I t's been three weeks since you last made the trek to the supermarket. You are in dire need of the college necessities: Hot Pockets, Easy Mac, Double Stuff Oreos, Tostitos Chips and Salsa, strawberry NutriGrain bars and a 12-pack of Bud Light. Not to mention, your 2 percent milk is sour and your Honey Nut Cheerios are rock hard.
With no time to peruse the Sunday paper circulars and clip coupons, choosing a grocery store is left up to instinct and habit. And with three stores, Harris Teeter, Giant and Kroger, all within a few minutes from central Grounds, the choice is almost as potluck as choosing which gourmet meat surprise is the least hazardous at the dining halls. Or is it?
Each grocery store in Charlottesville has its own unique personal touches. Each has its own smell, its own setup, its own army of grocery gurus. And each has its own group of loyal, aisle-strolling, famished customers.
Your Neighborhood Food Market
Harris Teeter is a first year's haven, a second year's savior and a friend to third and fourth years. Students don't forget their first-ever visit to the Teeter: that scenic route the University Transit Services takes, signing up for a Very Important Customer discount card or using the U-Scan self-checkout system. Likewise, newly christened legal drinkers return time-and-again to the massive beverage aisles, even after the desire for their first official purchase of alcohol is quenched.
Those initial reminiscences, however, exist as merely the base of the loyalty University students have for their neighborhood food market.
Several factors, including appearance, product quality and prices explain why, day after day, even at the most odd hours, the parking lot in front of Harris Teeter usually is crowded.
The floors are spotless and glistening. An aroma of fresh produce and gourmet meats and cheeses welcomes shoppers. Tasteful carts add an air of decadence to the mindless pacing up and down the spacious aisles. And that's all before customers even reach the checkout point.
There, cashiers greet students with the question, "Are you a University student?" If answered correctly, results in the day's ultimate bonus, a five percent reduction of your entire bill.
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"We take great pride in our product quality and service," said Jessica Graham, corporate relations manager for Harris Teeter. "We recognize that many students are on a limited budget and we want to help our customers as best we can. The student discount is just a better way to help and serve our customers."
Students certainly seem to appreciate Harris Teeter's extra effort.
"The big advantage of Harris Teeter is that they have a student discount," third-year College student Katy Bauer said. "That's why I shop here."
In a price comparison using a college shopping list comprised of 17 identical items purchased at Harris Teeter, Kroger and Giant, Harris Teeter ended up being the most expensive ($55.45) - that is, until the student discount was deducted. Then, Teeter lead the group in pricing at $52.68, compared with Giant ($53.35) and Kroger ($54.72).
"Even if the prices are expensive, you automatically think you are going to save money when you shop at Harris Teeter because of the discount," second-year College student Nadjawa McCoy said.
Students, however, are not the only shoppers who value Harris Teeter's quality.
"The store is convenient, close to both my office and my home," Charlottesville resident Chris Smith said. "Their products are comparable to Giant and better than Kroger."
The Quality Food People
Giant Food is next on the list, further down on Route 29.
From the get-go, shoppers know they are in a different world from Harris Teeter and Barracks Road.
Located in Seminole Square, Giant's parking lot is much calmer than Teeter's. Ordinary, non-folding metal shopping carts line the front of the store. Inside, Giant's setup and cleanliness rivals Harris Teeter's. A Krispie Kreme doughnut station marks the end of one aisle. Numerous service attendants clean vigorously, and yet, there still is something missing - the presence of the University.
Students are nowhere to be found. The Cavalier flags flying high in Barracks Road conspicuously are missing in action. Is the 67-cent price increase from the comparison shop too much for students? Or is it that Giant is too far removed from Grounds?
One woman was shopping at Giant for sale items. Mary Wood was purchasing a dozen bottles of Perrier water on sale and said that other reasons attribute to the students' absence.
"I really don't like this place," Wood, a Charlottesville resident, said. "The prices here are much higher. The attitude of the employees is abysmal."
Last on the list
For many grocery store patrons, coming in far behind the others in terms of price and quality, Kroger struggles to the finish.
Located just north of Harris Teeter in the Barracks Road Shopping Center, Kroger's dark and cramped feel is a sharp contrast to Giant and Teeter's open-armed welcome.
Dirt reflects off of the dreary floors and customers' shoes stick as they walk from aisle to aisle. Like Giant, at Kroger, students are few and far between.
"Students all go to the Tweeter," Charlottesville resident Waldo Jacquith said. "You can tell who all the students are by the way they wear their baseball caps."
One reason for the students' absence is that Kroger does not offer a student discount, a fact that the company acknowledges.
"We have considered the student discount and we may do it in the future," said 1978 Commerce School graduate Archie Fralin, public relations manager for Kroger Mid-Atlantic. "At this point our position is that the Kroger card gives everyone a discount. It offers discounts to all demographic groups including students. We just have not chosen to compound that with an additional one."
But even though most students maintain that Harris Teeter is more expensive, those who do patronize Kroger have different reasons for shopping there.
"It's less expensive than Harris Teeter," third-year College student Sarah Plummer said. "This is where I shopped when I was a child, and so I still come here today because it feels like home."
All hail Harris Teeter
Despite the original prices each grocery story charges for its products, in the end, price seems to be of lesser importance compared to quality and atmosphere.
"I shop at Teeter because Kroger freaks me out," third-year College student Jess Mercer said. "That place is like a dungeon. It smells. Teeter has nice music playing and it's cleaner."
Students want the security of knowing that what they are purchasing is fresh and safe to eat. That feeling, along with a student discount, makes Harris Teeter a University student's optimal choice for a supermarket.
"The overall quality of the food at Harris Teeter is better than other places," second-year College student Stephanie Staples said. "I remember hearing something about a meat scare at Kroger."
Yet there is no denying that University students have their clear-cut favorite fare vendor - it's the Teeter by a mile, just remember to bring your student I.D.
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