Reviews of Thrifty Foods (Car Wash)

Jee Yeong Jeon

Easy to shop and friendly staff. Especially cashiers are awesome and caring. They always have the most fresh meat, seafood, fruit and veggies. It’s guaranteed that they taste good.

Geraldine H.

Very friendly staff. Unfortunately, prices overall are high, as is the case at all Thrifty stores we've visited. The parking lot is very cramped too. Love this area of Victoria though, so quaint and funky.????

Jose Goncalves

Every Thrifty's should be like this one! Clean, well organized, very polite staff. Excellent covid-19 procedures.

Paul Taylor

Nice new modern store with a great selection and wide aisles.

Robert George

Great chain of markets. Lots of veriety and we'll organized. Very friend staff. The fruit and vegetables are very well presented. The bottled water was a little hard to locate. They have a great bulk foods and baked goods section

Dani Proteau

Edit: The vinyl wood veneer on their newly renovated signage is about as authentic as their commitment to community. …

Carol Ann Johnson

Always clean and bright. The staff are very friendly and helpful.

Jennifer Hemmings

Under renovation right now so it's a little confused. People aren't great at following the flow within the store. Staff are trying really hard to keep things flowing smoothly and efficiently.

Glenda-lee Pickit

I was at customer service for five minutes, as employees passed by saying there's always someone there. What would've taken a minute took ten.

Anton Van Rooyen

Even through upgrades to the Shop, they have always tried to make my experience good and friendly. The staff is great and friendly, always willing to help. I buy here on a regular bases and have never been treated as a stranger. Thank you for great service!

Eddie Dawson

Great selections and great produce. A bit expensive but the price reflects the quality.

Amy M

I love Thrifty Foods! This location especially. You will see Thrifty Foods all over the island. The best place to get groceries on the island. The people that work there are very nice and helpful. They have a great little bakery section, and I can always manage to find what I need. Highly reccomend

Levi

Selection neither under- nor overwhelming, decent layout, quality meats

Billy deWild

Nice store. I know, it's just a grocery store, but in Victoria you have to be individualistic to stick out and this store was good. Excellent deli and fresh fruits and veggies. Very busy at lunch, obviously popular with locals. Not the cheapest but in this city nothing is. It was an 8 minute walk from Hotel Grand Pacific, our home for 2 days. Some nice lady was giving out free hugs on the corner. Love it.

Eden Sunflower

Thrift foods avocados are great! Go here for all my produce.

rowers24

Waited at the bakery counter after being told "someone would be right there" until a snarky employee told me that they had all gone home for the day and no one was there anymore. Maybe put up sign?

Sarah Phillips

Really nice store and lots of unique options. I enjoyed shopping there today.

Evan Kurtz

Great location and helpful staff, best part is they sell The Very Good Butchers products ????

Heather Toner

Maybe ill change my rating when the endless stream of renos is finally complete but as of now its impossible to find anything. Things are constantly moved and products that they once carried are nowhere to be found. Dont even get me started on the nightmare that is this parking lot.

Christina

Great selection, really good checkouts, real good store.

Rosco Daily

Renovations are nice, selection for seafood is meh! I have no idea why but the staff are always in a twist! Rare to see a smile or willingness to help!

livia moore

spacious parking , fresh and local products

Lucifer Morningstar

Great place for fresh and above top quality food & groceries.

Lucy Lusifer

Crowded but that's the area. For the most part staff is helpful. But check your boxes and bags because I've seen some bags of chips and boxes of food with two holes in it. Victoria has problems with rodents it's not the store by itself just a heads up

Graceless Glitch

Product, service and now the awful store layout are not worth the incredibly high prices. I will be finding other places since this 'renovation' that they were made to do because of poor inspection results. Update: I have stopped buying most groceries here but occasionally stop in for things in the morning. Every time I go there are at least three people standing around doing absolutely nothing(one girl specifically). They are there to be doing the online shopping orders apparently, but while there are line ups all the way to the other side of the store they just stand there, leaning on something staring at you. No wonder your prices are so high these days. You're paying too many employees to do nothing while causing your customers to not want to shop there anymore because the lines are too long. Not everyone approves of those self-checkouts so many of us choose not to use them because we don't want to see the world automated. Some can't use them simply because they don't take cash. Even the people who are there to help with the self checkouts are Still finding something to do while nobody is using them. They are always walking around cleaning something. I don't see why you can't have an extra till ready to be used and those employees ready to jump in when there is more than a few people in line. Or maybe you just shouldn't have your online order packers doing that up front where everyone can see them slack off during.

