Alfie’s No Frills

Holy. Crap.
Just had possibly the worst customer service experience to date, so bad that it is actually comical. End of the evening at No Frills, and if you’ve been here, you know stocked shelves are in fact a frill. Minimal produce, empty dairy shelves… Whatever, we know this. No big deal. But evidently, a good cashier is a frill now too!
Oh boy. After an exacto knife wielding stock boy almost took my cousins eye out, next came the craziest cashier. She was a treat. This young lady… Er… «Lady»… had a long conversation with the girl in front of me, also a No Frills employee. Ignored the person in front of her. Took FOREVER. We’re talking 10+ minutes to get through 3 people with only a couple items. Brought her phone out to show a photo. Kind of upset she didn’t share with the line though, her friends reaction really had my curiosity peaked. Gossip about boys (also interesting, I’ll give her that too). But the straw was when she threw down the F bomb. «Mother f — -er». Uhhhh what?! Girl you cray. I suspect I won’t see this unicorn cashier again, I can’t be the only one experiencing this… Right?
I’ll be back though. I love to hate this place. It’s the best because it’s truly the worst.
#NOFrills

One of the best deal in town for grocery.
Staffs are very friendly and kind too.
Only thing lacking is their selection. For their location and size of the store I think it is quite understandable.

Alfie’s is a great local low cost supermarket. They have most of what I need and offer a much better price than major supermarkets. Their sales are even better

I’ve been a fan of this location since they opened a year or so ago.
Their aisles are bright, spacious and well laid-​out. Their selection is good, much better than the location on Alma — they’re twice the size of the smaller shop.
You can park for free underground, but it can be hard to find a spot at peak times. The entrance/​exit is a bit narrow, and especially when exiting it’s very difficult to see traffic coming around either corner. Whenever possible I park on the street just outside — there are a few free spots.
I don’t think people have noticed this location as much as the others, because they are often quiet. I’ve rarely ever found more than one or two people ahead of me in line, so I’ve never had to wait long to be served. They don’t have self-​service checkouts nor do they need them. The cashiers are very efficient and Paypass certainly helps! Further, they are always well stocked in boxes to put your groceries in, which is handy. The Cambie/​Broadway NoFrills never seems to have them.
Their prices are the best. Even when not on sale, most things are affordable here. You won’t find $ 10 boxes of cereal here (I’m looking at you Safeway).

Clean & well organized. Some of the best prices in Kits. Plenty of street parking and generally friendly staff. My go-​to neighbourhood grocery store for canned goods and dry goods.

I’ve been shopping here since it opened and I’m glad it’s here on 4^th Ave. Not having a car makes it unreasonable to take a bus to any Superstore, so the location of this store, which is a much smaller version, makes good sense! You will find the ‘basics’ vs. full store, but you can find these basics at a fraction of the price compared to Safeway & IGA. The customer service on the floor is iffy, but the cashiers are great! I’ve even been refunded the difference in price on an item without any hassle, this is greatly appreciated and just another reason to keep coming back. Thank you Alfie’s on 4^th :)

I tend to favor this No Frills over other locations ’cause it’s not so busy. Basically No Frills carry the No Name and PC brands that are sold at Extra Foods & Superstore… only in one place. Instead of going through the frustration of having to look specifically for the No Name or PC Brands (generic not gourmet or black label) at Extra Foods or Superstore, it’s all in one store here. The advantage is that you get the cheapest stuff. The problem is that not all variations are kept in stock of either line, just the cheapest, which for basics is what you want. I came here for cheap snacks, bulk items that are dirt cheap (especially when baking or cooking in bulk) and for the best deal on regular white sugar for baking. Customer service seems to lack.

USA Tourist observation from an experience lasting maybe 10 minutes. I thought all grocery stores in Vancouver were of the pricier, upscale sort, until I bumbled upon this place. What is that? No Frills, bright yellow… It was a grocery store! Full of largely generic foods… I barely recognised any of the brand names, as they weren’t brand names, but I guess store brands. I could not linger, as I had to be elsewhere, but I picked up a few products here and there and everything seemed to be full of preservatives/​additives. And the «no frills» is for sure. The place is definitely uuuugly. Bright white lighting and only the absolutely necessary things like bleak gray/​white shelves and freezers. Because the prices were so low and I’m glad to know that people who have to have some where this inexpensive to get victuals. I just hope they make healthy choices, because I really didn’t see many, other than fresh produce which was priced veeeerrry low. I guess I’m a rotten snob and have grown accustomed to a nice ambience while shopping and the availability of more ‘natural’ prepared/​boxed/​canned foods. I would have loved shopping here in my early days of being on my own. You can really save while feeding yourself. Oh, and it’s really hard to get out of there if you don’t go through the lines… must have a problem with theft.

