Food City

There is no cheaper place to buy produce in Tucson than at Food City. 5 avocados for $ 1. 3 pounds of onions for $ 1 (not 3 onions for $ 1, 3 POUNDS), the list of ridiculous deals goes on and on. I often buy enough veggies for two weeks thinking it’s going to cost a fortune, and walk out paying $ 10. It’s really hard to spend a lot here. And the produce is GOOD. The mangos, pears, limes, peppers, you-​name-​it, are abnormally large. I don’t care why they’re large, they are so delicious!
I’ve also had fun trying new Mexican cheeses every time I go. The Mexican table cream is also to-​die-​for — more liquid than your typical sour cream, but so much more flavorful!
One thing I haven’t had great experiences with is the meat. We bought one of the family mix packs for barbecuing and it was all just OK. Same with the chicken breasts which were abnormally tough. So I’ll probably pay a bit more to get meat elsewhere. I really love the chorizo though.
Word of warning that sometimes there’s only a couple of cashier lines open so expect to wait at check-​out for a little while.
During my limited time so far in Tucson, I’ve enjoyed using Food City as an excuse to try cooking with new ingredients and taking advantage of my surroundings. It’s also just so cheap and I make special trips there just to buy produce and cheese.

Great place to eat! Reasonably priced and great selection of hot food. Separate sit down area. Menudo, posole, chile etc.
Friendly staff. You pick and pay.

I love Food City. It is by far the best place I have ever found to buy produce for the price. Just try to beat 5 lbs of onions for $ 0.99 or 3 lbs of green chiles for $ 1! They consistently run deals like this on different produce each week, but even their normal prices generally blow any other grocery store out of the water. The quality is usually good, but sometimes you have to dig around a bit.
I’m still confused as to how they’re able to make money selling things as cheaply as they do. Maybe it’s because they import a good deal of their produce.
The meat section usually is also running some good deal on chicken, steak, etc. With these deals, they usually limit the quantity you can buy, which isn’t a problem for me.
Most Food City locations I’ve visited around town don’t have the polished, clean feel of a nicer grocery store like Albertsons, but that doesn’t bother me with all the money I save. Plus, it’s like getting a little taste of vacation in Mexico, which is fun.
The benefits of shopping here for me greatly outweigh any cost (less-​than-​clean store, moderately impolite employees sometimes, etc.). I’ve noticed that the cashiers are usually pretty friendly while some of the other employees don’t really go out of their way to make you feel welcome. This doesn’t bother me either.
In addition to produce and meat, I usually look for any deals on chips, soda, and tortillas. These items are generally pretty cheap also.
To recap, I love Food City.

I was on the hunt for reasonable and good tamale corn husks. My friend said to get them at Food City. She was right! I had not visited this store since perhaps a decade ago.
I was favorably impressed with what I saw and experienced. The shopping center has been updated (it was pretty dated a while back) and inviting. I noticed that the produce looked well kept and fresh.
Not knowing where to find the husks, I asked the first employee I encountered, an Hispanic produce man. He was super kind, walking me over to the huge display of all types of corn husks (a WHOLE DISPLAY just for husks!). He kindly pointed out the best quality and also the Food City brand sale (half the price), with just one sale bag left (waiting for ME!). We chatted briefly and he made me promise to bring one of my future tamale creations back to him for a taste test.
The store is filled with Hispanic foods as well as the usual American store foods. I enjoyed looking around briefly. I have to remember to come here for some specialty items. At the check out area, I spotted a tray sporting freshly roasted green chiles. That was too much to pass up. What a treat! They roast them there. At $ 1.99/lb., I got a nice little baggie of roasted green chiles. AHHH (cost $ 2.15 for just over 1 lb. What a deal!). Those non-​spicy chiles are great with eggs, sandwiches, and nearly every dish!
I also checked out the deli for future reference. You can get an entire meal or dinner for the family here – Hispanic specialties like red or white menudo, posole, roasted chickens, tamales, etc. They also prepare breakfast burritos. Handy to know.
Upon leaving, we spotted two employees roasting up pollo asada (roasted chickens) outside (in nearly 100 degree weather) on major-​sized grilling contraptions. 2 for $ 10, all fresh and beautiful looking. I had a friendly quick chat with them. Good guys working there.
I found everyone friendly and more than helpful. What a delightful community store experience! Check it out next time you’re in the area.

One of the cleaner places around this area… cramped and crowded… but the produce is great, here. The employees act like you are bothering them, most times. How about hiring people persons?