Jody Laurence

Can't beat that fact that it's open 24/7 ! Perfect for me (somebody) that can't keep to a schedule. The bakery is great but the butcher is a nice option when u need a specific slice or request. The prices are a bit high with the pre- packaged meat. But you pay for the convince sometimes.

Julian Brook

The absurdity of deciding to do major, protracted renovations at a busy store during a global pandemic is on full display at this Thrifty's now, with whole sections being closed down and customers corralled like cattle into small temporarily constructed areas for produce and to line up to pay. I've never had a more claustrophobic, confusing, or confined shopping experience as I did tonight, and this is as BC's COVID-19 numbers are skyrocketing exponentially, and deaths are steadily ticking up. The inconvenient truth is that this place should be shut down right now if Sobeys insists, ridiculously as it does, on carrying out these renos at this time. Customers and employees alike should be outraged. I won't be returning any time soon, which is a shame. I'm also worried what will become of Thrifty's after all these changes have been implemented.

Hazel V

It is 24 hours, which is nice, although nobody wants to help you in the bakery section or meat section after certain hours apparently. I had to return for cheesecake that I couldn't get to under the glass and I was disappointed upon eating it because it was dry and I had looked very forward to this.

Sheila Tranfield

Today, May 14th I was shopping about 10:00 am. I selected a cooked deli chicken, as I usually do. To my dismay when I got it home, it was so overcooked as to be inedible. The skin was charred, the wings completly dried out. For $9.99, it was inexcusable. Please be aware of your quality control. Thanks

Mac Bowes

The renovations at the store are coming along nicely, and I'm very happy that the store is modernizing to include self-checkout! Much faster, and not having to interact with a checkout person is a mild perk that I appreciate (even if the …

Jonathan “Jono” Holden

Thrifty is clean, has helpful staff and a good selection of products. Pre Covid it was open 24/7 which was very convenient. It's misnamed though, it's an expensive supermarket. It capitalizes on it's central location in James Bay and charges it's mostly elderly patrons a premium. I happily pay the premium as it's a short walk from my home, but don't drive here, most of it's competitors are better value: For a big shop head elsewhere.

Chris Mazurkiewicz

This is a great location and has an amazing array of groceries available for purchase 24-hours per day/night. Friendly staff too. I live down the street and am able to use them as my walk-in pantry.

Sakshi Srivastava

Good environment but if you are a Walmart shopper then shop carefully.

Rachel Julia (MissHerby)

Really nice store. Great selection of products in a perfect location. Very clean and well stocked compared to some stores. Only downfall is their parking lot is small poorly designed, mostly one ways, many cars go the wrong way ending up in lots of swerving, backing up etc.

Graham Aro

Newer store, my personal favorite thrifty location. Good extended selection of grocery items compared to other locations and overall great staff.

Grunter Grimm

When the brown paper bag I bought gave way they wouldn't just give me another one I had to leave my spilled groceries outside and go back in the store to put 25 cents on my credit card for a replacement.

Katelyn Lowrie

The pharmacist was very helpful. Even though the store is fairly small they had everything I went there for. Thanks Thrifty Foods.

Anthony

When I shop in stores, great selection. However a bit pricy , everything is fresh. The delivery service is ideal for me, as I do not have a car. I’s strongly recommend going.

Judy Roberts & Ed Donald

Very poorly organized. Understaffed. Staff seems stressed and customers seem impatient with long lineups to the inadequate number of cashiers. I had some good experiences with a few pleasant employees, but mainly my visits there have been frustrating and disappointing. Although I live nearby, I will drive to SaveOn instead. I would not recommend this store.

Alise Brown

Very very expensive and doesn't always have what I want. But that being said, they have quite a large selection of foods and most staff is friendly. Not my go-to grocery store but its definitely good for late night last minute dinners.

Cody P

Thriftys has a great meat department and a great bakery, as well as great fresh seafood (some of it still alive). They carry a wide variety products and some uncommon products. The produce is great. All this comes with a price though, so you'll feel it when you get to he checkout. They do have weekly flyers with weekly discounts, so if you keep track of those you can save a lot of money.

