Three of America’s Worst Supermarkets are in New Jersey

Over 105 years ago, the first Supermarket in the United States was opened in Memphis, Tennesse.

After the first Piggly Wiggly was opened in 1916, the style of the store where customers pick their own groceries grew in popularity over the next few decades.  But it was British Royalty that advanced Supermarkets into pop culture.

Two decades after the first Kroger and Safeway stores opened in New York City, Queen Elizabeth and Prince Phillip famously visited a supermarket in Maryland in 1957.  The Queen of England told US President Dwight Eisenhower she was curious about these American supermarkets, and of course, the media reported all about her surprise visit.

Today, there are over 300,000 Supermarket locations around the United States and they have become the primary grocery shopping destination for many Americans.

The website Solitaired went through thousands of Google Reviews and Grocery Store Review websites to find out what are the best and worst Supermarket Chains in the United States.

On the list of the 10 Worst Major Grocery Store Chains, there are three located in New Jersey.

The Worst Grocery Stores in New Jersey

*ACME: 70 Locations in New Jersey, Ranked 6th Worst Supermarket Chain
ACME was once the gold standard of Supermarkets in the Northeast. However, after ownership changed hands multiple times over the last 30 years, the once ultra-popular supermarket had trouble keeping up with its competition.

Today, ACME's prices and grocery options target customers in the upper-middle-class economic bracket.  Many locations have outpriced the working-class people that used to be the primary customer base.  Decades ago, lower to middle-income customers were the staple of their business but not anymore.

*Walmart: 60 Locations in New Jersey, Ranked 4th Worst Supermarket Chain
The most convenient supermarket is also the most controversial of the major supermarket chain stores.  While most of the grocery items and name-brand products are less expensive than other stores, Walmart has received many poor reviews for their Fruits and Vegetables.

Also, their company's generic brand, Great Value, does not consistently offer a quality alternative to the name brands.  So you either compromise quality to save money or you have to buy the name brands.

*Save-A-Lot: 12 Locations in New Jersey, Ranked 2nd Worst Supermarket Chain
The Supermarket equivalent of a Dollar Store, Save-A-Lot is infamous for having numerous knock-off brands on their shelves. Instead of "Dr. Pepper", they sell "Dr. Pop" and they sell Lecour's Finest Cream Betweens instead of Nabisco's Oreos.

Numerous poor reviews for Save-A-Lot complain about poor-quality grocery items and customers are unhappy with their customer service.

Another side effect of going Grocery Shopping at Supermarkets is the odd behavior you can encounter.

The biggest grocery store pet peeves.