Sudbury Farms

Comfortable and friendly and a lot of cheese.

All of the Roche Bros are overpriced and the quality varies. You need to shop cautiously.
This chain is not run well. Marshfield employees had to sue this chain in court and they won. Roche Bros. cheated them out of pay.
On the other end of the spectrum is Market Basket — clean, vibrant and great prices across the board and the freshest meats, seafood and produce. Also the owner is a great guy.
Happy to see Sudbury closing. Inside store was dumpy and dirty.

Worst supermarket on the planet. It is small, overpriced and overcrowded. You pay high end and get low end. How do they get away with it? Monopoly that is how. The only two supermarkets in town are both owned by the same company. The next closest is in Dedham and even though the distance isn’t much it can take an hour to go back and forth. This is a total monopoly and someone should do something about it

Not only is the store horrible but it’s so horrible that it attracts complete idiots as customers!
It took three grown men to help me find the shrimp. They were sold out of cilantro in the middle of the week in the off-​season. The prices were inaccurate by $ 7 which would have been very helpful to know.
Every person in that store was like a driver fresh from driver’s ed. Let alone walking and not looking where anyone was going, I nearly got hit in the parking lot at by two moronic drivers. So much so I had to bang on a car to stop the driver from hitting me!
For an over-​priced store in a trafficky location with obnoxious music, I’m surprised this place stays in business.
NEVER SETTING FOOT IN HERE AGAIN. Would rather drive to Maine for groceries.

The Sudbury location is much better. Parking was awful here, but the salad bar looked pretty good. I ended up getting a cold buffalo chicken wrap that was soggy and gross. After 2 bites I threw it away and went to Subway instead. I probably just picked the wrong thing, but everything else looked alright. I guess I’ll stick to Sudbury anyhow!

The place suits my needs just fine. I don’t understand why people keep saying it’s too small. These must be spoiled generation x types. I can remember when most supermarkets were half this size

I really like this grocery store, yet it’s TINY. Just like the Roche Brothers in Needham, this store is SO small, cramped and crowded, that grocery shopping is annoying sometimes. The store is clean and the staff are friendly, and it’s better than Roche, but just wish it could be larger for the amount of foot traffic inside. Like the store, don’t like the parking it or amount of people in the store.
Plus as another Unilocaler stated, parking and entrance/​exit is tough! There should be a traffic signal here! I understand that Stop&Shop is quite a drive for Needham-​people, yet it is particularly LARGER, Cleaner, Better-​Staffed, AND Includes AMAZING Scanner Guns and SelfCheckout (I wish they brought that here!). There is Stop&Shop not too far in the Dedham Mall (yet the Walpole Stop&Shop is much better), so GO THERE! Don’t bother with this MESS!

Convenient location with great produce always fresh. They have a great selection of food to go if you don’t feel like cooking. You could eat here for a month and not repeat. Parking can be frustrating but it’s a great grocery store.

BEHOLD THE CHEESE!
Wow, this place has lots of cheese. And we’re not talking about your run of the mill blocks of Cracker Barrel. We’re talking primo stuff comparable to what’s sold in the city at places like Formaggio. I am kicking myself for not buying some sweet Humboldt Fog that I spied here a few weeks ago. Apparently, what you see today may not be there tomorrow. I was especially impressed with some Argentine Parmesean I bought last week. Man, that stuff was good.
Other highlights of this establishment include a vast array of inexpensive generics. Check out their seltzers, in particular.
Also, I like that you do not need a loyalty card. Just come in and shop to get the best price.
One caveat, watch the cashiers. One distracted teenage cashier rang me up for more items than I purchased. It wasn’t a huge amount, but they should really pay more attention.
Not sure that I’d do all my regular grocery shopping here but come for the cheese and the good deals on generic stuff.

