Shaw’s

The employees are nice, and it’s great that they stock some products/​brands that Stop & Shop doesn’t. The produce section is not always the greatest though. It seems like every time I shop there they only have about 10 onions left and they look like they’ve been sitting there for far too long.

I don’t know why I keep shopping here as the place is always dead! Expiration dates on items is a real problem and I bought a roaster chicken today that was not fully cooked. When I called to tell them about it I was on hold for 15 minutes and transferred to numerous departments till I was finally connected to the deli department. When I spoke with Phil about this potential dangerous situation of selling under cooked chicken, he seemed distant and not interested. Never even offered solutions to bringing it back for a credit or a ‘sorry’ or a ‘thank you’ for letting us know about this! They are always relocating items on shelves and the location of things doesn’t make sense, it is all over the place! Stop and Shop, Market Basket here I come!

Tons of flies inside the muffin case.
Do the employees stocking it daily not see all these flies? It’s like this every time I come in here which is quite often.
Disgusting.

Given the choice between Hannafords on Main Street, Stop and Shop on River Street, and Shaw’s on River Street. I will choose Shaw’s Every time.
All three are a little on the run down side, and I wouldn’t want to by fish at any of these stores. But Shaw’s has more of the products I love. Their yogurt selection, ethnic foods section, and boxed/​canned foods are all great. They have more of the hard to find stuff.
The one big plus is the bakery. The chocolate chip cookies are awesome!

I’ve never seen so many old vegetables in a single store…

The produce is horrible and expensive. Shopping carts always have trash in them. The whole place is kind of dirty. Can see why Shaw’s is going under…

This particular Shaw’s has better prices than most other Shaw’s and Star Market stores in the area. Selection isn’t bad either. Unlike a lot of other Shaw’s/Star stores, this one does not have a pharmacy, but that doesn’t bother me. I certainly prefer this store over Hannaford’s in Waltham or Stop & Shop. The prices are not as low as I’d like, but not as bad as some other stores in the area.

Over the years this Shaw’s has managed to go completely down hill. Management has changed over many times and it just keeps getting worse and worse.
The overall surface and attitude of the store is reflected on the shelves as well as in the employees. Management needs to seriously start focusing on their employees and the quality of products on the shelves.
It’s gotten to the point that I’ll go out of my way to go to the Auburndale store instead of this one even though this is closer to me.

Slowest moving lines I’ve ever experienced at a Shaws.
It was like pulling teeth to buy cigarettes here with my lunch.
Unpleasant reception from key carrying employee who finally rang me up without apologies for delay.
It’s also not the cleanest Shaw’s location I’ve ever been to.

This Shaw’s kinda grosses me out. The few times I’ve been there I’ve never had a good experience with their produce department (okay maybe once I got a good deal on some yummy grapes). It’s dingy and small and a bit depressing actually.
Full disclosure — I grew up in Newton and when I was a kid this used to be Ames department store, which I remember as a K-​Mart type deal. It hasn’t lost that feel…
Do with it what you will, but you’re better off going to the Stop & Shop down the street.

I miss you, Shaws! Now that I am far, far away from you do I truly understand how great you were. Sure, I almost got attacked by a bunch of Canadian geese in your parking lot one spring morning, but I only have beautiful memories of you. I loved that I could always rely on you to stock Lettuce Leaf, and that at any random day of the week other than Sunday afternoons, you were nice and empty so I could roam around at my leisure without feeling stressed. I loved your Clearance section in the corner where I could find 10 year old Pureology shampoos for only $ 5! (Yeah, I’m not ashamed that I used 10 year old shampoo)
I loved that your freezer section was never too cold and your check out counters were never too long.
MIss you River Street Shaws… You were my one true gem.

I had always gone to Shaw’s while living in Brighton, but now that I live in Waltham I almost exclusively do all my grocery shopping at Hannaford’s. I only stop by Shaw’s for one thing — Dietz & Watson deli meat. Sure it’s a little pricey, but it tastes so much better than the slimy cheaper deli meat Hannaford sells. The one other benefit to Shaw’s is the self checkout lanes, which can really come in handy if you are only buying deli meat and don’t want to wait in longer lines.
Items that are on sale weekly at Shaw’s are sometimes a good deal, but in general almost every single other product from produce to milk to ice cream is cheaper at Hannafords.

I only went here because I was catching a ride with friends. I’ve always had good luck with Shaw’s in the past (always glimmering, clean, well-​stocked, etc). .. . but this one just sank that ray of sunshine.
*Clean facilities, and relatively well-​stocked. Prices are a bit higher than Hanaford (which is where I usually grab my groc).
*Standards for product = down the toilet! Every bell pepper and onion I grabbed to bag were wrinkling with age, bruised, damaged, or rotting.
*Not a single employee said «hello» or offered assistance with finding products. Apparently there is a slack dress code at this location…(unprofessional).
*At the check out, the employee accidentally hit «cash» instead of «debit» and it launched this HUGE ordeal as to how to clear it. We ended up just using the ATM and paying cash — we actually got ATTITUDE from the supervisor who was called over to help! Meanwhile, the cashier and the bagger were chatting back and forth about trivial teenage matters in inappropriate speech.
Truly the most ghetto grocery experience I have lived through to date. Will only return if absolutely desperate.

In the heart of (arguably) the most sketchy part of Waltham, there is a wonderful Shaws supermarket.
It is cheap. It is clean. They sell Maltesers. Need I say more? It’s cheaper than Hannaford, although I feel like the same items are always on sale ($ 1 shaws toaster pastries anyone?). The international section is the best part, lots of South American and UK goods. Never actually purchased produce here, but it’s never looked too disgusting.
Just be careful of the typical Waltham weirdos, one guy was wheeling himself around on an electric wheelchair making faces at people.

i will just say this — sometimes i go to shaws thinking i am saving money over going to whole foods only to wind up with at least one or two rotten things. the food is terrible and i think they should really be ashamed at how they operate. i will probably never shop there unless i need toilet paper or laundry detergent and wallgreens isnt open — i cant understand how they have stayed in business — well its probably because there really isnt anywhere else to shop besides them and whole foods

It’s a big grocery store.
It is just down the street from Russo’s, why am I here not there?
Oh yeh, it’s not a mega S&S. I guess that’s why I’m here, i don’t have to set up for a 3 month expedition to get from the veggies to the milk

While most supermarkets are nothing to write home about, I have to say this branch of Shaw’s deserves a special mention. Why? Well, first of all, they carry a whole aisle of imported goodies such as McVitie’s digestive biscuits, Aero bars, and Nestle Lion bars from the UK! I know there were a few other countries represented in this international foods aisle, but I just zone in on my favorites. I often find specialty products here that I don’t see at other supermarkets, and they have a nice «natural foods» section too.
Another plus is the baking aisle, which carries a wide variety of sprinkles, icings, cupcake liners, etc. which is sometimes frustratingly hard to find at other supermarkets. They even have parchment paper!
The entire store is pristinely clean and I usually do not have to wait more than 5 minutes for a register to check out. It’s a little weird that the store is so empty, but it does make grocery shopping a lot easier when you don’t have to dodge carts and children.