PriceRite of Windsor

Oh, my, God. I went into this store to shop for fruit. The table of fresh berries (strawberries, raspberries, et cetera) was covered in flies. FLIES! I turned on my heel and walked determinedly to my car. I have not returned. Definitely a low rent joint. I may be white trash but I ain’t that low down.

One of the professional organizations I belong to is holding a collection drive for baby supplies and baby food for next week’s meeting. I have passed this supermarket just about every day for five years and never stopped in until today, hoping to buy some reasonably priced baby food. Well, too bad, they don’t carry baby food…
So what do they carry? A pretty big produce section, meat department, and frozen foods section. The rest of the aisles are loosely organized into product categories like cereal or international foods. Not a real big selection here, it’s a discount grocer, with more of an Aldi-​like selection than a Stop & Shop selection.
I ended up buying a box of frozen breakfast wraps (8 for $ 2.99), a Starbucks Energy Drink for $ 1.49, and a 12 ounce bottle of Goya Hot Sauce for $ 1.69. I’m not a pricing wizard, but these prices seemed OK to me. I did get charged a nickel deposit on the SBux drink, so I looked all over the can and saw no trace that it should have been a returnable, so either it was rung up in error or my eyes are getting worse.
The store was neat and clean, the aisles were spacious, and at 5:00 on a Monday it wasn’t crowded at all.
So when I checked out, the cashier asked «Do you want a bag?». I said «yes» so she put a plastic bag on the belt next to my stuff. Didn’t put my stuff in the bag, just gave me a bag, and charged me a nickel.
I have to say a word about the parking lot in this plaza. It has the absolute worst and inconsiderate drivers I have ever seen. If you like folks backing up at you 100 MPH to claim a parking spot you are almost in, accompanied by a horn serenade, this is the place. I almost got hit exiting by some inattentive or rude as*hole barreling down the aisle at a high rate of speed.
All in all, this place has too many weird things about it to make me wanna go back.

Let’s get this out of the way — Windsor is somewhat racially segregated. Above 291 it’s all suburbs and corporate headquarters and white people. Below 291 is the part that borders Hartford’s North End.
In other words, this is what people back in my homeland of The South would call a «black grocery store.» In reality it heavily caters to blacks, Puerto Ricans, Afro-​Caribbeans, and various other cultural groups which is completely pertinent to this review because the store’s stock reflects the store’s customers. And this is why I luvvvvvv Price Rite. Some highlights:
–Fresh herbs in abundance. Thyme, basil, cilantro, parsley, all at reasonable prices and all very fresh.
–Loads of citrus. You can buy lemons and limes like crazy, go to grocery chain like Stop & Shop and you might pay a buck per lemon, highway robbery incarnate.
–Mexican dairy products. I see some of these in some of the groceries but nothing like the selction I see here. Queso fresco and the like.
–Spices. Geissler’s down the street wants more than $ 3 for a tiny canister of cumin. Price Rite you can buy enough to last you a lifetime for $ 5 and the Price Rite stuff is probably better anyway.
You get the idea. The only things I don’t like is it’s sometimes hard to find what I’m looking for because their stock is variable and the checkout lines get pretty long at times. Otherwise consider me a fan.