Smart & Final

I own a business not far from here and stop in if I need something last minute or quickly on my way in to work but I will not try again after today. They are almost always «out of stock» for things I need and when they just so happen to have something I was looking for, the lines are extremely long and I’ve never seen more than one cashier working at a time.

I don’t know why people are hatin — Best Smart & Final in the area!
Why it’s da bomb:
— OMG, they’ve impressed the squash expert. They have squash varieties I have never tried? How is this possible. Sweet dumpling squash is my new obsession and never before seen at ANY supermarket or other location.
— Prices are so cheap
— Torani syrups galore (our actual reason for coming here)
— Open until 10 PM which is later than any other S & F in the area
— Conveniently across the street from a large shopping center with Target, Sprouts, and more
Overall, best S & F!

I used to love shopping here but in the last few months, I’ve noticed the lines are ridiculously long! There are usually 1 – 2 checkers and the line is all the way down the aisle of the store. There is nothing SMART about that! Ugh.

Store is good, but service is poor. I purchased 3 gift cars from this store and one of them stopped working after I just used 25% of the amount on that gift card. I went seeking for help and their attitude is very rude. They mentioned that they can not do anything as it says balance unavailable. Manager Katie gave a phone number to contact, but when I called that number it says only Store Associates can call. I told Katie the same, but she said that she can not call. Never ever go to the store again.

this place is not that smart but not stupid either. it’s not that final like death but it’s final enough I guess. maybe it’s just a bit too upscale for my tastes.

Always good deals here. I like the fact that you shop quickly and not have to walk 5 min to get to the other side. Only downfall is lack of meat dept. Not too much of a selection in meat. Service is decent and im usually in n out.

It’s a smart and final, not more needs to be said but I’m going to anyway. Started out more or less fine. Went with some coworkers and we’d been there before so we got the normal snacks we typically go for, chips, gum, cookies, some ice cream.
We got a lot of food, a lot a lot of food. And as I had checked into Unilocal for this place I noticed that it had been rated poorly and we should’ve heeded that warning. As we checked out the cashier and the person behind us engaged us in conversation and it was quite pleasant.
We went back and delivered the snacks to our other coworkers and supervisors, expecting the usual gratuitous remarks and praise. We got those but it soon came to our attention that the gum we got was slightly expired, about 2 years. 2 years??? Why is this even still in stock on the shelves Smart & Final? It’s causing great concern about all the other things we purchased from here. If we all get sick from expired food, then I do not think we will be the beloved coworkers who get the snack, but rather the idiot grunts who got the entire team sick.
Get your act together Smart & Final! Put the word «Smart» in your name only if you can prove it!
You get 2 stars instead of 1 only because your cashier was quite kind.

i come to shop here often because is near my home, the service is good when it is not busy. I requested many times to bring 1 gallon organic milk, they have only ½ gallon.
they have many items Savemart don’t have, but now with Sprouts and target cross street the competition becomes higher and smartfinal should improve both produce and services.

I wish this was a better Smart and Final store. Its only saving grace is that it’s the one closest to my home. Most of my comments from the previous review are still applicable. I’ve come to this store to pick up items for events, usually to find the item is not in stock, or if it is, I find the item on the top shelf that expired last month. It’s also an attractive sight to see something (like milk or soda) that spilled several hours ago, and no one has bothered to clean up the mess. This place has always reminded me of shopping at the Navy Commissary supermarket with my mom back in the decade of my youth.
Cashiers are not very friendly at this location, but I suspect it’s related to the place being understaffed. Long lines at the cashier stations are not just reserved for after 5 pm, it seems to be the norm.
Later that day, I also visited the San Jose Hillsdale store. I was quite surprised– the SJ location had a 180° difference over this place– clean, well-​stocked, and friendly cashiers. They even had a bulk food section, with a few organics. I thought I went to the wrong place.
I will continue to come here for certain items, but, there’s better options. The new Target and Sprouts across the street, are major improvements for shopping for groceries. They can beat this place for certain items, although, you won’t find industrial size goods across the street. Likewise, Smart and Final doesn’t carry organic foods. Still, Smart and Final does need to up their game.

Ewww… this Smart & Finial needs to be fixed. Probably the fact that the shopping center itself in a million years old… but this place is just run down. There is no bulk items section like the Smart & Final I go to by my moms house on Hillsdale.
I wouldn’t come back here.

First time I came thru were out of one of the sale items bit it was the day before a holiday. Came back 2dsys later and they had everything in stock I wanted. I didn’t wait more than a minute to checkout and the cashier was mice.

Produce are usually very under ripe or very over ripe when ever I seem to come in. Condiments are cheaper than chain American super markets and meats can be as well, especially when they have a deal going. If you want one of their deals however, don’t procrastinate trying to get it, they sell out quick on good deals.

