Smart & Final

If you are into the over priced pampered glitz grocery stores stay away. If you want good prices on staples (bulk meat, milk, cream, butter, flour, BEER) this is the place for you. They have a good but not great selection and some items are priced the same as Safeway but it is hard to beat the price on bulk beef (ribe eye, new york,) pork butt and bacon. Don’t go after work or during lunch hours to avoid longish lines and you probably won’t see more than 2 or 3 people in line at a time.

I came here for the Torani!
When you see a place has an entire row of Torani syrups, you can’t stay away. To be honest, my last visit to a Smart & Final was when I was maybe 16 for some utensils. I didn’t even recall the chain carrying food, rather a place for plastic party plates and whatnot.
Lo and behold it delivered:
–So many Torani syrups. It is weirdly difficult to find these by the bunch, rather one flavor sprinkled here and there are supermarkets. So a whole row was like duuuudddddeeee.
–Abnormally large items — Warehouse club-​esque large portions. They had the larger than normal boxes of gum and cereal. The sizes were smaller than Costco, but larger than the norm. Also, they had the warehouse club varied assortment.
— Good produce. They had a decently expansive produce section with my beloeved kabby also.
–Great drink aisles — Score for a larger than normal size carbonated crystal geiser
— Decent prices. Not the lowest to leave my mouth agape, nor the highest, to still leave my mouth hanging open.
— Conveniently located. I’m sure you’ve passed it a number of times.
Unless I needed my Torani syrup, Sunnyvale has such an expansive number of places to shop that I don’t know if I would come here specifically. But, you could get all your grocery shopping done here.

Great prices, bulk and frozen items, go there for specific items (It’s It ice cream sandwiches $ 10 for 12!).

I just come here for my paper towels and toiletry needs. overall close to home & clean.

I shop here on a regular basis, and this place really came in handy during the past ten days when I had a vicious cold from hell (it didn’t respond the garlic, zinc, Vitamin C, saltwater gargling, saline sprays, chicken soup, echinacea, etc). I write this stuff down, and the last time that I had a severe cold like this that responded to nothing that I tried was in November 2009 — subsequent colds were nipped in the bud until this latest one.
I just didn’t have the stamina to go to Costco and deal with crowds during my cold (it was one of those colds where one felt okay when one first woke up in the morning, and felt worse as each hour passed — by the time Costco opened at 10AM during the week, I’d be feeling awful), so I would shop here a little after 7AM (they open at 7AM seven days a week). I was here every three days for the duration of my cold.
This morning, the only customers in the store besides me were paramedics. Seeing them buy potato chips made me feel a little less guilty about buying potato chips: P
I was surprised to see that the Trident Seafoods Wild Salmon Burgers were slightly cheaper here than at Costco — $ 14.99 as opposed to $ 15.39 for a pack of twelve 4 oz burgers, as of last week — plus Smart and Final is much closer to me than Costco is. More info on the salmon burgers here:
I’ve tried some of their private label (First Street) items, and so far I’ve been pleased with the quality of the First Street vinegar, trash bags, cleaning supplies, paper goods, and condiments.
I am happy to say that their bathroom improved — much cleaner than it used to be, and had plenty of soap.
Their organic spinach comes in 11 oz clear boxes as opposed to Costco’s 16 oz boxes, but when I need my spinach, I need it.
Their Crystal Geyser spring water was 99 cents per gallon.
The past few times that I’ve been here, each cashier greeted me, asked me if I found everything I was looking for, and thanked me for shopping here.
The majority of cashiers have been friendly, and employees on the sales floor have been quick to assist me.
This place gets very crowded, so even without a raging cold, I generally shop here at off peak times — I’ve seen it get so busy that there are over a dozen shoppers in each line and only two cashiers (and sick or not, I do my best to avoid long lines if I can help it).
No membership card required, so one less card to carry!
Besides regular groceries, I’ve seen customers buy items such as light bulbs, envelopes, mops, carpet cleaning formula, kitchen towels, reusable/​disposable food containers, trash bags, and oven mitts.
Located in the same shopping center (Westmoor Village, on Fremont and Mary) as Hallmark, Wells Fargo, and Starbucks.
BTW There is a large bin inside the store near the exit doors that accepts plastic bags for recycling. Even with the plastic bag ban, I have lots of plastic bags (mostly from takeout, online shopping packaging, and produce packaging).
FYI Here is their coupons page:
Coupon policy:

And if you’re interested in recipes:

Great store. You can get in and out quickly. Over the years, they have broadened their selection so you can get all your basic, and not so basic needs met here. Many things are in regular sized portions — not Giant Family Packs.
The staff is for the most part great. A few of the cashiers are real pros. They call up more if the line is more than 3 people. Decent produce — great salads and all the basic fruits & veggies. Good dairy section. Meat section is limited, but covers all the major meat & poultry categories.
Easy parking.

Not only was I not greeted at the check stand, after watching her clearly address other patrons. The cashier refused to sell me a bottle of wine because I have an out of state government issued drivers license. Well, as a visitor to the state of California, how am I expected to have a California issued license? I spoke with corporate who apologized to me for the inconvience and will follow up with management. Ended up going to a store right down the street who gladly took my out of state license and money without issue, and I saved money!!! Guess everything happens for a reason.

Good prices. Good selection. Clean store. HORRIBLE SERVICE AT CHECKOUT! They jam the other customers purchase against yours to rush you out without helping you to bag or prep your cart. I think if they could they would just throw your stuff on the floor to get you out of the way. I will not go to this particular S&F again. We will look for another one.