I do all my grocery shopping here, I find it is the best value in Vancouver albeit at a cost of quality, they have deals on all the time and great selection of food.

When this store opened a few months ago, management used very low prices to build traffic. Worked for us. Disappointingly however by spring 2013 most prices have been hiked & aside form loss leaders are about the same as other grocery store chains. Some «sales» are not really & things are left on such displays for weeks. Limited selection in many product categories — just enough to cover the basics. Goods nearing «best before date» are reasonably discounted but sometimes held over past expiry. Produce quality is mixed.

Some pluses with shopping at Alfie’s No Frills: loss leaders extraordinaire, clean, bright and wide aisles, free underground parking and President’s Choice products.
The produce is better here than at the No Frills in Point Grey and their produce prices are comparable to a lot of produce markets. It doesn’t carry full product lines in all of the merchandise due to the store size constraints but more than likely also due to the demographics of the people who patronize this store. As a result, you will find a lot of prepared convenience foods and not as much selection of just plain basic ingredients.
I receive their sales flyer at my home weekly and it never fails that this particular No Frills is out of one of the things on my list from the flyer. That is somewhat irritating but not a deal breaker for me.
P. S. Check out how yellow the entire store is! If the color yellow bothers you then this is not the store for you. There is either a marketing tactic being used or there was a deal at Benjamin Moore!

0.99 for rice chips! BBQ flavor? Tell me where you can get a bag for cheaper than that? No where!
Anyhoo this place is not like WF down the street, I call them WTF… meaning it won’t have the organic goodness, $ 11 chicken salad or crappy, dry cake… but it has all of the PC products which I just adore. :]

Meh. I have been meaning to check out one of these no frills locations for awhile. I had a pretty specific list I will admit, but I didn’t think I would leave empty handed. Well I did buy some cheap ziploc bags for kale chips so that’s a plus I guess.
They do have some vegan alternatives. Lots of non dairy milk, and I am pretty sure I even saw daiya in there. Buuut on the whole, this place just seems to carry a lot of processed foods. The produce didn’t look all that awesome when I was in here.
And it’s really bright. And yellow. I don’t know why exactly but I found it extremely unpleasant.
²⁵⁄₃₀

*5/​30*
Fresh foods, great quality, and unbeatable prices. They carry PC and no name products, which I love. There’s also great sales periodically to help you save even more money. Plus, the staff are great here, and they always keep the store well-​organised and clean.
Free parking is definitely a plus, but the location is great, so even on the bus or on foot it’s very accessible.
The only thing wrong with this No Frills is that the selection of dry goods is not the most extensive, especially when it comes to specialty products like gluten-​free, vegan, Asian, household etc. The exception to this is their range of Halal chicken and the odd product here and there.

I love No Frills and this location is great for me. As you may know if you have read my reviews in the past, I am cheap. Well maybe not as cheap as the extremely cheap people on the TLC show, but nevertheless, I am cheap. No Frills aids me in my endeavours to save on foods wherever I can do so. Whether it be on cheap snacks, such as popcorn for $ 1.49 or a 10 pound turkey for just under $ 10. Often, I walk to No Frills to grocery shop and carry my two or more bags. I take my own bags since they do charge you for bags. If you forget your bags, it’s all good… They have free boxes you can use. Overall, Alfie’s No Frills is on my top three list of the best grocery stores in Vancouver.
And above all, Have Fun!!!
(3÷30)

Pretty good first impression.
The pros: free underground parking, cheap prices on a lot of their stock, cool staff
The cons: they don’t take VISA, no organics (obviously), somewhat limited inventory for the more obscure food items
The A-​OKs: bought some of their produce (raspberries were cheap, but died within 12 hrs), wouldn’t think of buying the meat or chicken (too many hormones/​antibiotics for my belly), some pretty good deals on random household items (good to stock up on if needed)
The conclusion: this store will fit into our roster as a source of non-​perishable items for cheap! And maybe some time sensitive produce.

I live in the West End, but No Frills on Denman isn’t on my way home so I don’t frequent it like I now can this one on 4^th Avenue! As someone who loves a deal (doesn’t everybody?!) I was SO glad No Frills opened on 4^th Avenue, which is just two blocks from my work. I can stop in on my lunch break and pick up a few things instead of spending time stopping places on my way home from work like I used to.
I’ve gone half a dozen times in the past couple of weeks, that’s just how convenient it is. Thanks Alfie!