This place is ALWAYS out of stock when it comes to sale items…
They also need to open more checkstands. I waited in a 10 min line to day which is not unusual

It seems like every time I check my mail, I get another circular for this chain. It’s like CostCo or Sams, but without a membership– good prices for bulk purchases. Their ads reflect this, with discounted prices when you purchase 4 of the same item, for example.
The store itself wasn’t quite what I’d expected: it’s a little cleaner than most big box stores, and they have a small fresh produce section, which I can’t always reliably have at that type of store.
But I didn’t really find too many items in obnoxiously large sizes. They were larger than usual, sure, but you could buy individual bottles of condiments instead of the giant three-​packs I see at Sams. So this does seem to be a good alternative to a membership-​only bulk store, but without the inconveniences of having to purchase everything in comically-​large sizes/​packages.
Refrigerated/​frozen food section is way in the back, and I almost didn’t see it. Pricing here was kind of hit or miss: some items I’ve seen priced better at Lucky or Safeway, but other products clearly are only available here or at other membership-​only bulk-​purchase stores (multi-​packs or extra-​large sizes of condiments, bags of shredded cheese, etc).
I was pleasantly surprised by how clean and organized the store was– it wasn’t quite as depressingly spartan as Sams/​CostCo. The customer service seemed to be a bit lacking though– my cashier was fine, but quiet. Only two lines were open and neither moved quickly, despite customers only having about five items each. Register area doesn’t have space for bagging, which leads to a huge back-​up when the previous customer has completely checked out but still has an item or two in the way, preventing the cashier from moving on to the next customer.
Worth a stop for something specific from their ad or an item you know your family will go through quickly, but I’ll stick to my regular grocery store for my usual shopping.

Good store if you need a bigger amount than usual (bulk items).
Warehouse-​type of food, beverage, picnic/​party supply items, but without the membership cost, the cavernous environment and the long lines.
I was surprised to see a couple of Buddhist Monks shopping there :-) Wish I could have stayed to see what they bought!
Great parking lot, right off of Scott and El Camino in an outdated but busy strip mall.

I’m not sure if it’s a Smart & Final thing, or just this store, but they seem to be out of anything on special, pretty much all the time. It’s a fairly small store, so easy to find your way around. I usually go in for a few specific items. I rarely leave with everything on my list. Either because they don’t carry what I need, or because they’re out of it.
yesterday, for example, I went in to get napkins and candy. simple, right? not really. turns out small candy bar assortment bags were on special. so they were out of all varieties. so much for getting candy. i found napkins though. lots of them.
parking is easy. checkout is fine, sometimes slow, never friendly.

There produce is horrible!
I bought 3 honeydews from this location,
but when i got home and cut it open to make my fruit salad,
ALL 3 honeydews leaked a nasty foul smelling brown liquid.
They were all rotted. gross.
The crew is not friendly there were men bringing out stuff from the back and i didn’t see him and he told me «YOUR in my way, you NEED to move» as i moved he walked away shaking his head at me.
THAT IS NOT OK.
I will no longer be shopping here!

This is now my second stop (after Grocery Outlet) on my housewife errand tour. I love that I can buy in bulk or regular sizes and every time I’ve been, a helpful associate has aided me in finding something on my shopping list.
No membership like Costco and you can still get bulk party supplies and serve ware. I love it!

A fusion between Costco and Safeway is the best way I can describe Smart & Final. The selection is limited compared to Safeway but considering that it is mainly items in bulk –you really don’t need a ton of selection. I purchase household items, drinks, party supplies, and even snack foods here. They have decent sales if and you shop here frequently you get a feel for when items will be on sale and can get some great bargains.
The only thing I really don’t like about this place is that their produce goes bad really quickly. I’ve tried a few times to buy fruits and veggies but they go bad before I can eat them. I’ve a huge veggie lover so this is crazy for me! It’s not because I purchase veggies in bulk because items I buy at Costco don’t go bad as fast as the ones here. Perhaps it has to do with their storage and cooling methods not being up to par.

Although I have a Costco card, Smart and Final is just easier! Less traffic, shorter lines, and closer.
I get the adds from here every week and they always have some great deals. I came here last night to pick up some good deals, to my surprise, everything was sold out! I guess I’m not the only one lovin’ that eggo waffle discount :/​
But to my luck Darlene, the cashier ensured me that there will be a delivery either Monday or Tuesday and gave me a phone number to call. She was very helpful and super nice even when I come strolling in at 9 at night! I cant say that about the guys stocking the shelves, but I guess they were busy.
Plus they accept coupons which Costco does not, which always helps a little.