Theories on price differences Plaza West vs Plaza East STX?

I've become a big fan of Plaza Extra East. I think their selection and prices are better. May not be as fancy but they get my business. Not to mention they are very close to Cost U Less making it a one trip shop!

I also prefer Plaza East. Also feels laid out better to me.

They are owned by the same family. The Plazas are operated by brothers. Another brother runs the one in STT (to my knowledge).
I like Plaza West for all the bulk food. But I can't find frozen edamame in Dora the Explorer packaging there 🙁

I did, however, find the molasses after months of looking. I asked a guy in the baking supplies section and he said they didn't have any, and he didn't look too thoughtful about my remarks on the irony of a Caribbean island not having molasses. Another employee overheard us and sent me to the jam section. Oh!

Are the stores in STX clean & well-kept? I don't like the one here in STT. It's not that old but seems run down & 3rd world.

Trade... I'd say they are dated, but clean. Plaza West is pretty new and could be argued that they have a better variety of stuff. Plaza East is my favorite but I know my way around there pretty well after all these years. ( I do a once every 3 months or so run out to West). I also have (can't believe I'm saying this but) started shopping more at Pueblo. They've renovated some and still have more to do... but ... their produce section is getting better all the time and they have some great deals on steaks... and the steaks are good! I got T-Bone's there for 5.99 a pound about a week ago. Shhh.... don't tell everyone. 🙂 I think the new owners are doing a great job. BUT... do watch prices, even recently I've had to correct them on prices ringing up higher than advertised.

Food Town is my go to store for anything odd that I can't find in Plaza . I really like the owner and almost always can find what I need there.

The weird think about shopping for groceries on the islands... is you can not possibly go to just one store. A grocery run for me always means a stop at Cost U Less for chicken, produce, and a few bulk items... then over to Plaza for my normal shopping list... and usually then a scavenger hunt run to Food Town or Schooner or the road stands to find that item I just couldn't find at my first two stops. Its an all day adventure! 🙂

limetime your right about the hunt
i was looking for frozen lemonade and some berries and i think i went to about 4-5 stores before i had everything i needed.

For what it's worth we could never find everything we wanted at a single grocery store stateside either. We could typically get 95-98% of what we want at one chain and had to get the missing items at another. I think the difference here is that we can typically only find about 85% at our first choice store and the remaining 10-12% of the items have to be found at another store of the same chain (STX) and or Cost-U-Less with the remaining 3 - 5% not being readily available on island on a given week (but keep checking and you'll typically find it somewhere sometime.)