Shoppers Food Warehouse

Didn’t find the specialty health foods I was looking for. The prices were fair and it looked like it carried most of the main stream items. Nothing too impressive about this place.

Everytime I come into the store, I dread the experience. Every time I need to check out the process is so slow and tedious. They have too few staff here and they definitely need help. You could see that all the workers are exhausted based on the sad looks on their faces. Nobody ever smiles and they just look like robots that have been working all day. Not their fault, they just need more help

I’m not going to repeat what Robb M. said below but he is on target! This Shopper at least reminds me of a business that doesn’t care and they known that for the immediate area they are the only game in the area! The last time I was there I said no more even when they had their whole EYE Round for under $ 3 LBS – it was not worth it. By the way I live across the Giant in the Fox Mill area and at times its just as bad. I personally stopped going there but my kids like the convenience and this is where they got you and I will not be taken in. I have my kids take me to either Harris Teeters, Wegman’s or the Giant in North because I’m handicap. I really hate when they spend my money at either Shoppers or the FOX Mill Giant!

The best thing about shoppers is if you need donuts they have some of the best in the country huge donuts they’re made their they’re fresh I’m for about $ 5 you can get an amazing dozen of donuts that puts the competition to shame. The next best thing is the vegetable and fruit fresh produce department is always nice and neat and they offer a wide selection

There are few things I hate more than giving a crappy rating on Unilocal,but dammit man, sometimes it can’t be avoided.
I assure you, if I didn’t live a five-​minute walk away from Shoppers, I wouldn’t set foot in there unless it was someone else’s lifeless, severed foot I was tossing in as a horrific prank.
There are pictures, but I’ll paint you a word picture as well: limp greens and savagely bruised tomatoes and fruit in the produce department. Dried out food in the hot buffet, and it’s all usually mislabeled. They time stamp their hot whole chickens, which is nice, but I often see them with a morning stamp in the evening.
The bakery is pretty generic, but I will say they sell the biggest doughnuts and fritters around, and they’re all pretty yummy. That said, they’re very, very often mislabeled. (I eat more doughnuts than I care to admit — trust me when I say they’re mislabeled.)
There is no butcher, and the meat department is pretty basic. There is an «ethnic» aisle, which houses Asian, Indian, Mexican, and Italian food. A lot of the selection there is standard fare (tortillas, rice, queso fresco), but there are some more unique and fun items (like Spanish chorizo pizza, yum!), especially in the freezer.
***Note: As of the writing of this review, there have been two buckets of chitterlings in the meat department freezer case with cracked open lids for at LEAST 4 DAYS!!!***
The center store (grocery term) selection is pretty standard; often cluttered and visually unappealing, but nothing disproportionately offensive to the senses.
The dairy case is, again, standard, as are the frozen aisles. The frozen dessert aisle, though, does offer a very nasty frost problem. Ice cream is, at any given time, covered in a thick layer/​s of frost, a sign that the freezer is not working properly or not being well maintained (or both). I don’t know about you, but I’d like to know that the store I’m buying food from maintains the health of their freezer, and therefore the health of their food.
The beer & wine section is actually fairly impressive for the size of the store.
I haven’t used the pharmacy, but it seems to be fairly small and intimate, but I’ve never seen more than one or two people there at a time, so it’s not exactly a booming counter.
Aside from all the issues with quality (and potentially health) issues regarding food, there’s the customer service issues.
On the high note, when I’m in with my boys, we get a lot of the little «hi’s» and things people give little kids. After that, it’s mostly downhill.
I have never once been asked if I need help. Well, ok, you can say that about lots of stores, but two wrongs, et al. There is also a tendency (I’d say to keep costs low, but their costs aren’t low) to keep only the self-​check lanes open during slower parts of the day. This is a good idea in theory, but they hesitate too much to open a checkstand when there are customers with full carts. More importantly, it is up to the paying customer to decide which is more convenient, the self-​check or the cashier.
I was going through early one morning and they had only the self-​check lanes open. I had a dozen or so items, but also had two kids in a stroller and didn’t have time, hands, or space to conveniently to self-​check. I asked the «overseer» of the self-​check lines if someone could check me out in a lane, and she said no, but that she could check me out.
At her little island.
With no counter.
And no bags.
What ended up happening was a strange POS nightmare that saw an employee using a self-​check register to help me, thereby slowing me down, keeping her from helping anyone else, slowing people behind me down, and costing the company a wee bit more than is they had just taken a few minutes to open a checkstand to bust out a few customers.
I live a few minutes’ walk from this store, and I hate that fact. I often load up and walk or drive to the next closest store a mile away rather than go here, but sometimes I need to be there and back ASAP.
Honestly, I’d like to give a one-​star review, but if you want to go into a place and buy groceries, well, they deliver on that expectation. There are a lot of things they do wrong, and as a restaurant/​grocery insider, I consider some of them (like high potential for food poisoning) to be fairly offensive.
But if you’re running in for a box of Kraft and a sixer of Pabst, you probably won’t give a hoot.

