Smart & Final

Smart & Finals’ keep springing up around and there’s certainly nothing wrong with that, given they are keeping things competitive with other markets. I stopped in this location after lunch to pick up a few items from the produce department for my Memorial Day BBQ.
I picked up some asparagus after getting some useful cooking tips from one of the nice employees. I also picked up a couple of Hass avocados for .99 each, given I can not go a day without eating one practically. They had a very good organic section were I found some fresh green beans and cherry tomatoes.
One of the ladies, who was stoking the produce section was very helpful and had a good sense of humor. I wish I could remember her name for a proper shout out. She made my shopping experience that much more enjoyable.
A great place to stock up and produce and such.

This store has become my go to place if I don’t want to run to Costco to grab items. Smart & Final offers bulk items at almost the same prices as Costco or Sam’s Club. However they have more locations around San Diego.
There selection is not as large as Costco. The store is small, however packed with a ton of items. Smart & Final also offers some weekly specials that are a pretty good deal. I have been able to get ribs, pork loin, fresh fruits and other items at really good prices when they have them on sale.
The parking lot is small but okay. There are other businesses in the same complex, a check cashing place, a bar, pawn shop, Mexican restaurant, liquor store, laundromat and a Japanese restaurant.
The staff is friendly at the cash registers. The lines seems to move fairly quick, which I always appreciate.

This store has everything! I wish I had one closer to my house. They have amazing prices. And the associate Lauren went beyond my expectations by helping me trying to find chocolate zico water and climbing up the scary ladder. And when they called her on the intercoms she came to rescue to help the rest of the staff. She is a 5 star employee.

great price, great selection. The cashiers are very friendly. I have been this place just a few times and plan to shop more over there.

great prices, easy access to parking lot. Check out lines are fast and the staff is courteous. Smart and final is a great place to shop on certain items. Everything is easy to find and i really enjoy going there.

Great alternative for big-​box sizes if you don’t have a Costco membership!
I recently had to purchase snacks, drinks and beer for an annual work event and at the last minute couldn’t make it to Costco with my friend who has a membership. «Family size» wasn’t going to cut it – I needed big box sizes.
I bought items identical to ones I had bought last year for the same event and felt the prices were basically the same (with a few exceptions). Also it was good to be in a small store versus the giant warehouse of Costco which wastes a lot of time.
Here is what I bought at this Smart and Final last week:
–Pack of 36 100% Adam and Eve juice boxes
–Pack of 30 8-​ounce Crystal Geyser water bottles
–Pack of 50 1-​ounce Frito-​Lay assorted chips (three combinations were available)
–24 pack of Corona Lite bottles
–24 pack of Blue Moon bottles
–From the bakery, 30 pack of mini muffins
–Pack of 60 regular size Nature Valley granola bars
–Pack of 42 mini fruit snack pouches
–Three 12-​pack of 12-​ounce Coca-​Cola brand sodas
–Pack of 30(?) assorted Nabisco cookie pouches (Nutter Butter, Oreo, Ritz, etc); this was the only thing that seemed a little pricier than Costco

If you don’t have a Costco card but still want to buy in bulk, then come here. Prices are almost identical.
This is the perfect place to buy food & drinks for your large family or for that next party.
There’s plenty of parking and the lines are never too long.

This place is LITERALLY for the DOGS! I don’t appreciate dog hair with my groceries!!!
Don’t get me wrong. I love dogs. I just don’t want them in my grocery store. Three times in the last year, there have been dogs in the store and these were NOT service dogs. The first time, I complained to the cashier and he told me that he doesn’t like them either but his manager won’t do anything about it. After the second incidence, the manager said he would handle it but did nothing. I contacted the headquarters after each of those times and they said that they would talk to the managers after I threatened to contact the health department and I have to say that it’s been really good for the last 6 – 8 months. Then today, there was a guy who brought a puppy in the store, who was literally dragging his puppy through the store by the leash. I talked to 3 employees and they said that they don’t like it either but, even though it clearly wasn’t a service dog and there was no identifying vest, the employees weren’t allowed to even ask if it’s a service dog because it might «offend the dog owner.» I didn’t believe it so I talked to the manager and she confirmed that they can’t do anything about it.
Please keep in mind that I totally understand about service pets and I would be the first one to allow and defend anyone with a legitimate service dog. But this store is so into allowing any animal in, legitimate or not, into the store. This is truly a disservice to the legitimate service dog owners. I guess this means I can bring my pet cat into the store? Or if I had a pet monkey, could I bring that in too?
So people, feel free to bring your pets, any pets, into this store because they won’t do a darn thing about it. But don’t complain when you get dog fur in your food, fleas or, even worse, dog bites. This store clearly doesn’t care about 99.9% of its customers but they’ll defend any pet owner for bringing their pet in the store. (Legitimate service dog owners are absolutely immune from this report.)

Smart & Final has changed over the years. It used to be more like a restaurant supply store (cups, lids, cleaning supplies, bulk candy, chips) and now is becoming a bit more like a mainstream supermarket. It still has restaurant supplies but now I find it a bit more user friendly and it matches my needs more frequently — kale salads, high quality chorizo at better prices than my go to supermarket.

Bad cashier, good manager.
I normally don’t go to Smart & Final stores, but a friend is a regular customer. She invited me to accompanied her while she bought a few things. At the register we noticed that only one was open (it was around 11am) with a relatively big line. While we approached to the line an attendant called a sir who was the last in the line and started to help him on another register; we asked if she was opening and she said no and we proceeded to the big line; less than a minute later she opened the register and started helping a lady. I then went to her and asked why she said she was closed when she was not. She mumbled that she had just opened and that could help us if we wanted and I refused and stayed at the bigger line, the sir behind us was as upset as we were. When it was our turn I asked the cashier helping us if the manager was present and she indicated me a sir. I told him my experience and the attendant approached us while we talked, he told her to go back to work, apologized profusely and told me that he would take care of the situation. I don’t know what he did or did not after we left, but I want to people to know my experience.