Initial impressions: Great big parking lot, though hard to exit at certain times do to lack of traffic lights. Entrance is small and leads to fresh produce section. Immediate surroundings are cramped but store opens up as you move to the back and to the right. Lots of checkout counters, however, no self-​service stations. Maybe it is just me, but I had a hard time finding certain items (hummus, bread). Would like added demarcation and additional signage throughout the store.
Staff everywhere, seem very friendly and able to help. Though a couple of the quick checkout aisle personnel are less than welcoming.
Usually the aisles are cramped with the older shopper demographic making it difficult to go shop at a quick or even reasonable pace. This is probably the biggest hassle. Store is too small and too crowded. I wish that a store could institute quick shopping day, or quick shopping hour, and welcome its more agile consumers to get in and out, while steering their more deliberate customers to other times.
Value is lacking compared to other stores. Certainly provides quality meats and produce, but relative to Stop and Shop there is a sense that one is not getting much bang for their buck. There certainly are few lower cost alternatives.
My favorite part of this store is the hot wing bar. All of the hot ready-​made items are the same that you find in their sister store Roche Brothers. Very pricey but you can’t beat the convenience. It is also nice to be able to discreetly serve yourself the portion you want without being called out for gluttony.

This place is really cramped and the layout’s kinda strange, just go to traders up the street.

I like Sudbury Farms/​Roche Bros… I really do. Their coffee cake muffins are the best (in a grocery store) and the prepared foods — while expensive — are good. I’m usually in West Roxbury (my fav) or Westwood, but I was on my way to my friend’s in Needham. Parking at this store will always be a disaster (if only there were another exit!) and if someone wants to take a left at the exit and hogs up both lanes, you’re sitting in your car seething because you cannot pass to the right.
My decision to go with two stars is due to the cashier that I had yesterday afternoon, Michelle B (according to the receipt). I brought 4 items to the express lane, put down my items, and here is the conversation:
Me: «Hi!» in a cheery voice and smiling.
NO response. Doesn’t even look at me but says…
MB: «Paper or Plastic?»
Me: «Paper will be great, thanks».
She bags, I enter my credit card although she never asked what everyone else seems to (credit? debit? would (you) like cash back?)
I take my bag, say thank you, and she says… NOTHING!!!
For her one-​and-​only «paper or plastic» words, she could do that at a gas station mini-​mart; I expect more from SF!!!

I do business in this area regularly and have popped into this supermarket twice. Worth mentioning is that the customer service towards the more mature population and the regulars, is exceptional. And the second noteworthy bit is how much higher my groceries ring up here!

I’m a fan of getting certain things there, but I have to say that their prepared foods are really not good. We’ve actually thrown them out on more than one occasion. But for other things, Sudbury is what it needs to be — a big supermarket that has exactly what you need when you need it. So for that, 4 stars. With Trader Joe’s around the corner and a new Whole Foods in Wellesley, the competition is stiff. Hopefully there will be improvement on the prepared foods behind the counter and I will upgrade this review.

I remember growing up in Needham and this used to be a stop & shop! Now, this Sudbury farms has really nice sections throughout the store. ie) produce, bakery, cheese, etc. Things are pretty well organized for a fairly small store. The produce section was being restocked while we were there and everything looked gorgeous! Prices are a little higher than what I’m used to in AZ, but cost of living is slightly higher out here. They still offer to help you out with your groceries, if needed. Although it’s not something I’d take them up on, it’s a nice service to have for those that need the assistance.

we’re visiting family here in needham and stopped in Suds to pick up some spinach. it’s interesting to come from phoenix with the giant grocery stores and come here and see such a small supermarket. but it’s homey, albeit a bit crowded. but we got what we needed.
a little more expensive than our hometown frye’s but not nearly as ghetto!

Moved to needham in december. Horrified by the lack of grocery stores in needham and surrounding towns. Only alternative is trader joe’s but very limited selection there.
At sudbury’s its very expensive and limited selection, but also I have found the produce to be bad on a number of occasions. Wilted lettuce, rotten cantaloupe and something else that was bad but I can’t remember. Only positive is they double the money back on returned produce, if you muster up the time and effort to bring it back.
Really wishing someone would open an alternative market here in needham. Came on Unilocal to see if there were alternatives, but not looking promising. If someone knows a cheaper place with more selection near needham, post a shout out.
Sorry to be a downer, but just not happy with what seems to be a bit of a monopoly with little control over taking my business elsewhere.