Rachel Kierszenblat

Cashier Amanda J at till one (customer service) was absolutely lovely and made my day today at around 530pm. Very friendly staff ????

Carson Schmidt

Great store but it's just too small to serve the entire neighbourhood. It could easily sustain like 20% more shelf space and another 2 self-checkout tills, but they do well with what they've got.

Tima Taan

Professional, kind, friendly and just a healthy environment I've worked there in different departments and shopped there, and I know how much they care to give customers the BEST

John Mcginnis

Nothing was thrifty, was sold moldy bread that still had time left before it expired, absolutely nothing was any cheaper than any other store and the quality was twice as worse.

Sean Patrick Hamilton

-Horribly overpriced -Produce is 'meh' - you have to dig through it like it was a value village, but it's priced like Holt Renfrew -'express' checkout line always has at least one machine out of service -often marked 'sale' items turn out to not be on sale when you're at the till, but way too busy to turn around and ask for a price check. If you have a vehicle and need more than a couple of things - go elsewhere. This is like a large corner store, and priced accordingly.

John Sheret

Love the staff in this store , many of the same employees for the 6 years I have lived here in James Bay, staff make all the difference and the main ladies there are amazing, just I recalled all the names, thank you

Jillian Robertson

Constantly short staffed. The young staff are very polite,but have no confidence answering questions about products.The manager in the deli said staff are always calling in unable to work their shift. I asked why they do not hire experienced staff. The response was shocking " mature workers want too much money". Makes no sense , not to hire competent mature workers who will show up! Customer service and engagement should be priority. I think it's time for a rethink on hiring practices.

BW Fritzler

Great little grocery store with great produce and we'll stocked shelves. New spiffy renovation has the place looking real nice.

Ashley B

The store looks good after the renovations they just completed. Lighting, floors, and displays got an update but same core grocery store. Updated self checkouts are great for when I only have a few items and I don't have to clog up the full service checkouts for seniors and people with bigger orders. Seems like they have room for more products and have updated the deli, smoothie, and seafood counters. If you don't like the big paper bags don't forget to bring some tote bags!

Liz Bruce

Worst Thrifty's in Victoria. Prices outrageous compared to Red Barn. Gouging seniors who can't drive. No regard for Covid safety protocols and staff and cashiers often not wearing masks and not concerned about the welfare of senior or immunocompromised shoppers. I understand Fairfield Thrifty's is doing a great job keeping their shoppers safe! Shop there instead!

Tomasz Jankowski

Bought a wrap from their sandwich counter. Came to eat it and discovered it was frozen solid. Why? Is it because they're made a month in advance? There's a limit to being thrifty...

Victoria Reusing

Great big store super clean & great staff.

Irene Mou

The Pharmacy team is excellent. Mark, the pharmacist and his staff really care about the clientele they serve. Never too busy to answer a question or address a concern. I get my mom's and my prescription there and did I say the service is beyond extraordinary. Wouldn't deal anywhere for pharmacy needs. The store itself while a bit more expensive than other places always has fresh food and I appreciate that.

Adimar Junior

Nice place to get some veggies and bakery items.

Amy A

Fricken delicious baked goods here, definitely recommend. They leave samples out to try and have a huge variety. Otherwise, it's a fairly modest grocery store, definitely has a simpler-times charm to it.

Hector Perez

I liked the layout :) Service was great Produce section was super nice Good variety of products and I found what I needed which was a pharmacy item (Advil)

John Greaves

Great selection. Friendly Service. Delivery Service. Parking an issue but there is more parking underneath the store when crowded. Love the breakfast bakery items and hot soup with other deli items for a easy lunch. They do birthday cakes and party platters as well. Also a in store pharmacy and florist and a small garden center. My neighbourhood grocery store.

Barra Wayne

Always great produce... sélection and quality choices...GREAT GREAT GREAT

Keira Klose

From Vancouver I have never seen a Thriftys this big service is really good staff is nice during this covid the staff was not wearing any mask

Arvind Tirkey

It’s a nice grocery store with Pharmacy. Staff is friendly and helpful. Food items are fresh and my daughters really liked Apple Crumble. More of a family environment :-)

Emerson Willer

It is a medium grocery, but there are everything you need. The prices are similar to save on foods chain. The advantage is they close at 11 PM. Almost everywhere closes at 9 or earlier in Victoria!