Quick tip: 1) If you’re driving, there is a lot of parking below in the garage (there is no signage saying which stalls you can park in, but that’s because it’s all of them. The store owns all of them). 2) This location doesn’t have a pharmacy, like some other No Frills locations.
I know I’m exposing my grocery sanctuary with this review, but people need to know this location of No Frills exists. The location is very new, only opening a few weeks ago. Since the location is so new and in a new modern building, it is super clean and bright. There is plenty of free parking below the store that can be accessed through the alley way. Additionally, right now, since not many people know about this location, it’s not overcrowded or containing picked-​over stock.
For those of you that don’t know about No Frills stores, they are part of the Loblaws/​Real Canadian Superstore Family. Thus, compared to Safeway or Save-​on Foods, the prices are usually significantly cheaper. However, even compared to Superstore, No Frills is even cheaper. For most No Frills locations, I have found the produce can be a little hit or miss in that it doesn’t look appealing or they’re completely out of the veggie or fruit I wanted. However, at Alfie’s they NEVER have been out of veggie or fruit or had unappealing produce (and I’ve gone more than half a dozen times). To add to this, this location also carries a few certified organic fruits and veggies (such as bananas, avocados and some peppers to name a few).
One thing you’ll find about Alfie’s No Frills is there is a good amount of selection compared to other No Frills, but it’s still not as diverse as other grocery store chains. As first glance there may not appear to be as much variety, but looking closely you’ll see there is, it’s just you won’t find as many large sizes (i.e. you’ll find Hot Old El Paso Salsa in small and large sizes, but no club size). With this said, you will almost always find the product you want, maybe just not the exact brand. For example, I wanted Arborio Rice to make risotto one night and they only had Unico brand (still pretty good, not being the top or low end of Arborio rice). Since No Frills is part of the Loblaw’s family, they have a lot of President’s choice products. Some may scoff at this, but frankly, I find some President’s Choice products much better than big brand name items (i.e, the President’s Choice milk chocolate chips and almond butter is better or at least as good as any other brand name you can get, while being much cheaper).
When it comes to prices on everyday items, you cannot beat Alfie’s No Frills. They strive to be cheaper than any other place and if another grocery store has a better price, even in a flyer, they will match it or beat it. So you will find some incredible cheap deals. For example, I love me some bacon. One day, to beat their competitors, Alfie’s had all cuts of Schneider’s and Maple Leaf bacon for $ 1.50. I stocked up! When I got to the register, I remembered tomato soup was on sale at Save-​on for 50 cents and pulled it up on my phone. I showed it to the cashier and she honored the cheaper price for all 4 cans of soup. However, the manager was standing right behind her and noticed me from a previous visit and told the cashier «don’t worry about the soup, let him have it no charge». I thought this was great! I know, in the long run, it’s not much of a cost to them. But for me to have 4 cans of free tomato soup to pair with some grilled cheese sandwiches later, I thought was awesome!
There is only one express check out at Alfie’s currently. I’m sure this will change as they get more clientele, but right now you’ll be hard pressed to make it out super quickly. However, even with this said, I’ve never had a big issue with super long waits at a cashier.
All-​in-​all I really like Alfie’s No Frills. You can get low prices on every grocery item you could need compared to other grocery chains. This location is clean and inviting. If you need groceries and are in the area, definitely stop on in and save yourself some cash.

This No Frills just opened up in my building. We listened to drilling all day every day for almost 3 months, so I have to say I am even more thrilled that the drilling has stopped and now it’s actually a benefit.
You see I’m an at home chef and create recipes, so while I was going crazy before, at least it’s helpful now that I can just run downstairs and get things like thyme, onions, cilantro, mushrooms, apples, lettuce whatever I’ve run out of without having to venture to Granville Island’s Public Market like I used to, quite often in the rain, to pay steep prices for basic ingredients to fill in between our stops to Costco or China Town.
It’s new, so it’s clean and things are looking good. They have almost everything I need in an emergency while cooking dinner, which is good. They have little carts and not big ones so this is easy to manœuvre around the store.
The only down side is that it is NOT fast to check out. If you go on the weekend or after 4 pm on a weekday it takes forever to check out, even if there’s only 2 – 3 people in front of you. The cashiers are all new I guess and they are slow. They also rarely use the double bagging/​boxing lanes and put everyone in the same first one.
If I could get my stuff and be back within 10 minutes to my stuff on the stove, I’d be happier, but it usually takes me 15 – 20 min to grab a few things and pay. If you go at 5 or 6 it’s even busier and not fun to wait.
Hopefully this will get better. I’m glad to use it for fill in ingredients when making my recipes. Also when they have produce on sale I buy that as well.