Where to buy groceries?

[dawggirl]

Should we stop at St. Thomas grocery store on way to Red Hook or wait and buy groceries in St. John? If we wait, which grocery store on St. John has the best prices? Thanks!

[Gromit]

If you are renting your car on STT, then many folks shop there and bring stuff over.

If you are taking the people ferry then you are better off just waiting and shopping on STJ IMHO.

If you want a shopping experience that's closer to the one you get at home, shop at Starfish Market. Great selection of food, polished atmoshpere and prices to match.

Generally I like to shop at Pine Peace. It's tucked away and around the corner from the only gas station on island and frequented by locals.

As stated on another thread, it looks a bit sketchy to the tourist eye, but the prices are good and the selection is surprisingly good. I am always amazed at how much they cram in there. The people are nice and in the past have helped me to my car with the boatload of groceries.

We usually shop there first and anything we can't find (but still really want/need) we look for at Starfish, Lilly's Market (if staying in Coral Bay) or Dolphin (although I rarely frequent Dolphin).

That's how I roll.

[dawggirl]

Thanks so much for the info!

[Lulu76]

I have always liked Dolphin, but with the roundabout construction it was too hard to get there last time. There was a study last year I think that said Dolphin had the best prices on St. John, but it depends on what you buy.

If you are renting a car on STT and have time to shop there, you will save money. Make sure you have a cooler if you buy anything perishable (but I'm sure they sell the stryofoam ones if nothing else. You can get those ones that fold up in your suitcase too). Otherwise, just get groceries on STJ, because a special ferry trip pretty much blows out your savings.

[toni]

There is currently a coupon in the local free "pirate map" of st. John offering 10 or 20percent (can't remember which) off at dolphin market. We usually hit up pine peace because I'm not sure of the whole parking thing at dolphin though they're supposed to have a good veggie section.

[Gromit]

Dolphin partners with some villa co's and provides renters with a re-usable bag to take with them to Dolphin and will yield them 10% off anything they fit in the bag.

It seems like Dolphin has offered 10% off coupons on island for as long as I've been visiting (since the mid 1990's), which begs me to ask the question: are their prices just 10% higher than other folks?

Not sure what the answer is.

In response to repeated comlaints about the high price of goods on isand, periodically the local government's Department of Licensing and Consumer Affairs does a grocer comparison shopping report.

They go to each grocery store and buy the exact same items and add up the prices to see who is lowest. This is generally done for staples. It seems that the results can vary widely between grocery stores and between shopping trip tests.

From my recollection there is very little consistency. The only thing that is consistent is that stuff is pricey.

Barnako wrote about this story on his blog last April (he includes links to news articles): http://barnako.typepad.com/news_of_st_j ... rices.html

I can tell you that, anecdotally, I spend less at Pine Peace for the stuff I buy on vacay -- a lot less -- than I would pay at Starfish. It just depends on what you are looking for and what you want your shopping experience to be like. Dolphn just isn't as convenient IMHO.

Since we generally stay in Coral Bay these days, we start with a big stock up at Pine Peace and then we stop in at Lilly's to find anything we missed. If they don't have it, we'll head back to Starfish.

While Lilly's isn't cheap, it is convenient and they aren't as expensive as they could be IMHO.

[b-as-u-r]

I like Starfish. I like the convenience of the parking, the selection and the overall presence of the store. It's also convenient to have the Starfish liquor across the way. Just my 2 cents....... Ali~

[BeAsUR]

I second Starfish. I like it much better....and the liquor store across the "hall" makes it a one stop shop...also the drugstore upstairs from Starfish is there, too. We usually need something from there, too.

[NCSue]

I too like Starfish....but now am addicted to the little St. John Market. LOVE this place - and there is a girl that works in there that cracked me up every morning!! I totally have forgotten her name but she was so sweet. On our last day I felt like stopping in and hugging her goodbye!

[tedprosser]

The best meat & fish on STT or STJ is in walking distance of the Red Hook ferry dock, right across the street Marina Market.

Go Dawgs!!

Ted
UGA 78

[GraysonDave]

Yes, Go Dawgs!

Dave
UGA '81

[tedprosser]

Yes GraysonDave

We can teach everyone to BARK LIKE A DAWG, while shopping

Ted