Pueblo vs. Plaza Extra

OMG!!!!!! I thought Pueblo was a thing of the past...Golden Rock????

Sorry, I should have been more specific - I meant Pueblo or Plaza Extra on St. Thomas!

Plaza Extra all the way....Pueblo is Gross!

I think both are gross.

I think both are gross.

Agree, I use Food Center.

is food center on stx?

Ditto Trade and Ronnie. I use Cost-U-Less, Marina Market and Food Center only for things that aren't dated because you can't trust them! Cheap doesn't always work... (Talking St Thomas, sammie)

my first fave is plaza extra for variety and price. i shop other places too, but between plaza and pueblo my vote goes to plaza.

Talk about gross. Plaza Extra (st. croix) has birds flying all around the store. You know they have to drop "stuff" all over the store.
Bird droppings have to bring diseases and bugs. And i wonder how so many birds are getting into Plaza???

Yes pueblo is gross as well, but i still shop there. (closer to work). I think the health dept. should be more concerned about the sanitary aspects of the stores then fining them for over pricing.

Would never "fly" in the states.

Marina Market rocks, then Cost U More...err Cost U Less....never Plaza Extra except for maybe canned goods and "international" foods.
Dont trust Plaza for frozen foods at all, or "fresh " meat for that fact..........GROSS
How is it that they can get away with selling this stuff?

Many years ago I went to Plaza Extra. It was very nice, but not on my normal shopping route. After reading posts here about it, I went back to take a second look. I agree, YUCK. I have a feeling Food Center is going to be the same in a couple of years, just hasn't gotten there yet. I don't know why it is so hard to keep a store neat and clean.

I do most of the grocery shopping in the family and don't mind Plaza Extra on StX. Wouldn't call it "gross."
Never seen the birds. Produce is usually pretty good, though occasionally you can hit it at the wrong time.
What bugs me as of late is that they can't seem to keep fresh bread on the shelves . And they keep moving things.
The trick to Plaza is to shop there Tuesday evening or Wednesday after they've restocked. Weekends: good luck.

Don't like CostULess because I don't need and can't store "food by the case."

For meats and bakery you can't beat Schooner Market on StX.

Pueblo is gross hands down, but they are one the only store I know I can get all my mexican spices. Not that they are going to be great quality.

Seen the birds at plaza all the time, but they just don't bother me, actually seeing a little nature calms me down when I can't get down the isle because people are being rude. Never had trouble buying meat at any of the stores here. I actually think the meat quality is much better here then many places we lived (overall the stores). Bread is dicy, I always look it over well in the store and then it goes straight in the fridge at home to prevent mold. I always tell newbies to avoid groceries stores on the weekends and on the first of the month, unless you have a lot of maintence and don't want everything on your list. 😉

Cost U less usually has the cheapest dog food on island, at least on stx. And with my pack I need everything in bulk. 🙂 But for us humans I don't usually buy much there. I don't want 5lbs of rice.

Schooner Market is sooooo overpriced, I tried to advoid them but thats it for the east end. They need some competition.

On STX, Pueblo is cheaper for some items, but Plaza is cheaper for others (also if you have MASA you get the 5% discount). You really need to shop around to find the best prices for the things you buy. I've finally worked out a system whereby I go to Plaza one weekend, Pueblo the next, and then Cost U Less the third weekend, for the things I need, instead of going to two or three stores in the same day. I agree with Betty, Pueblo is definitely GROSS; it smells like rotten meat and other weird smells I cannot identify. The rundown look of Pueblo is depressing too, with all the buckets and rags on the floor to catch the water falling from the leaky roof. The birds at Plaza don't bother me either but it makes me sad that they are trapped inside and can't get out.

I have seen birds in Cost U Less. No big deal.

Pricemart for steaks. Very clean in the meat department.

I get birds in my HOUSE - so I can't really complain about that.

