I'll agree with what some others have said, that I am not impressed with their meat department. I also do not like the design of their stores that forces you to travel through produce, then the bakery, then the meat department, then dairy, before you reach the other aisles. Their checkout service has also been consistently slow in my experiences. However, they have redesigned a local store, and added a good international foods aisle and a beer/wine section with a good choice of microbrews. It is a definite improvement to an otherwise mediocre supermarket chain.

ON 1-6-06 I WITNESSED AN EMPLOYEE BEING BELITTLED BY AN SUPERVISOR IN AN ILSE, WHERE I WAS SHOPPING IN THE NEXT ILSE I WAS VERY DISTURBED THAT THIS WOULD HAPPEN ON A LATE NIGHT SHIFT BECAUSE THE EMPLOYER WAS VERY RUDE AND HORRIBLY TRAINED TO RUN A SHIFT OF EMPLOYEES DURING THEM HOURS AND NOT HAVING NO RESPECT FOR HERSELF OR OTHERS I WOULD NOT SHOP AT THIS STORE.

Most stores are in the Washington DC area. Clean and economically priced (for DC). Customer service is OK. The produce normally sucks - hardly anything is fresh. Check-out lines are usually long. I normally shop here because it's the one closest to where I live. However, they're building a Safeway which is even closer, so I may begin to shop there instead.

I have to agree with the negative comments that other raters have made. I went to a SFW only once (coincidentally, the same one that robertm348 panned)and was not impressed with it at all. The local Giant stores were much better (even the somewhat seedy one in Marumsco Plaza!).

These comments are about the SFW in Woodbridge, VA. The first item on my list is the lack of quality of the meat department. They consistently put out meats that are at, or very near their expiration date. Yesterday, I could not find a package of pork chops that was not due to expire on the following day's date. Most meats, especially beef, is very highly overpriced for such poor quality - meats that are turning green and brown are still at prices other grocers charge for quality meats. Pricing is opportunistic -- if an item sells well, you can be assured that the price will be higher the next time you shop. Also, availability of lower priced items is a big concern: I prefer to buy Gwaltney brand sausage, but it has been all but pulled from the shelf, replaced with more expensive brands. On to the Dairy case, where eggs are anything but fresh! Nothing else need be said, as that speaks volumes about the business practices of SFW if they willingly stock dairy products that are nearing spoilage. I love Dijon mustard, but the Richfood brand, that sold for approximately one third of the name brand, was pulled from the shelf. The manager lied to me, saying that they could not get the Richfood product any more. So now I buy the Giant store brand, and am very happy. I consistently purchased calamata olives from the deli, usually one pound a week, with the price high at $5.95 per pound. Then, the olives disappeared. After months of complaining, the olives were finally brought back, but are now at $6.78 per pound. I feel the price was raised unfairly, and was the last straw. I know how much the calamata olives cost in bulk, and it is nowhere the price that would require such a steep jump in price. Additionally, the produce is old, overpriced, and handled very roughly and with no regard for health regulations. I personally witnessed an employee sweep up cherries that had been spilled onto the floor, then put them back into the bin for sale, still covered with dirt from the floor. I brought that matter to the attention of management, but did not see management do anything to correct the situation or remove the cherries from sale until washed. My largest complaint is that there are no telephone numbers, no (valid) e-mail addresses, and no physical addresses for complaints listed on their website. They clearly don't want to hear from their customers, sending a very clear message that they just don't give a damn about the products they sell or the customers that have to consume their overpriced, rotten food!

My least favorite grocery chain in my area. I dislike the layout of the store. It is really disorienting, and not conducive to traffic flow. Not as crowded as Wegman's, but pretty darn bad. Produce isn't that great, and prices are not exactly warehouse like. If you live in Northern VA, AVOID AVOID AVOID the Little River Turnpike (Fairfax) location!

I was shopping at the SFW located in Franconia (Manchester Lakes). The service at the hot bar -- sandwich area is deplorable. The have individuals servicing customers who do not speak English and they do not comprehend what you are askng for and when they do they do not know what to do. I complaned to the Manager and I even authored a letter to Mr. White, the CEO, to no avail. I will not be patronizing that SFW anymore.

The meat is NEVER fresh. Go somewhere else to buy it. I have had experiences where the ground beef looks fresh, but then you go home and the inside is all brown. I called the manager and he explained that is normal. Do they think we are stupid or what????????

do not buy meat here!