Smart & Final

I use this store for their sales, which can be really good. The only problem is that sometimes they sell out of items very quickly without having more in stock.

Product and prices aside… Their customer service is excellent. The cashiers are always super friendly and don’t ever seem to hate their job. It really makes the usually awful errand of grocery shopping quite bearable.

3.5 Stars
Smart & Final serves its purpose. The prices here are decent. I suppose they are known for being «the smaller faster warehouse store.»
Between all the various grocery stores we frequent, Smart & Final is probably second to Trader Joe’s. Costco third and Ralph’s fourth. We only shop at Ralph’s or Stater Bros if there’s sale on meat. I love Costco, but hate going there when it’s busy… parking, banging shopping carts, and then the lines.
Regarding Smart & Final… at least the times we go, there’s never a line and we are in and out within 10 minutes.
I would not dare compare Smart & Final to Costco… it should stand on its own. Some of their items do come in bulk, but nowhere like Costco. The only negative I could say about this location is the awkward parking lot with diagonal parking spaces. (Although the Smart & Final parking lot in Monrovia is the worst!)
Smart & Final DOES NOT fulfill all our needs, but like I said… it serves its purpose and we can get most of the stuff we need here if we don’t want to make a trip to Costco.
What do we buy?
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MEAT — e.g. Pork shoulders when they are on sale. My husband smokes them and makes pulled pork! Ribs, chicken etc. They sell excellent meat rub here. (dry seasoning)
VEGGIES/​FRUIT: 5 lb bag of cabbage, shredded lettuce, bananas, blueberries, strawberries.
COFFEE: CoffeeMate is cheaper here than at Fresh & Easy (by like $ 1!). They also have sales on K-​cups once in a while.
SALAD DRESSING: I love their Asian Ginger salad dressing. They are usually on sale for like $ 3 something. My husband always gets the Italian dressing, Thousand Island and Chipotle dressing
GREEK YOGURT: They sell Fage Greek yogurt here. I’m in love with that stuff. (The container at Costco is larger.) I usually eat it with honey, berries and granola.
FOOD: Tortillas, Bread (they sell King’s Hawaiian bread here! Rolls & Hamburger buns), Squaw,
PARTY SUPPLIES: This is where the bulk items come in handy. For our potlucks or parties… we get those aluminum warming trays, disposable coffee cups with lids, table coverings,
CANDY: I don’t often buy candy, but had to occasionally for functions. They have a pretty large selection of packaged candy, like assortments of chocolate bars etc. As stated before, if I can’t make it to Costco, then Smart & Final is a great alternative.
¹¹⁹⁄₁₀₀ Reviews for 2014

I like this store and some of the prices they have there. This store is kept clean with plenty of room to move around. The cashiers characters range from a mix of happy to sad, from very sociable to not sociable at all. And I guess it does bug me a little when i will say «thanks » or «have a good day «with no reply at all. I mean they should be thanking me for My business. But when they just move me aside and ignore me like they don’t care, well… you would think the manager would find a better position for them at the store because they obviously don’t belong in customer service. A few of the cashiers are like that all the time, as well there are a few cashiers who are the exact opposite, who, like to be happy and can communicate very well. The manager himself seems polite and pleased to have his job. He will usually ask if he can help. I’ve seen him communicating well with some of the other customers as well as helping the elderly out to their car with the groceries. I don’t really shop big over there, but the store is right next door to me and there are a few things I like to buy. I Like the First Street Milk! It’s priced right and has a good taste. A good buy. I also like many of the First Street item they sell there like the napkins because they are not recycled like most napkins you’ll find at the fast food places around town. However there are a few First Street items that are like garbage. Take the Hamburger example… It taste like fake meat, or rather like chewing on rubber b

This is a pretty small Smart and Final, but for the most part it’s pretty nice. It’s in a run down shopping center with a lot of older buildings and stores. The inside of this store is pretty clean though. Just not a huge selection like other Smart and Finals I’ve been to.

There seems to be an inordinate amount of hate of this place, but my experiences here don’t reflect it. First off, I don’t (nor should you) expect this place to be a surrogate Costco or Sam’s Club. If you do, expect to be disappointed.
I come here because I can buy packs of luncheon meat not sized to feed a family of 10, or just common items like potato chips and such.
Not a huge selection of stuff, but it’s kept semi-​organized and the staff is always nice.

Let’s see, called to ask if carried an item, «yes, we do!» drove down to pick up, sold out. You should have asked us to hold it for you! What! Mon, sorry for your time wasted!

Overpriced soda. Twice the price of soda on sale at Stater Brothers. Overpriced vegetables.
Sometimes you can get beef on sale. Large cuts of meat.