Richard Singh

Everyone is super nice at thrifty's and they always have a really great stock there. We happened to stop in at this location as we were staying in the area and needed to find a couple obscure items which they all had. There was a fellow who was working there who helped us find exactly what we needed and even walked us to the aisle where it was located.

Christopher Harris

Friendly staff, 24 hour service(pre covid), newly renovated, great selection of bakery goods.

James Jackson (jemasonn)

I live on Menzies, beside Thrifty Foods James Bay, they have a 24hour construction licence and it is destroying the local's reasonable right to Quiet Enjoyment. At 3am, when confronted them, and after waking my family, I was told to "Go home"

Steffani Cameron

There’s a lot that’s good about this store — like the staff. They’re great here. But I’m really disappointed with the changes to the produce department. They did massive renos but added so much checkout space that other sections have suffered — the produce is woeful in size compared to before. It just means I’m more likely to go to Root Cellar or Red Barb now. But the staff are great here and if you shop for sales, you can do well — but it’s pricey without sales.

Paul Martin

Now that the renovation project is done , Thriftys James Bay is nice and modern, and somehow seems larger inside than the old store. Still a few things seem to be in places one might not expect , but one can be certain that organization and shelf space is a work in progress. I appreciate the new check out system for person operated cashiers , as well as self check outs too.

Greg Holtz

Surprisingly larger inside than out. Very clean and tidy. Great deli with helpful staff.

Morgana

The reno during the pandemic was a nightmare. Really poor choice during an already chaotic time. Now that the reno is complete the store looks lovely but the new system for checking out is horrid. The noise from the sound system constantly blasting out which cashier is available is unnerving... Am I at Walmart???? And self checkout? Seriously... Thriftys is a store of days gone by. I used to really enjoy shopping there - it was my go-to grocery store. They had unique products and excellent quality. Now they just have high prices and too much noise - and they want me to use a self-checkout? Stop it. I don't shop there any more :o(

Mike M

Love the new store. Clean lots of new and unique choices like unhomogized milk and generous parking too. Staff friendly and the person I dealt with was knowledgeable as well.

Graham Booth

Although they have no beer or wines this is a full service market with deli counter and fresh bakery. Excellent selection of fruits, vegetables, meats and processed meats it is a real pleasure to shop here. They carry a wide choice of local produce in all sections. There is a great liquor store just 50m away with an equal level of fine service

Ellen Ned

I just wanted to let you know that I went shopping with a senior friend of mine this morning who was questioned about the fact that she had bought two packages of reduced beef! She was asked to wait while the cashier had to wait for a supervisor to come and okay the purchase!, something silly was said about people buying too many of marked down meat! She had two small pkgs. and was very embarrassed! If something is marked down why should it matter how many you buy......it's for sale and there was only TWO packages. She has vowed to never enter your store again and I don't blame her. She lives in the James Bay community and has always shopped in your store, she will now patronize another grocery store!

Lorna Jacobs

Great. Friendly, helpful staff. Love the new store. Had fun using the bulk scale.

Jeff Grenier

Great looking store! Lots to choose from - friendly staff - except who came up with the brilliant checkout idea? Incredibly long line ups. And when I say long line ups I mean 25-30 people lined up. Itll take you 45 min to pay for grocery. Been there 3 times over 2 week period at different times of day and ended up walking out I will go back Save on across the bridge.

Daniel Jolly

Wouldn't usually bother reviewing a supermarket but when my wife and I visit from Vancouver we always come here and it's only ever been superb. The few times I've needed service or help with something the staff have been lovely. So, credit where it's due. I think I vaguely agree with the other comment about the layout perhaps being a bit weird, but nowhere near enough to dock a star. The bakery goods makes me want to give six stars! Absolutely terrible if you're on a diet...

Phil G

Clean, centrally located (if a bit hard to get to due to all the one way streets) and the staff is super helpful and friendly. The in store layout is a bit funky that but that definitely lends to the charm of the place when shopping. Just be prepared to drive in circles a few times as the parking lot is quite small and they share a parking lot with the Starbucks right next door, but on the upside the parking spots aren't filled for long and the waits are minimal.

