Millburn Shoprite

Has anyone noticed a change for the worse at the MS. It has always been my go-to store. The cashiers are lovely, the parking is great with shady trees and the prices are right. Somehow I sense it is getting really sloppy. Produce is marked incorrectly, packaged items not dated, jars with seals broken and things arranged sometimes in no order. It always had an older vibe but more so now. I think there is a new manager and this may be part of it. Anyone else notice this?

I always found that the worst Shoprite in the area. 

I started noticing a decline back in 2014 -- mostly with the staff who had previously been tops and then saw a rapid decline in courtesy and helpfulness.  I attributed it to the fact that I had always shopped only on weekends, and then switched to weekdays after I retired.  Different crew and all.

The Manager there for years, Mr. McGrady, retired but the challenge to that Store is that it does a very high volume with old sized shelving and aisles. The employees have to constantly restock and often cashiers are drafted to help which you do not see in most Shop Rites. The irony is that when they put in extra stockers, they tend to take up a lot of space in the aisle and block shoppers.

I do have to make one positive comment ~ I went there recently to the deli department.  Excellent service by new people who actually knew how to slice the meats and cheeses and knowledgeable about pricing.  Great customer friendly service too.  This a nice change from the previous workers.  I will never as long as I live forget last year when I went to the deli dept and there was a guy working the counter with long dreadlocks hanging and swinging around.  I could have thrown up thinking about what could have gotten into my order.  i just left that day without purchasing.

I've always liked that store and I've always thought the weekday staff were the best.  However, since Pathmark became Stop & Shop I find myself there more often because it is so much closer AND because of the scan gun technology.  I still go to the Millburn Shoprite for meat though.  Their meat always seems better than any other store I've tried.  (Maybe not than other Shoprites or Kings, but better than the other competition and better priced than Kings.)

truth said:

The Manager there for years, Mr. McGrady, retired but the challenge to that Store is that it does a very high volume with old sized shelving and aisles. The employees have to constantly restock and often cashiers are drafted to help which you do not see in most Shop Rites. The irony is that when they put in extra stockers, they tend to take up a lot of space in the aisle and block shoppers.

That happened to me once.  All the aisles were clogged with boxes and employees trying to re-stock the shelves.  Not good.  I go to Aldi's sometimes and the cashiers are also stockers when the store is quiet. Instead of standing at the register wasting time and waiting for people they are working.  But if Shop Rite is going to do that, it should in the employee job description unless it is already there.

Even though it is a smaller place store, which I think can be an advantage, the owners simply have not invested in updating and reconfiguring the space.  The West Orange and Livingston stores have been modernized over the years but this store hasn't, and it shows.  

I've been going to the Millburn Shoprite for most of my household items where I can use coupons from the circular plus my card.  I also find it's less stressful than the one on Morris Ave. which always seems packed no matter when I go.  

However, I will say that I've never been in love with Shoprite's produce and I would rather go to Ashley's for that sort of thing.  

I go to the ShopRite at Essex Green in WO. Not a pretty place, not always the cleanest, and the people that work there are always a bit distracted - but - the prices are the lowest around and they have a large selection in most departments. I'll take low prices over charming staff anytime.

Morris Ave Springfield?  You can go down to the new Union one on 22...out of millburn/springfield/union/west orange...union is the best

The Millburn Shoprite is closest to my home and the prices seem reasonable.  That being said, the store is in serious need of a refresh.  It looked tired when I moved here 10-years ago and it hasn't improved with time.  It frustates me that the gallons of milk often have less than a week before expiration and some of the produce seems past its prime. 

The parking lot at the Springfield location gives me hives, so I avoid it as much as possible.  Rt. 22 and West Orange locations are too far to be my regular grocery store.