I’ve been coming here since they opened. Don’t get me wrong I love costco but sometimes they offer too much in one box than you actually need or their prices for certain things are not as good as other items. That where this store gets my business. I can buy something’s in bulk that I need while still buying some stuff in regular sized packaging that any ordinary grocery store like Safeway would carry. Their prices are very reasonable and don’t have to feel guilty spending $ 100-​$ 200 like you would at costco! Their bread selection is really good at this location! This is my go to store if I don’t have the time to deal with the crowds at Costco!

I have lived in Sunnyvale for over 20 years and may have been to this store a handful of times. Same reason always — there are HUGE lines and one or two checkers. Who has time for that? When the new Zanottos goes in, this store will go out of business. Today I went in to grab some fresh veggies. Of course 10 people at least in both lines. Me and another customer immediately walked out. The checkers never think to call someone else to help. Maybe there is no one else. There is no concept of customer service at this store.

Prices: 5 stars
Service: 1 star
Overall: 2 stars
My coworkers and I refer to this particular Smart and Final as «The Hell Hole». It does not matter if the line of carts is wrapped around the fruit isle, the lady that is always there will NOT call for help. Here’s the kicker, even if they do call for help… NOBODY COMES! I swear to Christ! What are the employment requirements of this place??? Baboons are overqualified for managerial positions at S&F.
I have major issues with that one lady. Her tag says «Floral manager» and her name is something I am not even going to attempt to spell. I have waited for 2.5 minutes with my thumb up my *ss in the check out line because she disappeared from her station. No sense of urgency. It’s like a cycle… New hires eventually lose their sense of urgency because what’s the point of giving a crap if everyone around you is marinating in their own sh*t stains whilst wearing an apron with the Smart & Final logo on it.
I asked her for a bag once and she replied «oh you don’t need a bag». She was serious. If you’re ever in Sunnyvale, close your eyes and listen very closely… Hear that? That’s the sound of my screams.
I lost my mind at this place… but at least I saved a dollar, right?

I really like shopping here. The store is small enough to navigate and the checkout in non-​rush hours (when I always do my shopping) is fast enough that a lot of time isn’t wasted standing in line.
I like their produce and meat section… they have some pretty good buys there.
Lots of frozen and bulk items. If you need stuff for a party, you can probably find just about anything you need here, provided that you don’t want to get too fancy.
As a side note, the local kids (they look to be around 10 – 12 or so) come here in the morning to load up on candy, soda and chips.
Anyhow, some of them are horrid little brats and can really test a temper –especially mine, because I have a short fuse for kids who feel that they’re entitled to pester cashiers. There’s one worker in particular who deserves a special place in Heaven for dealing with some of the kids.
Anyhow, kudos to the staff for having the patience to do their jobs.

They had only 1 register open and they had advertisements that were not ring up correctly. However the manager was very effective at taking care of the issues that arose.

I do most of my grocery shopping here. The prices are better than Safeway, and you don’t have to play games with weekly specials and a discount card to get a good deal. The décor is no frills, but I’d rather my money be spent on the food I’m buying than on fancy fixtures. There are a few items that you won’t be able to find here, but you can do 80−90% of your shopping here, save money, and do the remaining shopping at Safeway, Trader Joe’s, etc.
Also, they usually sell Mexican Coke in glass bottles.

They have great sales and prices which is enough reason for me to stop by when I am working in the area. The lines so suck though. They are long and they only have 2 – 3 cash registers open. But if you have a big family or lie to buy in bulk for snacks or cheaper food, come here!

Generally speaking, I don’t like this place. It looks dark and dull, aisles are weirdly separated with columns in between the paths. While prices are definitely cheaper here it feels unhappy. There are better, happier stores.

I popped in here once and thought it was a strange looking store: warehouse like unsexy shelving layout, cold, so quiet where only 2 employees and very few customers are around.
Then, one day, after realizing what treasures I could find here, the baker in me went all woo-​hooo! Read my lips — C H E A P E R than any where else on earth — at least that I know of — $ 4.50 for a 2-​lb bag of Red Star Baking Yeast. I could bake a loaf of bread for every house in my neighborhood and still have enough to last me for a long time. Now, I just need to find those 8-​quart containers on aisle 9 for my dough to sleep in overnight. Ooh, wait, giant bottle of pure vanilla extract — check! More delicious Ambiance Coffee — check! A gallon of Kikkoman soy sauce? That’s excessive but I’d take a smaller package.
A warehouse-​style store with great savings on staple foods, restaurant supplies and culinary equipment, no membership fees, convenient store hours, easy parking and no wait at the check out line? Yes, yes, I’m a fan.

Hey shoppers!
Smart and Final is a new store the one in Sunnyvale has been remodeled with new shelf’s, new items heck its like a grocery store! lots of new stuff and the old is still there just updated.
I like this store, one you don’t have to pay to get in, you don’t have long lines that take forever. Now if they served free samples then I ‘d be all in.
The prices are OK I just like that you can buy bulk items.
I say when in need of stuff check them out.

This where I get my cryovac briskets and pork butts to smoke for 12 to 19 hours in the spring and summer time.
They do run loss leaders to get you in the store and you can check on these at this website:
No great bargains here, but they do carry bulk and some international items I use upon occasion.

I wasn’t all that impressed. Okay prices on some things. Cheap crap for others. I bought their «First Street» whole fryer chickens at $.79 a pound, thinking they’d be a great deal. I’m just glad that I’m only using them for making stock. Turns out, their idea of «fryers» means that they’re not completely butchered: you have to remove the heart, lungs and liver yourself! Worst part is that Safeway had a sale about 3 weeks later on Foster Farms whole fryers that were completely butchered.
I’ve checked a couple times since that first trip and not been impressed by their selection or prices. I’ll stick with Costco or Safeway, thanks.