Bales Thriftway

I have been looking for a grocery store like Bales since we moved here in August. The closest stores to me right now are Haggen (soon to become Albertson’s again) and Safeway. Both leave a lot to be desired. While they don’t carry every single item I usually buy, Bales is clean, the aisles are wide and I love the different depts. like the bakery, the deli, and the fish market. I have shopped here two Saturdays in a row –not the best day to shop– and have found it to be a pleasant experience, plus it’s never been crowded.
The fruits and veggies selection are much better than the other two stores I mentioned above and prices are more reasonable too. They also have the best selection of «Dave’s Killer Bread» varieties too, a new favorite of ours since moving here. Outside, they have a vast array of garden plants, hanging baskets, potted herbs too. Overall the employees are friendly and helpful. Bales is a 20 minute drive from me but worth it. Glad I tried it, will keep going back.

This is our go to grocery store. The produce is good. The fresh salads/​sandwiches are good. The employees are friendly and I love the post office.
The can collection area smells absolutely atrocious, though. When I was first pregnant I couldn’t step foot inside the store to do shopping even in the morning after it had been cleaned. It still smells awful, and I struggle to shop in the meat department because of how bad it is. I wish there was something they would do about the smell.

Employees at the Aloha Bale’s Thriftway are forced to wear pins that say «Make Bale’s Great Again.» After we discussed how uncomfortable this overt reference to Donald Trump’s campaign slogan made us all feel, not one or two, but three employees said they tried to do something about it, to no avail. Bale’s, I’m a long time shopper and local. I won’t be there for a long time to come, and I encourage my friends and family to do the same.

Wish I had read Stephanie W’s review prior to yesterday. I purchased a piece of bread pudding yesterday afternoon, only to find (this morning while packing my lunch) the bottom of the cake was completely covered with mold. I took photos and tried sending an email but received an error saying the email is no longer active. My workplace doesn’t allow personal phone calls, they’re not accepting emails, so I guess I’m out $ 5. Lesson learned.

First time I went to Bales I got a pint of Jerry’s ice cream. Took it home and later that night open up to serious frost bite. Inedible frost bite. Threw it away figured it was a fluke, it happens sometimes. Went back the second time about a month or so later. Husband picked up a mini cake from the showcase they have at the bakery. Cake had mold inside the different layers of cake, green mold and the meat was bad, smelled terrible once we opened the package to cut the meat. The one star is for the customer service, everyone is really friendly there and they have an exceptional little floral boutique and a post office with a usable copy and printer.

This particular Thriftway is pretty close to my house, so I have shopped there for many years, less over the past few years as we mostly shop at New Seasons and Natural Grocers. We stop by on occasion and actually managed to find an organic, free range chicken there last week which was surprising.
It is dated and probably needs to be updated, but I don’t see that happening any time soon. They have had the same cashiers there for as long as I can remember, so that is a plus, nice to see the same faces around.
They have pretty decent selection of most things, their deli pretty much sucks, we stopped buying anything from them years ago, They do carry live Lobster most of the time.
The parking lot is large and there are always plenty of spaces available.
One thing they do carry which I get a slice for my birthday every year is a a Caramel Cake, it is outstanding. I have no idea what they put in that sucker but it is one of the most delicious cakes I have ever eaten! (they don’t always have it available)
Overall it is meh.
Small update: I purchased 3 crabs from them and they were fresh, sweet and delicious!

This place is so expensive compared to other grocery stores right down the street… but I love that the staff is consistently friendly and the lines are always short… Which is worth the extra money to me when I’m in a hurry.

Staff are super friendly here. Selection wise its ok, its not fresh has the price would suggest. For the price, you would think its a new seasons! Décor is outdated, floors look original and badly needs replacing. People here makes you feel like its the walmart of markets. A huge bonus here is the post office inside, beats going to the branch on 185^th. Come here if you need to pick up an few items, if not, drive half a mile to albertsons

This is a very friendly country store. Is very personable and I enjoy shopping there. I especially enjoy the Tuesday senior discount day.

After seeing and tasting many cakes a bridal show we decided on Bales Thriftway. Amanda didn’t disappoint! Cake was beautiful and just what we ordered. Had several guest mention how good the cake was. Delivered and set up perfectly. Thanks for a job well done!