Chris Welch (Mogal)

Nice looking store, but I find their prices exceed nearly every other grocery store in the area.

Douglas Chen

They have good selections for groceries though the price tag is a little bit high. The good thing is they open 24h every day. That's convenient. My experience is that the few days immediately after a holiday are not good shopping days cause many things are just not fresh any more.

annie lefebvre

Nice store. Used to be open 24hrs. They cut back to 11pm. I wish they would stay open until at least midnight. There's lots of health care workers working until 11pm in the neighborhood. We all have stop going now as we no longer can. Super disappointed. I used to do my mid week shopping there.

Mascie Dane

Store layout is super confusing, items that should be together in aisles are on completely different ends of the store. Cashier did not know how to pack the bags and seemed overwhelmed and confused with the task

A ANWT

Prices in this grocery store are expensive. It, however, is cheaper and there are more choices than in the convenience store closer to our hotel. I guess its location is a plus hence the 3 star rating.

jadey knight

Great selections, great bulk discount days so watch for these events. The store brand items are good quality. The fruit and vegetable selections are great and the seasonal selection is fantastic as well.

Linda Johnson

Everything is so fresh and well displayed. Staff are top notch!

Jul Dickson

They are trying so hard in these crazy times to keep their shelves stocked, staff and customers safe. Kudos to all.

Sade Ashby

Bought an Orange, Banana, Strawberry smoothie and I will NEVER be purchasing any smoothies from this store again. The smoothie smelt very strange and the smoothie tasted as though it was made with an unripe banana. Talk about poor ingredient choices... Someone needs to teach whoever made that smoothie how to correctly choose ingredients and how to properly mix them. It should be taste tested before bottling. The bottle says shake well (which I did) but I don't think you can shake the taste of poor ingredients away.

A Smith

There are some great staff members at this store. The only thing that needs improving is stocking more already cut up fruits and basics like Tropicana Orange juice and other things.

Janis Silver

Recently renovated at the James Bay location. Beautifully laid out, has a fabulous fish selection. Very friendly staff, well stocked.

L Senger

Fairly expensive for a "locally sourced" food store, but everything in the produce department always looks nice and clean abd fresh as can be. They are just at the tail end of renovations so they are back to closing at 10pm instead of 9pm ( which was a bit frustrating). I look forward to the days when they are back to 24hrs open!!

Jessie Yu

One of the staff did not treat our cake nicely, fortunately the cake was still delicious, the taste didn’t change. A piece of sliced strawberry dropped in the lid... then the birthday cake wasn’t perfect

Donna Hains

During the past few months the employees have become short tempered and rude. Regardless of their challenges they should not be taking out their frustration on their customers. Stay away!

Peggy Wacko

Thriftys always has full stock and good quality.Lovely big clean store.There seafood is always fresh.

Scott Henderson

Great BC supermarket chain with competitively priced fruits and vegetables. You'll find the usual grocery items, canned food, salad dressing, eggs, dairy, meat, fish, frozen and fresh organic foods, gluten free products as well as many specialty food items, a deli and an in store bakery for cakes and a wide range if breads and other baked goods.

Jeff Girardet

The grocery staff are great. Very helpful and knowledgeable. Customer service at its best. Proud to have this store in my neighborhood.

Catherine Carson

Well the Thrift'ys food that I go to is in James Bay. I like that they buy Canadian first and Vancouver Island first. However the store in James Bay is the busiest store they have in Canada. They serve 4000 people a day!!!! That makes for awful line ups and some disgruntled employees. Not what I want to experience when I'm trying to get what I need and get out of there. I really have zero idea what they were thinking when they renovated!!!!!!!!! Good blessed grief, they put the customer service area so close to the check out tills that there isn't any darn room to move at all. Worse still you use to be able to pay for your products at the deli, get that really good food and leave. Now I dread going on there and I am certainly not alone in this opinion. The Food Barn down the street on Menzie's has a great deli, better than Thrift'ys and much faster if that's what you want.

Bradley Blois

Beautiful new renovations that cause 25 min long lines to buy a handleful of items. Go to Red Barn down the street instead

jaden tyson

Tried buying just 2 items and ended up just walking out of the store due to staff incompetence. Tried 2 self checkouts and even after staff assistance at both kiosks they somehow couldn't get my 2 items to process even with 3 employees there. Next we tried a register and they couldn't process our 2 basic items either, we ended up just walking out after waiting some time at both payment options at the store. Used to come here for quick service but I guess I'll be going to Red Barn from now on.