Just got back from Sud’s. I live about 5 minutes away, so I come here a lot. I also like how it’s open till 10 during the week, but I just can’t give it a stellar review due to the limited selection.
Let me first say that the other reviewers are all correct. They do have fresh produce and great meat, deli, and fish counters; however, I never really go to them. Although, in the summer, their specialty burgers are awesome for grilling!
If you shop at Whole Foods a lot, you’ll appreciate the abundance of organic and specialty foods as well — but I don’t buy any of that stuff.
They do have a wonderful hot-​food bar and have $ 5 rotisserie chickens on Thursdays. They also have the most addictive mini-​wings ever — the Honey Stung Drummies. I’m pretty sure medium-​size side dishes are $ 5 as well. I’d recommend the steamed carrots and whipped potatoes to go with the chix.
The lines for the check-​out are never really bad and there are always folks to bag your groceries (I suck at doing it myself — it’s embarrassing).
So why am I being way harsh Tai? It’s cause I cannot get a weeks worth of breakfast and dinner from here. I work well past 5 just about every day so unfortunately I need a lot of quick meals — I don’t have time to prepare Giada-​caliber dinnas on the reg.
Take tonight for example — they had no Voila frozen pasta. Only the Bertoli version which is 9 bucks for a bag (Voila is 4). I also like the frozen Pep-​Farm texas toast garlic bread with cheese; Suds only has one kind, the kind sans cheese. I only drink Simply Orange Juice, and I like the calcium-​enriched kind with pulp; Suds only has the no-​pulp version…
Suds is also expensive, as other reviewers have mentioned. Sometimes Sudbury Farms’ sale prices are still higher than stores found in other towns.
I’m not gonna bore you with any more details (like the lack of zesty curly fries), but clearly me and Suds just weren’t meant to be. Which is fine, I’m cool with it, I wish them nothing but the best.
If you do a lot of cooking and like top-​grade ingredients (and live/​work around here), obviously you should do your shopping here. I prefer more of the larger super-​mega-​markets like Market Basket (6 stars, in my opinion), Shaws, or Stop and Shop. Unfortunately, I live on Wisteria Lane and this is the most convenient place to me.

Terrific supermarket out in Needham with a large parking lot. I’ve been there multiple times on my lunch breaks as it’s fairly close to the office I work at currently. Their salad bar is one of the best I’ve had, especially in comparison to other lunch places I’ve been to; it is also very clean and offers a pretty large selection of ingredients, condiments.
Along with the salad bar, they have a hot food stand which features chicken, kebobs and various other hot dishes. The prices are excellent and they also have regular supermarket items. Best of all, their produce is pretty damn amazing. The few apples, plums and pears I’ve had there were delightful.
Sadly my office is moving away from it’s current location, making Sudbury Farms a place which will be out of reach. This greatly saddens me but I’ll make sure to swing by occasionally if in Needham. Big fan.

Sadly, Sudbury Farms is no longer on my way home from work, so I don’t make it there quite as often as I used to. I regret it, though, because it’s so much better than your standard grocery stores. I say that balancing its good points with its bad ones, of course. It’s simultaneously a much more civilized, and much less civilized grocery shopping experience.
More, because there is no nonsense about having your savings card or whatever to get sale prices. If it’s on sale, it’s on sale, and they don’t feel the need to extract marketing information from you in return.
Less, because the people in the parking lot drive like complete savages. I mean, we’re talking about nature-​show predatory behavior here, giant sport-​utility vehicles cutting each other off to find a closer spot, in a parking lot that even the frailest octogenarian could cross quickly. And the same tactics are brought inside with the shopping carts.
Despite all that, it’s still a great grocery store. It’s tiny, but has a solid selection of what I need (read: frozen pizza, powerbars, and soda), and what normal people eat, too. It doesn’t have absolutely everything, but it’s got enough for me.
Another point in its favor is the checkout lines. They’re short. Why? Because they actually have more than three registers open at rush hour.
And they have paper bags. Really great paper bags, and they don’t begrudge you your asking for them.
And finally, finally, there are the potato chips. The Roche Bros. Sour Cream & Onion Potato Chips. The absolute best sour cream & onion chips you can buy. And for as little as 75 cents for a bag. These are what keep me coming back, despite the longer trip.