This is the second time we have ordered a cake from Bales Thriftway and the second time we have been completely disappointed.
1^st time: I asked for a Pink and green «Congrats its a girl!» cake w/​a picture of a baby carriage.
Actual: neon pink and green trim with a BABY CARROT… an actual frosting drawn baby carrot. That is not a joke. The cake decorator was not in and we had to wait for her. I was throwing this shower at a park, I was late, the cake looked ridiculous and I told everyone I knew so they would not suffer.
2^nd time: Fast forward 1 year and my friend orders a 1^st birthday cake… The same friend I threw the shower for. She asks me to pick up the cake and smash cake… I walk in, ask to pick up the cake s and they didn’t see the smash cake order on the ticket. No smash cake. They ask if I can wait… I obviously didn’t have a choice. The actual cake décor looked like a 10 yo did it. Stripes and polka-​dots. The stripes were uneven in width and placed unevenly around the cake, the second tier was not in the center, it looked as if somebody just plopped it down. So hear I am again, late with an inadequate cake and thrown together smash cake. Smh.

This grocery store is great for specific things — great wine selection, high quality meats, good hot rotisserie chicken, and an amazing bakery!
Not so good if you need anything like toilet paper, Ziploc baggies, cleaning products, canned goods, sauces/​condiments — they are way overpriced.
Produce is hit and miss, I have had amazing strawberries from them but also been disappointed in freshness of other items there.

Thriftway use to be known as the ‘upscale’ grocery store in the area, now it’s just run down with homeless looking people loitering out front and the produce isn’t fresh. I ran out of onions for a recipe last night and I ran to Thriftway to get some, I should have just gone to Albertsons down the street. The bag of onions I got had a rotted onion in it. I wanted some apples for my lunch, but every single apple I could see had bruises. For the prices they want, they’re not worth it, the only reasonable thing they had was oranges on sale.

I usually shop here purely out of convenience since it’s closest to the house. However, I’ve noticed on more than one occasion, Thriftway stock EXPIRED food. I’m not talking about a few days or a couple weeks, but almost 1 year expired! I recently picked up a dried veggie package from their produce area, went home and had one and gagged. Checked the date and it expired December 2013!!! WTF??? If I got extremely sick they would be liable. Who the hell stocks that stuff unless they didn’t think consumers would notice. When I returned the item, the cashier made a lame excuse and didn’t seem to be overly concerned.

Update: dropped in to Thriftway yesterday and saw that the lights are ON in the freezer cases! So much easier to see and looks better too — the freezer cases are in a corner of the store, and without light they looked kind of neglected. Now it’s bright and inviting.

I ordered a birthday cake (freshly made) from the bakery, for my daughter, and it was perfect! It was cute, tasty, and inexpensive. I was pleasantly surprised and everyone thought it was adorable. It was the perfect size too, no leftover cake!

This place would be about 2 stars, but I give them an extra star just because of their bakery. Sounds crazy, but I like their bakery better than some of the «real» (as in not a part of grocery, but a stand-​alone, you know?) bakeries around the town.
Their cakes are very decent — I’ve gotten a cake from here about once a year for several years and they all have been consistently nice — my definition of a «nice» cake would be moist, not-​too sweet, chocolate (ganache or not) tasting like chocolate, and not fondant covered (fondant = yuck).
If not for a cake, I go to this store only when they have a killer deal (on butter, paper towel or whatever) and I only buy those items on sale because I find their prices to be ridiculously high (it’s like going to Walmart and finding Whole Foods price).

Ive been shopping here for years, but think Im pretty much done unless I have to for some reason. Its been getting uglier and uglier every time I go there. The trash outside and the growing number of street kids milling around, sitting and smoking on they sidewalk is a complete turn off. They lock the entrances so you must use the middle entrance at a certain time of night. I can only guess its a security thing due to the number of street kids outside skateboarding up and down their sidewalks. I can t walk past their meat department because it smells terrible.

Ok, this is my neighborhood grocery store — but it’s still great. I’ve been coming here since 1995. Good produce section. A very decent wine and beer selection. The butcher in the afternoons is always very friendly and helpful when I’m not quite sure which way to go. He is always great with suggestions.

I come here mostly for the Starbucks inside the store, since it’s the closest ‘Bucks to my house. They’ve never messed up my drink, and their baristas are friendly — my only gripe is that they’re not set up to accept Starbucks Rewards benefits (the free syrups/​soy/​free coffee refills).
I run into the grocery section only when I need to grab something really quick — their prices are higher than other grocery stores. The place is clean, their selection is pretty good, and the checkouts are fast and friendly. I’ve picked up snacks from the deli, not bad. Their wine selection is pretty decent, and they carry a lot of local wines; something that makes me happy. I don’t come here with my weekly grocery list, but I appreciate that it’s here when I need something fast!