Lynnette Kirkwood

Please update your hours on Google search. I drove all the way there after checking Google. It said you we're open until 11 p.m. You are not!

David Porfon

Very nice down town grocery store. They have parking!!! As a tourist, this is a very nice feature for us in downtown Victoria!!!

Bromslee

Pretty good selection, a little bit pricey

No No

Went in to buy milk. Self checkouts ILLEGALLY don't take cash. Didn't know this until I got to them. Had to wait 20 mins in line because only 3 other tills open while 5 employees wandered around up front doing nothing.

Florence McGregor-Foxcroft

This is an excellent store, with a proactive Customer Service policy. They specialize in local products which do cost a bit more, but are well worth the price. We moved from Vancouver and grocery prices are at least 30% cheaper, so we …

jack g m w

A good clean conveniently located full service grocery store right in the heart of the city. Close to downtown and in the historic centre! Friendly and attentive staff and fully and well stocked. Full Bakery, florist shop, outdoor plants, health food section also.

deborah taylor

I have been shopping here for over 13 years and find the pharmacy staff the best at communicating, being very helpful and answering any question I have.The seem to keep employees for a long time which shows they do something right. Store renovations coming along greatly with minimum fuss and great direction for customers

Tammie Bachalo

Great grocery store! It has a real neighbourly vibe, always has everything I need and the staff are always friendly and willing to help. They go above and beyond with their home delivery. I thought not having a car would be difficult, as …

Jeannie Ward

As grocery stores got his is a nice one. The layout is good. Aisles could be a bit wider between rows but otherwise it's good. Easy to find things as aisles are.well marked.

Kennard Da Silva

They sell groceries. Not to happy with purchasing 3 day expired dip i the dairy section. Always check your exp dates wherever you shop. I usually do, but this time I didn't. I do like shopping here though.

Alison Le Corre

Nice store. Good option if you want quality products.

Harvey Koffman

Convenient, often pricey, mostly friendly staff.

Dana A

In the past month I have returned two items that were mouldy. The first item was turkey breast that I got at the deli. When I got home and had a slice it tasted horrible and there was a film of slime on it. The second was ‘fresh okra’ the first few on the top were green, but the ones below were mouldy. By the second day the whole package was mouldy! When I tried to return it I went to a different Thrifty’s (in Saanich Centre) and they would not take it back. I went back to the James Bay and the supervisor haggled with me before returning the product. Terrible product and terrible experience. They also would not take back package of Texan rice that tasted terrible. I feel bad for all the seniors who are stuck shopping for their groceries at this Thrifty’s in James Bay. Horrible horrible management and disgusting product.

Subrata Chakrabarti

This is not a big store but it is a great place to shop for food. The produce section is good. Their meat and poultry are also good. The deli section has cold cuts, cheeses and cooked snack and food. Vitamins and supplements are also available. Parking is limited due to construction.

Denis Rodrigue

Pleasant staff, shelves well stocked, good quality product.

Mark P.

My experience tonight was a big F for customer service and possibly an unsafe situation. I bought chicken for my family's Saturday evening dinner. It was marked down because it was best before the next day. When we opened the chicken it smelled foul and rancid. I can't get the smell out of my mind - it it was no doubt rotten. We went to return it for refund, and and was told "unfortunately with markdowns it's a roll of the dice whether it's good or not". We rebutted: technically it's still good until tomorrow -but she just said you should consume it the day before the "best before date" or freeze it. So according to the service desk attendee - it's perfectly OK to sell meat that is most definitely not food safe (after all it's "a roll of the dice"). Perhaps others who are not so keen would have went ahead and cooked it and perhaps become very ill. We got a refund but that's it... So upset with your store; we will inform everyone we know to be extremely cautious. The answer "it's a roll of the dice" is UNACCEPTABLE. Legally they cannot be rolling the dice on customers' health.

Michelle Mills

Only thing I like is the Signature beef..everything else is way over the top expensive

Patti Logan

Very expensive..only one cashier..and the rest are self served..won't be shopping there again