Hopey & Co

Great store
Lots of help today picking out craft beers in your store
Friendly staff
I had a terrible experience this past weekend at another store trying to pick out craft beers but this store was so helpful and great prices
Great selection of gluten free products as well

This place formally known as Amazing Savings used to be just that (Amazing…with lots of savings) but now has become an overpriced, ill-​stocked grocery store. It really in unfortunate. The idea of the place is great-​overstocked or expired food at a decent price… but it has become a place to buy overstocked or expired food at normal or higher-​than-​average price. For example, last week when I went, they have expired ‘snap pea crisps’ for $ 1.99 whereas at Ingles, for normal priced fresh they were $ 1.80. The produce is overpriced as well, as are many other items. Cheeses are always a great buy there though and the staff is always really friendly and that is great…

I went back to Hopey after about a year-​long absence, and I was just saddened by what I found. All of the interesting/​cheap/​recently expired stuff was replaced with a lackluster assortment of house brand bulk items in inconvenient packaging. Something about the whole experience just felt «off». Prices were high – almost like shopping at a «nice» place, and for what? Flickering tube lights, Muzak slow jams, and no fun.
I take back everything I said about this place being awesome. It’s perfectly good for ducking in and buying a bag full of bulk cornstarch, but that’s about as far as I’m willing to go today.

I have been a LONG time shopper at all 3 locations. I have watched the prices go up and the quality NOT go up. If I am going to buy items near their expiration date I expect the product to be at a close out price. If I want to pay $ 5 for peanut butter, I will get it with a fresh date! The produce is as expensive or more than Ingles and the quality is poor. I got some Wasabi Green Tea oil at Go-​Grocery for $ 1.00. At Hopey it was $ 3. The Black Mountain Hopey store had Lundburg Organic sushi rice for $ 1.99 /​LB and at the S French Broad location it was $ 2.99. I still go there, but I buy a LOT less! If they want to keep their customer base they need to be a LOT less greedy and pay more attention to quality. There are other discount stores that have better prices. GO-​Grocery, Dickys, U-​Can-​Save (in Clyde), that have much better pricing.

A month ago a review from me would have gotten five stars… I’m not sure what’s going on now. The staff is still lovely and helpful as ever, but it appears that the business owners are getting too big for their britches. They appear to care way more about appearance and less about the environment and local community. What happened to recycling the boxes instead of those awful plastic bags?! Last week I put up a flyer and it was torn down.

I just visited the Sweeten Creek location yesterday after not having gone to Amazing Savings for a while. I was surprised that the prices have risen significantly. I got a reasonable deal on some cheese but that’s about it. I stopped by Ingles after my visit here to pick up some things that A.S. didn’t have, and was a little dismayed that most Ingles prices were the same or better. Same for the recent sale circular from Earthfare. Too bad, I really enjoyed shopping there.

Hopey & Co (formerly known as Amazing Savings) has become one of my favorite places to shop.
It’s not on my weekly shopping route, but I do like to stop by at least once or twice a month to see what sort of interesting treats they have to offer.
I’m trying to figure out how to best describe the wonderful world that Hopey & Co is. It’s essentially a discount food store. They get items that other stores have discontinued, or may expire sooner than they would sell. That being said, there’s still class and choice in what they offer, which gives the place almost a health store vibe.
Yesterday I walked in, grabbed three containers of spices for $ 2 a pop, some random sauces including some delightful tomato chutney, a six-​pack of beer, and a bottle of champagne (from Champagne, not sparkling wine). When I got to the register and was told my total I wanted to give everyone else in line a high five.
This place is completely underrated, and may have a stigma to battle against. Til everyone else catches on I am more than happy to take complete advantage of this righteous spot.

What??? I’m the first review??? Really? Idiots! This place is a crazy little market… in a crazy downtown flea market-​like place… With a great coffee shop (see Hi-​fi) nearby. Lots of local and organic foods… local jams… Great beer selection for a place like this. Great produce.
Hidden gem… really!