It's About Time!!

It's about time we finally got a decent supermarket here in Bergen County!!! Yes, it's true, they finally built a brand new store, worthy of being called a "supermarket." Most of you have heard my constant complaining about the grocery stores here in New Jersey. They're terrible. The funny part is that people from NJ have no idea how bad they really are! They're used to the small, dimly lit, cavernous holes that have narrow aisles, poor selection, and NO BAGGERS! The sad thing is that I was actually getting used to them. When I first walked into a ShopRite, I wanted to cry ... now that I'm used to shopping there, it doesn't seem quite so bad. So I guess I can cut everyone here a little slack. They couldn't compare their stores to the ones I was used to in Utah. Well, now they can. Say hello to Super Stop & Shop!

Yes, I stood outside the store and took a picture with my iPhone, for the sole purpose of posting this picture to my blog. What can I say? I'm a big dork.

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So, let me tell you a little more about this store. Probably about a year ago, a large run-down shopping center was closed up and torn down in Emerson, a town that borders River Vale and Westwood. When they put up the sign that said, "Super Stop & Shop, Coming Spring 2008" I could hardly contain my excitement! I started going out of my way to drive by to watch the progress of the construction. Pathetic, right? That's how much I wanted a new grocery store! It officially opened on Friday, May 2nd. I even put it on my calendar so I wouldn't forget (like I would!). On Friday, I drove past it (it was actually on my way home from the pediatrician's office) and I couldn't believe the parking lot: Completely FULL! They had hired security guys to direct traffic! As much as I wanted to see inside, I opted to wait.
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But I couldn't wait long. The next day, Saturday, I talked to my friend Nicole on my way to take my first Strollercize class with my friend Meredith. Oh my goodness, what a workout! Meredith went to these classes by Movin' Moms after she had Timmy and said they were great, so I decided to try it. Yes, I even took pictures. The instructor thought I was completely nuts when I pulled out my camera. I think Meredith was embarrassed by me, but she's kind of getting used to it now. It was a cold and rainy Saturday morning, but we exercised our little hearts out! We pretty much worked every single muscle, to the point that I couldn't move the next two days. Man, am I out of shape! Anyway, back to my point: I talked to Nicole on my way to the class and she said she would be hitting the new store after she was done working and I said 'Perfect timing!' I called her after the class and we met at Super Stop & Shop to check it out together.

And of course, I had to pull out my camera. This picture doesn't do the store justice - it's much brighter than it looks in this shot.

Let me point out some of the cool perks of my new store: First and most important, there is a Starbucks right inside! Not a great picture of the sign, but I tried.

So, I can get my chai latte when I walk in the store and then do my grocery shopping. But where am I going to put my cup? These geniuses actually thought of that: the shopping carts have CUP HOLDERS! What a brilliant idea. The shopping carts also have another feature that really excites me. They have the rack on the bottom where you can put big items, like boxes of diapers, or my personal favorite item, a fridge pack of Coke Zero (or 2)! Those of you in Utah are probably thinking, "what do you mean it has a rack on the bottom? Don't ALL shopping carts have racks on the bottom?" The answer is NO. None of the shopping carts in NJ have racks underneath the basket, meaning your big items have to take up most of your shopping cart. It's a pain.

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Probably my favorite perk and the thing I took most for granted in Utah was BAGGERS! It's so great to finally have someone else bag my groceries. Another one I particularly liked was this one:

If you can't read this sign, it says, "Customer with Infant Parking." How cool is that? Avery was pretty excited about it:

So there you go, a long rant about how important a grocery store is in my little world. I can now be nominated for the most pathetic person on the planet. Scary enough, there's someone else who shares my elation about this new store, my friend Alexis. She's from California, so she was also frustrated when she moved here and walked into ShopRite. She called me on Sunday to tell me how wonderful her grocery shopping experience was ... but she didn't blog about it, so I'm the bigger dork :)