Very interesting that you mentioned that because in San Diego the VONS deli, in my opinion, was never as strong as Ralphs. One thing I find about Ralphs is they tend to be hyperlocal in their offerings. The downtown SD store has less variety in lunchmeat and cheese, but better prepared foods and sandwiches. The prepared foods require heating, though. Hillcrest (a Fresh Fare) and Mission Valley have excellent lunchmeat and cheese selections and both offer made-in-the-store sushi. Fewer options in sandwiches and prepared foods, though. Sports Arena Blvd has an average deli, which seems to be tailored to the neighborhood.storewanderer wrote:...10 years ago I would have said Safeway has a much better deli program than Kroger. The problem is Safeway has stayed the same and Kroger has made a lot of upgrades (Boar's Head, greatly expanded cheese, addition of baked seasoned and bbq seasoned chicken by the piece, addition of cold chinese food, etc.).
Since the Albertsons acquisition, the VONS deli has greatly improved. I hope it stays that way.