Shaw’s

So… this place is still open.
Apparently.
I mean, most people don’t realize it’s here; they just drive right past this entire parking lot on their way to snazzier destinations like «Eddy’s Lounge» or Oakland Beach. And the Shaws staff, I’m not so sure that THEY know that they’re still open to the public. They all just sort of ignore you and keep doing their own thing when you mistakenly walk through the door. I say mistakenly because why would someone CHOOSE to shop here? Is there something I’m missing? Is there a logical justification to spend $ 2.99 on a rotted black avocado that you could easily purchase across the street at Stop-​n-​Shop for .99cents? Or maybe instead of buying that roasting chicken for $ 1.69/lb at the other, brightly lit grocery store some 200 yards away, you choose to come to Shaws and get NO chicken at all, because after searching high and low for a chicken in what is obviously the poultry department, to no avail, you ask an employee where one might find «a chicken», or even just «chicken» in general– and what you get in return is a slightly mystified, quizzical look– as if you had just asked for some ‘Mxyzptlk trotters’. I’m actually glad– glad that there’s nothing I could conceivably want to buy here, that the prices are prohibitively expensive for the weird mix of products they Do have doting their wonky shelves, and that they’ve never heard of this so called «chicken» that I’m interested in — — –because if I DID find a grocery item that I desired, there would be no conceivable way in which to Purchase said item. Alas, there are no open registers. No cashiers on duty. Aisles 1 – 12 are closed today, and every day apparently– and guess what? No self checkout aisles either, because here at the Lakewood Shaws it’s 1993 forever! A few springs back this place was flooded in a surprise typhoon. (Thank you very much Mr. Al Gore and his global warming!) And I have a theory that it this place and everything in it died that fateful day, and this is actually a Ghost Market… haunting the murky shores of the Pawtuxet River… and luring weary shoppers to their doom…

I actually checked in so that I could write how terrible the deli service is. I normally don’t get deli stuff, but I did order things here for my family the past few weeks. Although there are only a few people in line, the wait is very long. The staff talk and carry on about their personal lives and discuss openly about everything you can imagine, it’s very awkward. At one point, the entire staff left the counter with customers still waiting and were gone for several minutes. Finally, one of the managers went back and hollered for them to go wait on customers.
I have had a very similar experience on 3 visits, so this must be normal for the deli staff.

It’s a supermarket. I’m pretty sure you know what those are.
I still go to this Shaw’s out of habit — it’s been my neighborhood supermarket for a decade. But as another reviewer pointed out, it’s a smaller, older store. In the last twenty years or so supermarkets have changed from being very large grocery stores with a meat counter to having banks (the Shaw’s used to have a Pawtucket Credit Union branch in it, but that has since relocated across the street), pharmacies, book and magazine aisles, petting zoos, and rifle ranges.
This Shaw’s doesn’t have all of that, but I don’t personally miss it. I’m pretty sure the spaghettios and peanut butter I get here is the same at the brand new Super Stop & Shop up the street. Still, my guess is that this branch will need to either modernize or close in the next few years.

Well, where do I start! Every time I visit my local Shaw’s (right down the street) they always seem to disappoint me. In the last 6 months every time I have visited I have walked out and went to Dave’s down the street. Either their Idaho potatoes are to small and bruised or their meat is not fresh.
The prices are high as well– I can not figure out why they do not have any sales. The selection is dismal at best as well, I visited today looking for steak all they had was the family packs (3 pounds +). If you are looking for a quick dinner (I go the the grocery every night) don’t bother you will walk out every time!
Don’t settle for meat that has been sitting and over-​priced, freezer burned frozen food and family packs of brown meat, look elsewhere. Stop and shop is opening across the street soon, perhaps Shaw’s will get it’s act together? Probably not

This looks like one of the older stores, on the small side and without all the new amenities of the new larger stores. Perhaps the most important problem is that the store does not have a pharmacy. Or a bank. or a salad bar. Because of it’s size, or rather lack of size it does not have the selection of product or other items that are found in the newer stores.
Not really a supermarket, just a market. It’s clean and the people there are nice but not nearly as convenient as the new much larger super stores.