This Week's Minnesota Supermarket Trip Report

[MineralMan]

I've skipped a couple of these, because things had settled down, with everyone masked up and being careful about distancing. That hasn't changed, but I've now had my first shot of the Moderna vaccine. So have over half of all seniors over 65 here in Minnesota. I was glad to see everyone still maintaining their safety precautions, despite having been vaccinated.

Since I shop early on Saturday morning, the store is full of elders, primarily, trying to get in before the weekend rush. I saw nobody without a mask again this week.

I had a busy morning. I had to deposit a couple of checks at the bank, go to the post office to drop off some outgoing mail that has to do with my parents' estate, and then do my week's worth of shopping. However, while I was at the supermarket, my smart phone vibrated and issued a tone that indicated that I had a text message. I figured it was my wife, telling me to pick up "just one more thing" at the store. That happens most weeks on my shopping trip.

Nope. It was a prescription refill notification. Since my pharmacy is in my supermarket, that text saved me a trip, which is a good thing. Now, if my bank and the post office were in the same store...kind of like the old general store that pretty much did everything...I could have saved two other trips. There is a bank in my supermarket, but it's not my bank. There is also a USPS mailbox outside of the market's entrance, but there is no Saturday pickup at that box. You can buy stamps, however, at any check-out register. So, maybe there's hope.

Perhaps that's an idea for the future, as well. There used to be a supermarket chain near me, Byerly's, that did have a post office counter, a bank, a pharmacy, and all the supermarket essentials. Sadly, it was an upscale supermarket with prices about 10% higher for most items. It closed a few years ago. I'd like to see that concept become the future form of the places we go to do those chores. Everything in one place. A "Hypermart" like I once visited in France, which had all those things and more.

[madaboutharry]

1. Hyvee has a post office counter, a bank, a pharmacy, and a dry cleaning drop off/pick up.

I don’t find Hyvee all that great. I haven’t been in there since last March because they had a “wear a mask if you feel like it” policy. That could have changed. Most businesses are very strict now, regardless of our moronic governor.

[MineralMan]

3. There's a new Hyvee opening up soon that will be closer

to my home than the Cub supermarket I use now. I've been to Hyvee a few times. It's OK, I suppose, but it has much narrower aisles than my current market, which is annoying.

Still, I'll give this new one a try, once it opens. If the bank is my bank and it has a postal counter and a pharmacy, I'll probably switch. However, I'll have to learn the new store's layout, and I hate doing that. I have a regular route through my familiar supermarket that speeds up my trip significantly. If I switch, I'll have to change my shopping pattern. That's not a big deal, of course, but is just one more thing that keeps me going to the same store week after week.

[madaboutharry]

6. If it is brand new, it is going to be really nice.

We have a new one near me and it reminds me of a "California" kind of market.

[MineralMan]

7. Yup. The new building for it is progressing quickly.

[niyad]

2. Glad that everyone was masked, and that you did not have to make an extra trip. My

supermarket used to have a bank, and a postal drop box. The bank an postal drop are no longer there. But it does sell stamps, certain bills can be paid there, and we do have a "Little Clinic", which is doing vaccines.

The Safeway has a Wells Fargo, which I dislike almost more than I do Safeway.

[Siwsan]

4. One of the supermarkets I use (Meijer) has a bank, and it's my bank but...................

I only shop there during the 'vulnerable shopper's hour' and that's way earlier than the bank's hours.

I know they shut down those branches, for a while. Not sure if they are open, yet. Fortunately, my needs to physically visit a bank are now few and far between.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

5. Did Byerly's close down entirely?

I loved them when we lived in Minneapolis, in the early 80s. I seem to remember they, or at least one location, had a restaurant inside, or am I wrong?