I really don't like that one in Union (except for decorated cakes from the bakery.) It's HUGE, but for 'regular' groceries (not bakery/prepared foods), I've never found anything there that I couldn't find in Millburn, but it takes MUCH longer to get through the store to the staples/basics, not to mention longer at the checkout and don't get me started about the parking lot!  Yes, the Millburn store needs to modernize and I wish they could expand a bit, but they have pretty much everything in there that I need on a routine basis.  A significant percentage of the staff have been there a long time.  They are fast, efficient and helpful, at least in my experience. I just wish they had a remodeled store to work in.

sac said:

I really don't like that one in Union (except for decorated cakes from the bakery.) It's HUGE, but for 'regular' groceries (not bakery/prepared foods), I've never found anything there that I couldn't find in Millburn, but it takes MUCH longer to get through the store to the staples/basics, not to mention longer at the checkout and don't get me started about the parking lot!  Yes, the Millburn store needs to modernize and I wish they could expand a bit, but they have pretty much everything in there that I need on a routine basis.  A significant percentage of the staff have been there a long time.  They are fast, efficient and helpful, at least in my experience. I just wish they had a remodeled store to work in.

Agree 100%... Walking in the the ShopRite Rt 22 is like walking in Home Depot.  A looooooooong walk.  But the stuff in there WOW.  I will take Millburn over that myself too.  I love the staff at Millburn.

It's one of my fav Shoprites. I call it the "Old Lady" Shoprite. I agree that the staff there are friendly and I find their produce some of the best - often above Trader Joe's. Yeah, it's old-timey but I kinda dig that retro feeling. Reminds me of grocery shopping with my Grandmother in Boston. 

If you are ever in woodbridge...check that one out (St George/rt 35..near rt 9-not far from Woodbridge center)...that is HUGE

I, too, am a fan of the Millburn Shop-Rite.  The parking lot is logically laid out and there is plenty of parking.  For non-perishable grocery items, the prices can't be beat, especially if you use manufacturers' coupons (double up to 99 cents unless the coupon specifically says "do not double") and the digital coupons (downloadable from the Shop-Rite web site to the Price Plus discount card).  The store is a manageable size for weekly shopping, and I know where things are. Yes, Mr. McGrady retired (loved him!), and, yes, I've noticed a bit more turnover, but there are still many long time staff members and the employees are friendly and helpful.

Most grocery stores used to be like the Millburn Shop-Rite, before they modernized and, in some cases, went "upscale".  I don't need that experience from the Millburn Shop-Rite; if I want beautiful expensive produce and dozens of expensive gourmet cheeses, Kings in Short Hills fits the bill beautifully for prepared, gourmet and specialty foods.  Occasionally a trip to Trader Joe's goes into the mix for the products they are best for, like less expensive gourmet cheeses, nuts, dried fruits, interesting new items, and so forth.

I like the Union/22 Shoprite.  I stopped going to the one in Millburn when I got tired of getting slammed in the shins by shopping carts.  I also found it to be more expensive for the list I buy regularly than Pathmark, and not much more pleasant, so I sucked it up and went to Pathmark, which I knew like the back of may hand and apparently felt the same way about as many people feel about the little Shoprite.  When Pathmark finally became intolerable, I tried the little Shoprite but also the renovated one in Union on 22.  Yes, the parking lot is strange but I found a place where I can always get an easy close spot.  The staff are great, the produce is significantly more varied than Milburn, and there is actually room for two carts to pass in the aisles.

I love the Millburn Shoprite! It reminds me of my little old grocery store in Brooklyn. the aisles are narrow, the produce is limited, but the people are very nice and I know where everything is. 

Sweetsnuggles said:

I love the Millburn Shoprite! It reminds me of my little old grocery store in Brooklyn. the aisles are narrow, the produce is limited, but the people are very nice and I know where everything is. 

I mean no offense, and understand the preference for a smaller, less crowded market.  But since I had to move out of Brooklyn  I see no reason to shop in a store that's smaller than the Dags I left behind.  We stopped shopping there when we moved out of Millburn, and the rare occasions I duck in remind me why.

It may be my imagination but I think the produce at Millburn and Union is consistently worse than Springfield,  WO and Livingston.   The selection is absolutely smaller because theveryone store's smaller, depending of course on your needs.  

When I need kosher meat, the choice is made for me as Millburn doesn't carry it.  I've been happy to discover that Union now carries a small selection of kosher beef, which initially they didn't.   

Lastly,  a gentle reminder that prices and coupon policies are the same at every Village ShopRite.