Cooper’s Supervalu

A very typical medium-​sized grocery store. It smells and looks pretty much like Cub Foods. I usually wait for the bus in here but I have bought some to go items a few times. The service is good, they spark up convos and actually want to talk with you. A lot of conventional choices in the produce section and many isles for processed foods. They have a cute card section in the front right where you walk in.

Cooper’s is… interesting.
Good:
— low prices
— friendly employees
— interesting items, which always surprises me given it’s a small store
— always have the staples in stock, with exceptions noted below
— never a long wait to check out
— never seen it crowded in the aisles, comfortable shopping experience
Bad:
— produce. Holy crap. I have no idea why board of health (or whoever should regulate, I don’t know how that stuff works)… why are they allowed to even have a produce department? I’ve shopped here weekly for about nine months. I have never seen «nothing moldy» in produce. On the best days, there’s just some produce that’s moldy. I mean, squishy avocados with little flies sitting on them; carrots with sprouts coming out of them and dark portions. *Also* I usually see expired stuff for the prepackaged kind. Yesterday (9÷28÷15) I saw several boxes of the pricey cleaned baby spinach that expired on 9÷20÷15. I could go on a long time, but the produce is the worst thing I’ve ever seen in grocery or food services in my 41 years of life, and I have absolutely no idea what this is legal.
— miscellaneous items will be expired on the shelves. This is not about produce. When you pick up a box of cereal, just check the expiration date. Canned soup, frozen dinners… things you think of as lasting forever — just check the dates. They’re probably not expired, but usually at least one item I pick up to buy has expired. Yesterday I also encountered some yogurt that had expired a few weeks ago. Plenty had *not* expired, and I bought it, and it’s fine… but you need to check dates. I can’t stress this enough.
— related to the above, they have a table in the back of «discounted» merchandise” which is mostly expired foods. I’m new to Minnesota, so I am not certain, but in other states I know that it is not legal to sell expired food. A store can discount if a product nears its expiration date, but not past it.
BOTTOM LINE: I continue to shop there weekly because it is convenient to my home, good prices, comfortable shopping experience. I have to go to another store for produce, and to check expiration dates on every single item before buying it.

I made this my primary grocery store after constantly finding that target was out of stock in something I buy regularly. Cooper’s always had that same item in stock, and the price was even better.
For the most part, Cooper’s has what I’m looking for and it comes at a fair price. Produce can be hit and miss. It seems that their bagged lettuce turns really quickly, so I’ve avoided that. I’ve never had any issues with their onions, cucumbers or bell peppers.
Despite the outdated look, things are usually sell stocked and organized. The staff members have always been friendly and helpful.
I love how quickly I can get my shopping done here.

This place continues to disappoint me. I ran in here tonight to grab some ingredients for a quick dinner. Many vegetables I saw on the shelf had mold on them already. The salad in salad bags were already wilting, with expiration dates of today or tomorrow. I would not even eat many of the food in the produce section because they are so past their prime. Honestly, if you must stop here, play it safe and buy only boxed meals. I live in the neighborhood, and Cooper’s is a constant disappointment. I cannot wait for it to be turned down and redeveloped into apartments and a new grocery store!
P. S. — I am giving Cooper’s one star because I’m not allowed to give zero stars…

We stopped here to stock up our hotel fridge. There are places that I have been where it didn’t feel right. And this part of town is one of them. And we were here in broad day light. No offense to this store chain, but the area seems pretty sketchy.

This is your basic 1970’s era grocery store with people who have probably been working there since the beginning.
They have a really odd selection of ethnic canned foods that must be geared towards the large collection of apartment buildings across the street. I tend to stay away from the veggies due to a few nasty ones like my mushy onions in a bag and my pre-​sprouted garlic.
My son likes to play «This Doesn’t Belong in the Isle» which was started when we found apples sitting in the dairy isle and some salsa tucked in with the chicken breasts.
If you typically buy your bananas at gas stations, this will be a step up. Otherwise, stick to things that are sealed.

Coopers has that small town grocery store feel to it that I grew up with living in Iowa. The large selection makes it my go to stop on the way home from work if I need a couple items. Some of their prices can be a little on the high side. 2 12 packs of Mt. Dew for $ 8.88 is not really a deal in my opinion; however, if you really look, you can some deals.
The people watching at this store is rather incredible. Case in point, my last visit involved waiting in line behind a guy that was scratching off his scratch off tickets while talking to himself. There is a good mix of young and old customers alike at this store.
Overall, I would definitely come here if I just needed one or two items, but I will save my big list for one of the larger grocery stores with better prices.

Prett standard grocery store, super dumpy strip mall. Really close to the MSP airport, it’s right along MN-​5/​West 7^th Street. It’s across the street from some of the cheapest housing in St. Paul.
They’ve got anything you’d want in a grocery store. Just got some new credit card machines (before you had to sign on a carbon copy receipt).
Interestingly, they just dropped the ‘SuperValu’ in their name, so it’s only called Cooper’s Foods now. Not sure the back story on that.

Cooper’s is a classic «Mark 1, Mod 0» grocery store. There’s no post office, gift shop, personal shopping assistance, sushi bar, natural beauty products, etc. In other words, this isn’t Lunds or Whole Foods. Instead, in addition to three pleasant and unexpected surprises, what you will find here is a wholly competent and reasonably stocked basic grocery store.
Unexpected surprise number one: The Aisle of Bargains.
There is an aisle next to the produce section that features an ever-​changing and unpredictable mix of products marked way way down. Sometimes you’ll find something you need – or didn’t know you needed – here so it’s always worth a look.
Unexpected surprise number two: really good sale prices.
I have been tracking grocery prices at the stores where I shop, so I can spot bargains when I see them. Cooper’s always has a few bargains in store. Last time I shopped, I found paper towel and toilet paper at prices significantly less than Costco.
(Bonus tidbit: Cooper’s propensity for unexpected bargains is apparently shared by the wholly basic and serviceable liquor store next door, where the other day they were selling a well known brand of Zinfandel for less than the Trader Joe’s extra good price.)
Unexpected surprise number three: Help with the groceries.
Even though this is a totally basic grocery store, they will still carry your purchases out to the car for you.
I think the three unexpected surprises bump the total rating to four stars.

It’s fine. This is your regular old crappy grocery store. Don’t expect to find anything too healthy here. I actually only shop here when I am baking/​cooking something and realized I am out of lemon juice or tuna or something. The cool thing is they are open until midnight.