Market Basket in Ashland can be a more economical alternative to grocery shopping since Stop&Shop and Shaw’s are pretty pricey. I have a system for my grocery shopping:
Dry, canned and frozen goods – Trader Joe’s
Specialty treats or harder to find food -Whole Foods
Produce and misc cupboard staples – Market Basket
My mom is a huge fan of Market Basket and will always say how much cheaper the food is there BUT, I don’t think it’s the bargain she hypes it up to be. I actually found a few items to be cheaper at Whole Foods so they’re not always the cheapest but like I said I think they’re worth going to for the produce.
Another part of my system is that I like to go Sunday morning right when they open, it’s such a pleasant experience.
I start at right side entrance and make a counter-clockwise journey starting in the dairy section and ending in the bakery.
Ending in the bakery is my favorite part because the smell of freshly made donuts is intoxicating, like how Dunkin Donuts used to smell when they actually made the donuts in the store. I think this is the closest to a small, local donut shop as we’ll get in the metrowest area. But if anyone has other suggestions for donut places, please let me know.
My routine is to just stand at the donut case for a minute or two and inhale.
I’ve never actually had one of them, it’s really enough to just look and smell, this is what serisouly gest me out of bed at 6:45am on a Sunday. I can’t even imagine how many calories they have but I will break down someday and try one because I know they must taste amazing.
A closer look at these beauties:
8 responses so far ↓
1 Rev. Bob Baril // Apr 12, 2008 at 3:14 pm
We use Market Basket in Ashland for the bulk of our grocery shopping. I think Stop & Shop is a much cleaner store but I’m in agreement with your Mom that a shopper can do REALLY well at Market Basket.
The Market Basket deli is pretty good. A negative is that milk products bought from Market Basket tend to go bad fast because they leave them on pallets at room temp. for hours on end…. Board of Health please take notice.
I also start at the right and work my way to the left when I’m doing the shopping. Several months ago they changed some of the aisles around (which nobody from our family liked because it used to be we could have gone through that place blindfolded- we knew it that well!)
Michelle, you’re right about getting in there EARLY in the day. We like to shop first thing on Saturday. In the afternoon it’s SO crowded it’s not enjoyable at all.
2 erinb // Apr 14, 2008 at 10:20 am
that was a whole row of maple glazed donuts, wasn’t it! god i love living in new england.
3 Susie // Apr 17, 2008 at 11:41 am
I tried looking for a website for Market Basket but didn’t find one. Is there one? Being able to view sales flyers online is hugely helpful.
4 Bau // Apr 21, 2008 at 12:01 pm
Good to Know about the donuts, that crap that D&D sells now is awfull.
Just don’t go there when the government mails out checks, It will take an hour to check out!
5 Tim // Apr 25, 2008 at 8:08 am
Hey Michelle, I was the produce manager at this Market Basket until about 2 weeks ago (I got transfered to a new store we are opening up in Reading.) Thanks for the comments on the produce!! We have extreme turnover, to the tune of 8 full tractor-trailers a week, so it is always fresh. As for someone who commented on the dairy being at room temperature for “hours on end” — simply not true.
6 nostalgio // Jun 19, 2008 at 11:44 pm
Just another inane reminiscence from Nostalgio here…
I remember when this place used to be Romeo’s grocery store. During the 1980s it seemed half the Ashland High School worked there at one time or another as a clerk, cashier, or bagger.
7 Ron // Jun 9, 2010 at 6:22 pm
Although these posts are old and the odds that anyone might read mine are slim, let me say that Market Basket is cheaper on a good selection of products, but like ALL stores, they aren’t on everything. It’s impossible to be the lowest at everything. People shop at Market Basket for the service, selection and overall presentation of the company from the appearance of the aisles, floors, product and it’s employees, most of which are high schoolers who really don’t care for wearing white shirts, ties, or having a lack of facial hair and being allowed to have piercings(male) or multiple piercings(female) to go along with most everything else. Still, the stores with managers who are serious about their position make it a point to bring in and bring out the best help they can find in the area and hope that the department managers and full-time associates can meld the part-timers to be better people.
The stores are regularly inspected by health inspectors and contrary to popular belief, Milk is not left on pallets in room temperature rooms. They are brought into coolers that have temperatures ranging from 28- 35 degrees and are kept that way until they are brought out into the aisles. The aisles are well refrigerated as most of you can attest when you walk in on a warm day, to maintain the quality of the dairy, deli and meat products.
I can’t say how each store is compared to the next, since I haven’t been into all 64(as of May 2010), but I can tell you just how important the company takes care of it’s associates and how highly they value each and every person who shops there.
8 valerie // Jun 18, 2010 at 8:00 am
I think that it is great that Market Basket hires teenagers in high school, whether people agree or not to their own personal sense of style, having a job while you’re young gives them more oppertunities in the future and teaches them responsibility.
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