/Albertsons.There was a featured «grand opening/​as advertised» wine that they had compared to a price at another grocery store but at the end of the day I would like to have better deals overall… not just on what you want me to drink.
Overall, glad that I went in and it is always nice having new business in Poway but there was nothing to push me to go back.

So far so good! Inauguration day, freebies galore. Occupying the space that used to be a not so popular Michaels and just right next a huge 99 c store, this is a great add to Poway. I got the info about the inauguration day and did not want to miss it because it was commented that they will be selling products in the usual huge size (Costco style if you are more familiarized with them) but also ‘normal’ for one of two people size. And yes, they do! And the prices are incredible.
I was greeted by a clerk delivering the shopping cart. All the workers at the market were super friendly (well, it was first day, but impression was very good, very personalized). To the right, the produce section really impressed me. Bananas for 39 cents/​lb? wow. 25 lb of juicy carrots for less than $ 6…unbelievable. Everything was super fresh and good prices.
I would recommend this store for their produce. If you want to save money in supplies for the house, such as cleaners, bleach, brooms, detergent, etc, probably you will do cheaper at the 99 cents store next to it. So I am liking this variety now! Also I found very cute that each cashier has the name of a street in Poway. A nice local touch.

I stopped at this location for the first time this morning. It’s about twice the size (at least) of the Mira Mesa location where I usually shop. There’s a lot more produce selections and variety of other healthy food. Nice, clean store.