Southern Belle in Training

Fashion, Travel & Lifestyle Blog || Est. 2012 || Virginia Beach, VA

July 3, 2018

Grocery Store Wars: Harris Teeter.

     Let's head back to the grocery store! If you're new to my Grocery Store Wars posts, since moving to Virginia in March I've been trying to visit all of the different grocery store chains in Charlottesville, and figure out which one(s) best meets my grocery needs for my single, 20-something lifestyle. Grocery Store Wars picks back up again today on the blog- with a store that I'm very familiar with, Harris Teeter!

Grocery Store Wars: Harris Teeter



     Harris Teeter - Fast Facts



     *History and Locations: Founded in 1960 in North Carolina. Currently operating 230 grocery stores and 14 fuel centers in Delaware, Maryland, Washington DC, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Florida. Headquarters located in Matthews, NC (suburb of Charlotte). Harris Teeter stores were acquired by Kroger in 2013, but they maintain their own store brands and headquarters.


     *Known for: Having practically a grocery monopoly in many areas of the Charlotte, NC metro area (no- really!).


     *Rewards program: Harris Teeter VIC (Very Important Customer) card program. There are regular VIC exclusive deals in all store departments.


     *My prior knowledge: Um... very familiar! Harris Teeter is the most popular grocery chain in Charlotte by a landslide. All of the stores around Charlotte have a totally different feel to them depending on the neighborhood. South Park Harris Teeter is HUGE, the Providence Road one is very swanky and is a two story store with a wine bar, the Park Road Shopping Center one is small and has a neighborhood grocery store feel, the Plaza Midwood one has a unique design and is known as the "Taj Ma-Teeter".... etc, and that's just a few of them that I remember! A lot of my college memories have to do with Harris Teeter. This was not my favorite grocery store when I was in college, but until Publix South End opened my junior year, I didn't have a lot of other options near my school!


      *Word on the street: Differing from Charlotte, in Charlottesville Harris Teeter doesn't seem to be as popular. Most people I have met shop at Wegman's, and those that don't are Kroger shoppers. Something very weird... this area has both Harris Teeter and Kroger, even though Kroger owns Harris Teeter! The Harris Teeter that I went to for taking photos for this blog post actually has a Kroger store at the other end of the shopping plaza... weird right?



     Harris Teeter - My Shopping Experience




     This is the only store for my Grocery Wars series that I didn't buy a full week's worth of groceries at for writing this post! I am very familiar with shopping at Harris Teeter from living in Charlotte for over four years, so I just went in to check out the Charlottesville one and take pictures for this post. But I did end up finding a few things, as you'll see! Back when I lived in Charlotte, I shopped at Harris Teeter mostly just for convenience. When I lived in South Charlotte for my last year there, I shopped more at Food Lion and Publix, since I was finally in a part of town that had other grocery options.


     Let's start as always with the produce department! The Harris Teeter I went to check out had a pretty large produce department, but I did notice that prices on some items (like fresh herbs and fruit) were a bit higher than I've been finding at other grocery stores. And of course a note on the cheese department- this Harris Teeter had a pretty nice cheese selection. Still not as big as the Wegman's one, but larger than some of the Krogers that I've shopped in here.




    This Harris Teeter was pretty large, and had long and roomy grocery aisles. I think that Harris Teeter stores are pretty easy to shop in, and things are generally organized well. (Some of the other grocery stores that I've visited for my Grocery Wars series have had me confused on where to find certain pantry items in the store!)




     One recommendation that I do have for you if you every shop at Harris Teeter- they have a line of their house brand ice creams called HT Traders that are delicious! And they happened to be on sale for VIC card holders the day I was there. Even though I lived in the home of Ben & Jerry's last year, I definitely missed these while in Vermont.




     This Harris Teeter had a pretty nice wine selection!! Not too surprising I guess since Charlottesville is such a big area for wines. I didn't get a picture of this, but this location also has a wine and beer bar in the store, similar to some of their Charlotte locations.




    While I do think Harris Teeter's prices are more expensive in general as far as grocery stores go, sometimes they do have really great specials for VIC card members. On the day I took the photos for this post, shredded cheese was on sale! I stocked up because this is something I use all the time when cooking (and just for eating- lol!).




     One thing that I am not crazy about is the bakery at Harris Teeter. I think that their cakes and other baked goods taste a bit artificial, and like you can tell they're from a grocery store bakery (if that makes sense). Maybe the bakery has had a huge revamp from when I lived in Charlotte... but I speaking from my years there that I'm not crazy about the Harris Teeter baked goods!


     Something that most Harris Teeters are great about (Charlottesville included) is having a great number of self checkout aisles. Most of the Vermont grocery stores didn't have self checkout (one literally got it right as I moved!), so it's nice to be near stores again that have this feature.





      Harris Teeter - Final Thoughts 



     If I was ever feeling sentimental for my college years and that season of life- Harris Teeter is probably the first place I would head! Grocery shopping there is so engrained with my memories from that time in life. However- for doing weekly groceries here in Charlottesville? This probably won't be my first or second choice. Although some of the weekly VIC card deals are pretty great, in general Harris Teeter's prices on most grocery items tend to be higher than other stores. There is so much variety with grocery stores in Charlottesville, so I have no need to make this my number one pick. I have found since moving that I prefer their parent company, Kroger, to Harris Teeter.



     Check out past Grocery Wars posts:




     No Midweek Ramblings post tomorrow in honor of July 4th, but I will talk to y'all on Thursday! Hoping that you enjoy your holiday.



      God Bless,



      xoxo Annaliese



   



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12 comments

  1. I've never even heard of Harris Teeter, but maybe that's because I'm all the way out on the west coast. This post really makes me miss bigger grocery stores though, the one here in Seattle feels tiny!

    xo
    Sami
    The Classic Brunette

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  2. There are at least four Harris Teeter's around me – but I barely go to them! haha - But I guess that's just me! I like them, but I go to Whole Foods or Wegmans more often! I think this is such a cool series to do. I don't know a lot of other bloggers talking about groceries - and it is such a fun thing (at least for me) since it's all about food!

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  3. I honestly have never ever heard of harris teeter before, We for sure don't have them here in Canada. but I away try and shop local. I tend to go to farmer markets!

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  4. I've never been to a harris teeter! I do like Kroger's though! And those wide aisles are nice lol

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  5. Dpes Harris Teeter offer coupons or coupons that you can stack?

    xoxo
    Shi Hui | IreviewUread
    ireviewuread.com

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  6. I started going to Harris Teeter when I moved to NC before they opened a Publix in my area. It every much reminds of it Publix.

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  7. How cool! I’ve never heard of this grocery chain before!

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  8. We don't have Harris Teeter or Kroger around here, but it looks/sounds very similar to Albertson's! They are a bit pricier, but are typically less crowded which is nice.

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  9. I've never heard of this grocery store! It looks awesome

    Xo Mindy
    amixofmin.com

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  10. I like Harris Teeter fine but it's definitely not Wegman's which is my absolute favorite. Still, their stores are really big and usually well-stocked which I like too.

    xo Deborah
    Coffee, Prose, and Pretty Clothes

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  11. This is actually a really good idea! Trying out the various grocery stores to find the right fit.

    I've never heard of Harris Teeter. Those spacious aisles, though... I feel like they should be a requirement for all grocery stores!

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