Sometime in the next 20 years or so we'll have screened doors 🙂

Neil: I buy fruits, veggies, meats, etc at Cost-U-Less. None of those are "by the case." For cans and packaged things, I will go to Food Center.

Since World Fresh Markets took over Pueblo I shop their dairy aisle. The milk expiration dates are longer, and the prices on the dairy items I purchase are almost a buck and half less than Plaza Extra. Plaza Extra pricing has gotten way out of hand. I never shopped Pueblo but under the new ownership enjoy shopping the stores. The prices are much less than Food Center and Plaza Extra.

Not much to add here, but I think Pueblo is getting (has gotten) better since the new owners. Seems cleaner, but I still don't trust some of their dairy products. I've had the pleasure of being the the back rooms of all the grocery stores on STT. Pueblo was by far the cleanest, and I would literally gag when I walked through the back door of Plaza.

For prices, Pueblo is ridiculous, I've seen stuff in there for $6.99 that Plaza has for $4.99. I"m gonna try just shopping for the things in Pueblo that I KNOW are cheaper than Plaza.

The birds don't bother me really at all. Hey i have chickens that are my pets. I hope they can get out too.....

I wonder if the birds get into the bread and stuff. just wondering.........

Schooner is really the best store i think but the prices are alot higher. But great selection for a smaller store.

I don`t know why, but for some reason, food pricing is one of my fortes.
As far who is cheaper, i saw a "shopping cart" of food a couple months ago Pueblo was the cheapest, Food Center the highest, Plaza in the middle.
The spread was around $5 for $120 in groceries from what i remember and only $1 between 1st & 2nd!, Colluding????
But, since a price may vary wildly for a particular item, it pays to shop several stores!

Bargain shopping:
Cost-U-less puts many reduced items in the front of the store, there is almost always some reduced fruits/veggies.
Sometimes, there are reduced items in the freezers(look for the green stickers) sometimes reduced allot, or frequently, I`ll say "big deal"!

Pueblo (Long bay) has veggies reduced in the first aisle, sometimes a bargain, frequently, they are literally trying to sell their garbage.
The dairy section (which is also the new deli meat/cheese section it seems) has almost daily bargains(some of this is trash as well).
The meat section rarely has reduced items now that they got the new display coolers(this used to be my fave to score a reduced rib eye).
The reduced boxed/canned goods across from the deli counter is terrible(the large cashier, with the short hair & broad sholders who looks like a dude marks this stuff up, ERM, down, barely).

Pueblo(Crown bay) has VERY limited dairy items on the table as you enter the veggie/fruit/dairy/meat section.
They USED to mark meats down, but not anymore, as the meat manager only sells them to his Spanish friends who clog the parking lot in their gypsy cars so no one else can park(they take 4-7 spaces in a small lot a bunch of DMVers are also using).
I almost had a fight with this meat manager today BC of this.
There is SOMETIMES reduced items as you enter the shopping area.

Plaza sometimes has FAIR sales weekly(usually another "big deal" barley anything off sale).
They steeply markdown meats such as kielbasa(they remove it from it`s original DATED packaging, re-package it, & add another month or even a year!!!)
Sometimes they have great deals on pringles potato chips, or recently, choco & vanilla waffles(but who the hell wants to eat that??)
Their prices continue to climb (as does NEJEH FATHI YUSUF bank roll & home on skyline does despite WAPAs reduced prices).

Food Center has these "Special Today" stickers through out the store, usually these prices are the same as cost u less prices,many times still more, except they are nearly expired.
Occasionally, on the day of expiration, they can give you a FAIR deal.
Food Center is the KING of Relabeling, scrapping, or otherwise changing the expiration dates, I can ALWAYS find expired food here!
I usually sing "how old are you now, going through their meat dept.

"Food Center is the KING of Relabeling, scrapping, or otherwise changing the expiration dates, I can ALWAYS find expired food here!"
DITTO and AMEN.

DLCA: please come for a visit.