This Shoppers never ceases to disappoint me!!! I now to go Food Lion up the street which is awesome but if I can’t make during my break I run to Shoppers. 2 days ago I ran there JUST for tomatoes. I get there and all… I mean literally ALL the tomatoes, all kinds of tomatoes are rotten or on the verge of it. Needless to say I didn’t get my tomatoes and was very disappointed. This place just doesn’t care at all, they either need new management or to be closed down!!!

When I first moved to herndon, I had no idea that shoppers was a low end place to shop at.
First, if you like cooking with fresh spices, cream, or fresh fruits and veggies, avoid shoppers. If they ever have something you need on stock, it’s probably about to go bad. Organic doesn’t exist there. I bought an apple that was shiny for 10 weeks. Like, really?!
Second, always watch the expiration date. I bought products in the fresh section on ⁸⁄₃₀ and realized once I got home that they were expired since ⁷⁄₁₉. Unacceptable ! Once you get there and try to exchange it, of course they do give you a refund BUT are mad about it and won’t apologize. I took the manager to the section, we looked at the products and the WHOLE section was expired for minimum a month. And they leave it there saying… «well, we will take care of it».
I talked to a few people about it and everyone said it’s normal there, happens all the time.
If you go to shoppers, go for canned food. That’s the only good thing. Low prices on canned, almost unexpirable goods.

DONUTS. Is it a secret? I don’t know… But SFW has the best donuts. They have cronuts! And the donuts here are raised yeast donuts, not cake donuts, although they do have cake donuts too, if that’s what you’re into. Seriously, if you haven’t been to SFW for donuts. Go. Go now!

I (along with many others who go here) have been going to this place only because of the convenience of location. Never been a great fan of this place but it used to work for me as it was closer to home and work. More recently this place has gotten worse. I recently had a very bad experience purchasing a gift card. I honestly had no idea that if you bought gift cards in stores you cannot return them but having said that I asked the person at the counter if I could and I said if you are not sure, I might as well not buy it. She said you can return it anytime within 15 days with a receipt. I came back within 3 days with the receipt and they were not taking it back. I asked for the manager and she was very rude as well. The person who told me that I could return it lied to my face and said I never told you that you can return it. I am never going back there unless really needed.

Some really good stuff. Prices are reasonable and donuts are excellent. Try them out.

This place is far worse than it could have been. I have been to many Shoppers in DC area this one is most likley the worst. Custmoer service is very poor

I don’t go there often, I’ve found other grocery stores in area with better quality of food and look better.
Today, however seals the deal of me never going back. I went in to pick up a RedBox movie and thought I would also pick up some snacks. Got to the self checkout and witnessed a mouse scurry across the aisle to the other side. I gasped audibly for all to hear «There’s a mouse!» I couldn’t bare the thought of how really dirty this store is to have mice. I left immediately.
I then called the manager and told of this situation and he advised «we’ve got it under control and have put down a trap.» Ok that’s nice, I’m still not coming back. There are much cleaner stores in the area.

Worst place ever. Been here three times and each time takes no less than 30 min to check out. Employees just stand around. Wish there was something else around. Annoying as hell.

