NorCal Safeway still has a sandwich meal deal at $6 or $7 including a rotating sandwich (was a pita all summer that most stores could not prepare due to not having ingredients), small soda, and chips. Otherwise the sandwich is 6.99 each and the accumulation is on the app and is usually a buy 3 get 4th free (the 5.99 pre-made Boar's Head sandwiches and wraps also count toward this accumulation), resetting monthly, limit 1 free.Bagels wrote: ↑October 2nd, 2019, 12:10 am
Honestly, I don't think Kroger could replicate Publix's success. Public's deli offerings have a cult following, likely because Publix has long been known for its quality. For example, its chicken tenders rivaled Raising Cane's - hand-breaded, fresh/never frozen meat that was tossed out after X minutes (and I only write in past tense because I haven't been in a Publix in nearly a decade). Meanwhile, Kroger deep frys frozen tenders early in the day, and if they don't sell, they'll sit there until the deli closes... when they're packaged up and placed in the cold display (and now eligible for EBT). Big difference in either's approach. Kroger has tried multiple times to get into the prepared foods game, but beyond the classic deli items, it hasn't worked.
Busch's, a small chain in SE Michigan, reinvented itself in the late 1990s by investing heavily in prepared foods; several years ago, they began heavily scaling back. Their CEO told a local paper that until the Great Recession, they struggled to keep up with demand, but after the Great Recession, people stopped buying them and demand never came back. That seems to be echoed by Meijer, which started expanding its assortment of prepared foods at select locations in the mid-2000s, then removed them during the Great Recession. They tried the Subway thing (it failed), and now they're experimenting with prepared foods again (select locations). I bet it won't last.
IMO, cost fails the program. I use to be able to get a custom sandwich, side & fountain drink at Von's for $6, with every sixth free. Then it went up to $7.... then $8... then $9... now it's over $10 (no combo discount, and many Von's have removed the fountain machine), and it's like every eighth or ninth sandwich free. I can get a better, cheaper meal at a plethora of fast casual places.
Pavilions recently double-downed on prepared foods, and has an extensive hot & cold bar, but I see little action - and A LOT of food being tossed at night. Again, not surprising when you charge $12/LB (depends on the themed night, however), even when your stores are located in upscale areas.
Ultimately, I think prepared foods will be restricted to niche retailers like Whole Foods, etc.
I think hot food bars are a shrink city and Whole Foods is the only one who seems to be able to make them work. I have noticed a number of Safeway/Albertsons have even been removing the wing bar during remodels in recent months.
Kroger has been offering hand breaded fresh in store chicken tenders for the past few years. The first division I saw them at was Ralphs actually, about 5 years ago. They aren't very good usually, but once in a while some are good. Smiths is 5.99/lb so it isn't a huge risk to buy one or two. They also seem to sell quite a few. In my area every single grocer is breading chicken tenders in store fresh (Smiths, Raleys, Save Mart) except for Safeway and WinCo. All of these stores that bread chicken tenders in store, the quality of the offering is very inconsistent. Smiths I have had so many times where they flat out do not taste good (the worst are the ones from "The Chicken Co." - look good, but so salty. Raleys, despite varying results, is always pretty good. Raleys sometimes breads them like the fried chicken (which is a very crispy breading and excellent), other times uses a more thin flour like breading that can be good or can be very heavy on the black pepper. Publix, the quality of their offering is very consistent. I am not sure what Publix is doing, that enables them to be so consistent while these other chains try to do the same thing and are so inconsistent. I'm not a fan of the bland, tasteless Raising Canes product at all. But it is consistent. Consistently hot, juicy, bland, and tasteless.