Even though the holiday shopping season gets off to its official start later this week, all I can think about right now is food -- or groceries, to be precise. After all, this is Thanksgiving week and for most people in the United States, it's time to roast turkey and bake pumpkin pie. It's time to go grocery shopping!
Which makes me wonder how many people will actually be doing their grocery shopping online this year? Online grocery orders are up 24% over this time last year, reports MyWebGrocer, a leading provider of online grocery Ecommerce services.
Aside from the spike in online sales, MyWebGrocer data shows there is "a split between shoppers who stick to traditional, established brands and private label. When it comes to the stuffing and pie crust, shoppers go for established brands, but choose private label for turkey."
Doing your holiday grocery shopping online is a good way to beat the crowd. But some people prefer the rush that comes from navigating your cart through treacherous terrain and elbowing in to grab the last box of stuffing mix, or to score a carton of eggnog. In my mind, this is the true beginning of the holiday season:
Get your hands off my mushrooms
before I slap you with this celery!
My favorite neighborhood grocer is Valley Farm Market in Spring Valley. The store has been in the same place since it opened in 1956 and is still run by the same family. I love to shop there -- not only because they have the best gourmet meat in town (and made shish-kabob for the carnivores at my vegan daughter's wedding), but also because it makes me feel good. They have pies from the Julian Pie Company and bread from Dudley's Bakery.
As anyone who has ever lived in San Diego knows, we make an annual pilgrimage to the mountains to "go to the snow." An important part of this tradition is a stop at Dudley's Bakery in Santa Ysabel, which is on the way up to the old gold-mining town, Julian, where you must stop to eat apple pie. After that, you go further up the mountain until you find a place to park by a patch of snow. Then after playing around for awhile, you drive back down with a snowman on the hood of your car. Every time I go into Valley Farm Market and see the Dudley's bread and Julian pies, I think about "going to the snow."
When I was growing up in San Diego, every neighborhood had a store like Valley Farm. I love the hand-painted paper signs plastered all over the front of the building, and the fact that it's just a couple doors down from a tattoo parlor and Badlands Cycle makes it even better.
Claire's Best Thanksgiving Shopping Picks
So here are my best picks for your Thanksgiving Day shopping. Each of these businesses started out as a small storefront operation that served the local community, and later expanded its footprint online.
Julian Pie Company
If you're looking for pie, the best place to go is the Julian Pie Company. They're both a retailer and wholesaler, so in addition to selling pies in their bakery and online, they also refer visitors to seventy-seven stores throughout Southern California which carry their pies. When I visited their website, I noticed that the online store was closed, so I picked up the phone to find out why. Maureen, the Ecommerce Manager, explained that they have just packed up 1,200 pies and have closed the online store until the day after Thanksgiving.
Dudley's Famous Bakery
The best place to buy bread is Dudley's Famous Bakery in Santa Ysabel. They have a Bread-of-the-Month Club that will deliver two loaves of bread per month, right to your door. You can download their bread calendar and stick on the side of your refrigerator as a reminder. They also sell bread at a discount for fundraising efforts, and like the Julian Pie Company, are also a wholesaler. Their site has a Google Store Locater map with links to seventy stores throughout Southern California that sell their bread, including Valley Farm Market.
Valley Farm Market
The best place to buy a fresh turkey is Valley Farm Market, although you should place your order in advance. They offer coupons and recipes on their site, and also let you create a shopping list. They don't actually sell groceries online, but that's OK because personally, I would rather shop in the store. And because I just registered at their site, I'm entitled to a 10% coupon.
Here's how it works:
To receive your 10% discount, after you register make a shopping list and bring it into the store. Give it to the cashier at checkout and you will receive your 10% discount!!!
I'm more of what you might call a "free-form shopper," so I never make a list unless I'm following a recipe -- which I seldom do, anyway. But I'll go ahead and make a list this time. Here's what I need to do:
- In the main menu, click Shopping List and then Create a New List.
- Click Add Items To List and enter the quantity and a description of each item you want to buy. Then choose the department from the dropdown list.
- Save your list and print.
OK, here goes: I need some cat food, so I enter 6 cans of cat food and choose Pet Department from the list. (There are only four aisles in this store, so the Pet Department is really a section in aisle two, next to the BBQ supplies.) Now what else do I need? I want a loaf of Dudley's Date Nut Bread and some tortillas. Would that still be in the Bakery Department? And I'll get some salmon from the Meat-Seafood Department. (They have great salmon.) I'm out of eggs, but do they belong in the Dairy Department? According to the Food Guide Pyramid, eggs belong in the Protein Group. But the eggs are in the same display case as the milk, so I'll leave it at that. I always get fresh produce, but I won't know what I want until I get there. I usually get green and red peppers and onions to make fajitas -- oh, that's what I forgot. Got to go back to the Meat Department and get some carne asada, and then pick up a bottle of Sangria on my way out.
So there's my list. Now all I have to do is print this out and take it to the store to get a 10% discount. By the way, this is not really my Thanksgiving shopping list, because I'm going to my sister's this year. But next year, I have Thanksgiving.
Photo by Jeff Banke / Shutterstock
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