I have to agree with most of the reviewers, this is one of the WORST Shoppers Food Warehouses in the area, consistently.
Never has there been a time when I’ve gone there in the past 2 years, where the vegetable produce was well stocked and fresh, store clean, or more than 2 cashiers working the cash register.
I’ve purchased fruits and veggies from there, only to get home, to find them rotten and not edible within 48hours. Just yesterday I went to purchase fresh ginger root, only to find every piece coved and mold and the vegetables wilted once again.
I dare not eat from their salad or fresh food bar. It looks like infestation ready to jump on you. The store would be a great movie prop for a market in a 3^rd world country
that’s just how gross it is.
Most days I will bypass this store to drive over to the Sterling location, where the prices are consistent, store is clean and produce is always fresh and well stocked.

This place is awful. So unorganized. During peak time there’s only one cashier and one person tending to self check out counters.

Store was very clean and well organized. Staff was very friendly and helpful. The store has a welcoming feel and the prices are excellent. I used to dread shopping here but over the past year or so I have noticed some nice changes.
I love coming here so much. It’s like that old show cheers, you know, where every one knows your name. I know that as soon as I walk through that door and start heading into the produce section that I am going to be greeted by the produce guy. I’ve had the exact conversation with him for several years now, it’s like that movie ground hog day. «Hello. How you doing today?». He’s the best.
The donuts there are HUGE!!! Way better than Krispy Kreme or Dunkin Donuts.
They used to have a problem with long lines at the check out but lately there are enough cashiers to satisfy the amount of foot traffic coming through their store.
There used to be this crackhead that hung out in the store all the time. She was pretty scary. Always yelling at other customers and treating the staff poorly. I haven’t seen her there in quite a while though.
Good job to the staff for cleaning up the store and kicking out the riff raff.

First, nearly all the carts, around 90% conservatively, need work. At least one wheel on each is flat or broken. Management has refused for years to ignore this problem.
Second, it is very hard to find a cashier without having to ask for one. And then good luck not getting attitude or the feeling that you are inconveniencing someone for asking them to do their job.
Third, don’t bother talking, asking or suggesting anything to an employee. They will shake you off then say, «It’s not my job. Management.»
Fourth, many food items like bread and eggs are most likely bad on the shelf. Went one night to find eggs that had been expired for two weeks. Bread molded within a day of purchase. Milk with a funky taste. I doubt the cold boxes are maintaining a proper temperature.
Fifth, shelves are incorrectly marked and prices are often different for the same product.
Sixth, inventory folks like to block aisles for their inventory cart rather than move them to one side or the other.

I’ve been shopping at this location for over 15 years. I have noticed a great change in store conditions over the last 6 months. The store is so much easier to navigate. Freshness, quality and the prices have improved. Check out speed has improved greatly. I will never shop anywhere else!’

Worst grocery store I’ve EVER been to in my life. The parking is absolutely horrible and the idiots driving around the parking lot don’t do anyone any favors.
The selection of foods is actually pretty good, but, if you want anything fresh, go somewhere else. The meat and produce are not of high quality.
The checkout lines are always a disaster, and the employee are completely apathetic and rude many times. No customers here speak English, so they are totally dumbfounded when the self checkout computer goes through basic language prompts, which causes all lines in the store to be unbearable.
Get it together management because the situation is awful. Of course I’m sure they don’t read Unilocal because that would mean they’re actually doing their job.

Layout’s very single-​track, you’re kinda forced through the «fresh» sections before you can easily access the rest of the store. Seasonal musts are clustered by the entrance, and I almost always have to double back to the deli counter because I forget it’s tucked to the left before the produce section ends. Average beer selection. Clean aisles, friendly staff, and it’s stocked with my favorite household essentials, but ready-​to-​turn produce like most other chains. Got a temporary house infestation of fruit flies after I bought some potted basil, which quickly taught me a lesson about buying kitchen herbs from generic grocery stores. I liked that they had some of the less unpopular offal available, but I mostly stuck with gizzards & hearts to supplement my drumstick staple. Wasn’t too impressed by their pork chops so ended up going to Costco for loins after that.
Two and a half stars, I suppose. Parking lot layout is pretty lame since it gets congested at the exit onto Sunrise Valley, but I liked that it was within walking distance of my dad’s ex-girlfriend’s old place. Great coupon deals every year or so, but honestly barely worth browsing unless you’re doing a discount run.