Tidbits

I finally made my way inside Roche Brothers last week.  It is an additional twelve minute drive -- a direction opposite to where I generally tend, but I must admit the free coupons I received in the mail from them were incentive enough to make the trek.  The store gave me a strong sense of professionalism, if that is a word that can be used for a grocery store.  The cart attendant, cashier, and bagger were extremely friendly and courteous.  The cart attendant even carried the water bottle packs I purchased into my car.  Someone from management, or someone dressed up in a suit anyway, greeted me in the aisle where my son spilled a mango smoothie which I had just purchased at the Panera in the same plaza.  Immediately someone rolled up a mop cart and took care of the mess.

Tuesdays are double $1 coupon days.  I didn't really have a stack ready (limit is 5), as I mainly wanted to make my minimum purchase of $25 to receive my free mozarella cheese package, tuna fish can, and Poland Springs 6 pack.  But I quickly saw that Kikkoman soy sauce was on sale 2 for $3.  It is a brand I rarely get because of the price (I usually use the dollar store brand).  But, I had a $1 coupon which doubled, making each bottle 50 cents!

My cart quickly filled up with great deals.  Dasani water and orange juice were on sale.  Apples and grapes were under a dollar a pound; apple cider samples were nicely offered by the fruit stations.  By the door a complimentary booklet of recipes and coupons called Tidbits was available.  Inside was a "totally free offer" of New Grain Berry cinnamon bran muffin mix.  I couldn't find the mix, but I used a coupon on the same page for $2 off The Silver Palate Grain Berry Bran Flakes whole wheat, multi-bran cereal with high orac, "more antioxidants than blueberries, pomegranate, or red wine" and "70% less sugar, 30% less sodium, and more crunch."  It was on sale for $1.99, so it became free with the coupon.  Plus, inside the cereal box are $4 worth of coupons.

In essence, I had a great shopping trip and would highly recommend this store.  My next stop this week:  Wegman's.  The grand opening traffic last Sunday (the store was expecting 15,000- 20,000 customers on that day; some people camped out in the parking lot and some travelled from NY and MD!) completely turned me off, but I'll see if the crowd has subsided this weekend and if they offer any good tidbits for coupon moms like me.