Since ive finally moved closer to one of these, theyve been competing with my business to costco. They have on special pork shoulder for .99 cents a pound, even if costco were cheaper im only a block away from this one. They are always stocked and have most of the things that i typically pick up in bulk, suck as meats, rice and household items.

ive gotten boneless skinless chicken breast family packs here for cheap ($ 1.87/lb) on more than one occasion via looking thru the weekly ads. im a fan.
picking up 4 of 5 packs for about $ 20 is all i really care about, but other than that this store doesnt try very hard… its rundown and dirty. but i don’t come in for a spa treatment.

Great selection and great prices for groceries and supplies. I come here quite often. This place is great for in between costco trips or people with out costco memberships. You can get small portion sizes than costco too. NO COLD BEER.

Smart N Final is a great alternative to the membership stores where you don’t have to pay for a yearly membership. The products are high quality and fresh and well-​organized. They just completed a remodel and realignment of the floor plan to be in line with the rest of the company. It’s a lot brighter and wider aisles which makes shopping a pleasure. The cleaning supplies are wonderful and often the larger quantity makes for a value buy! Come in and check out the Grand ReOpening and you want be disappointed!!!

I am all about Costco… but you can’t get Torani Syrups at Costco… so this is my spot. The selection vary’s greatly at different S & F“s…this one has a good selection and it is a quick stop, right off the 805 freeway…
don’t go after dark though… it’s a bit ghetto.

I love Smart & Final. The only reason not 5 stars is because the neighborhood is gross late at night. Probably the run off from Peter D’s a few doors down…
Anyhow, I am a water snob, and I like Evian. I used to be able to buy in bulk from Price Club… errrr Costco, (aging myself here) but they stopped selling Evian, and I stopped buying it in bulk. That said, I found it here in the Case boxes, and it’s cheap. Once I started coming once a month or so, I started to buy snack stuff in bulk for my kids lunches. Now it is on my errand list and I come by to stock up on everything from said water, to cleaning supplies.
I recognize a worker or two from theri old PB store. I think they are helpful enough. I like that one no longer needs to have a card to shop here and get the «discount». I also think this is a great place to buy for parties.

Octomom should know about Smart and Final. But I bet she doesn’t.
More often than not, I only come in here cuz clairmont mesa rd is a pit of despair when looking for a goddamn ATM that’s not supersketch inside a bodega. But at Smart and final, you can get cash back.
So not only do I not pay a 3 dollar ATM fee and have my identity stolen, I also get a MASSIVE loaf of bread! Huzzah!
Btw Smart and Final has a totally surprisingly badass restaurant supply section. They have a pot that you could literally cook a toddler in, if that’s your kinda thang.

We try to go to Smart and Final for almost all of our groceries. For laundry detergent, soap, etc. Target is cheaper so we go there for that.
A nice store, the staff is pretty friendly if you need help with anything or can’t reach an item that is not on the shelf because of a rush.

WOW! If I’m ever laid off from my job or end up with a large family I can’t afford to feed, I’m totally coming here for food supplies.
The Über Boss gave me a corporate budget of $ 100ish to feed about 75ish coworkers people for Cinco De Mayo. Normally I would rely on Good Ol’ Walmart, but I think Walmart just got served!
Smart and Final is a great place to serve unhealthy food to people you don’t really care about… in this case, about 95% of my coworkers! This include the hot girls who are also real bitches. You know who you are…
4-​Pound Bags of Tortilla Chips: $ 3.79…I bought 6
7-​pound Can of Nacho Cheese: $ 5.99…I bought 2
64oz jugs of generic salsa: $ 3.89…I bought 4
64oz jars of jalepenos: $ 2.39…I bought 2
500 paper plates: $ 5.99…only 1 pack
2oz plastic salsa cups: $ 3.79…2 packs
16oz bottle of Tapatio: $.099…only 1
16oz bottle of ??? Hot Sauce: $ 0.89…only 1
This generic stuff is packed with sodium, saturated fats, transfats, and artificial flavors… but so what, its cheap and its probably gonna taste good! And I’m personally probably not going to have any…
Best of all… they sell 16-​pack boxes of White Castle for only $ 9.79…I am so coming back.
Why only 3 Stars? Well… this place kinda gives me the creeps!

If you know me, you know that I’m a ginormous Chargers fan. I bleed blue and gold… and a good Sunday tailgate in my world is akin to an eight year old celebrating Christmas. But, imagine if that little tot got to celebrate Christmas 10 times a year in Mission Valley surrounded by drunks and nachos! How stoked would that kid be?
Smart and Final is our go-​to headquarters for everything tailgate. They have all the crap that you remember eating at your middle school cafeteria, and lots of it! Since we roll with a crew of at least 20 people for our tailgate parties, myself and a few others are on nacho duty, while others are on BBQ patrol. We get all the nacho cheesy goods at one stop, Smart and Final.
79 gallon tub of artery-​clogging queso? Check.
Bags of chips that resemble the sleeve of a wizard? Check.
Enough jalapenos to ignite a 3 alarm fire? Check.
Of course, their speciality isn’t necessarily nachos (even though the concept of a nacho-​centric business model makes me giggle), they’ve got everything to make a party kick ass.
Next time you’re gathering the troops for a sweet Bar Mitzvah. a two year old’s birthday party or, of course, a tailgate party… hit this place up for all of yer fiesta goodies.