99¢ Stores: Do you shop at them?

[Cynthetiq]

How To Survive in NY on 99 cents   click to show 

View: How to Survive in New York on 99 Cents
Source: NYtimes
posted with the TFP thread generator

How to Survive in New York on 99 Cents
By HENRY ALFORD

I LOVE shopping at my local Gourmet Garage as much as the next guy. But sometimes I plop a can of chicken broth down on the checkout counter and think, “$2.19? For someone to boil chicken bones? I want that job.”

So when I heard that the food you can buy at 99-cent stores is more diverse than you might imagine, I decided to conduct an experiment. I’d make dinner every night for a week using mostly ingredients bought at these stores and then, on the eighth night — once I’d gotten my game down — I’d prepare a meal for friends made only from ingredients bought at 99-cent stores.

There are 99-cent stores, and then there is Jack’s. It’s Closeout Central, an off-brand oasis. Located at 110 West 32nd Street, near Herald Square, with satellite stores at 16 East 40th Street and 45 West 45th Street, Jack’s has not only lots of freezer cases and five or more aisles full of food, but also an upstairs gourmet section with more upscale items — Buitoni and Bertagni prepared pastas, Lindt and Ferrero chocolates, Hero jams — at prices ranging from about $1.99 to $4.99.

Making Jack’s my base of operations, I started with both the 99-cent and gourmet offerings.

I quickly met with my first surprise. Though there’s a constancy to the food items for which 99-cent stores are famous — pasta, rice, nuts, cookies and candy — other items sometimes ebb and flow.

Because the main Jack’s store can have an unpredictable inventory — yesterday’s huge display of Progresso soup is today’s much-smaller hillock of marinated mushrooms is tomorrow’s sad heap of slightly battered boxes of Royal gelatin — shopping there is a return to the improvisatory cooking of yore, when people made dinner with whatever was in the market.

The Tuscans have a saying, “Icché c’è c’è,” meaning, “What you see is what we have.” Only here, of course, your deity is not seasonality, it’s availability. Your seat, their pants: get to know them.

My first few meals mined the wealth of Jack’s staples. I made rice and beans one night, which we zested up with 99-cent canned jalapeños and sofrito (like enchilada sauce, with a slight burned taste); another night we had penne with cream and some pancetta I found in the gourmet section. Another night, after amassing some brown rice and cans of bamboo shoots, water chestnuts and baby corn at Jack’s, I bought some Chinese broccoli off-site for a big stir-fry. For dessert each night we turned to the slightly wanton charms of the Little Debbie product line, particularly young Debbie’s Oatmeal Creme Pies, whose velvety filling so perfectly captures an imagined marriage between buttercream frosting and Noxzema.

Whenever I hit an obstacle — Jack’s, like almost all 99-cent stores, has no butter, no good olive oil, no flour, very limited cheese and no fresh vegetables — I either supplemented with Gourmet Garage items, or got busy.

What kind of busy? I used frozen broccoli from Jack’s to make cream of broccoli soup (pretty good), frozen peas for pea soup (excellent), and a soybean oil-butter blend called Admiration to make soufflé (awful).

I trod more carefully when it came to meat — though the $4.99 Al Fresco chicken sausage that I tossed with some peas and farfalle one night was fine, I found myself neatly dodging the 99-cent ham cubes and the frozen fillets of tilapia and salmon, subconsciously putting them on my list of things I want to pay full freight for (surgery, sushi).

One day I grabbed some 99-cent Oscar Meyer sliced chicken breast, though, and served it with Inglehoffer horseradish mustard and some pumpernickel for a tasty $2.97 light meal, with leftovers. If I could make three sandwiches for what it usually costs me to buy half of one at a deli, then my investment was paying off at a rate of 600 percent. Sandwiches: the next stock market bubble.

Did I ever encounter spoiled food, or alarming sell-by dates? No. Other than some slightly leaden pumpkin ravioli from Jack’s gourmet section — it had the sludgy, earwax-like quality of something that had been unfrozen and then frozen again — the only bump on the road was the aroma emanating from the black plastic bags that Jack’s and other 99-cent stores use: they smell alternately like an electrical fire or a fish in transition.

(Ira Steinberg, vice president of merchandise and head of operations for Jack’s, said: “They’re made of recycled products. They may carry a smoky odor.”)

As my dinner for friends approached, I was feeling my nerves. Eager to test my true mettle, I’d decided that the ingredients would have to be exclusively 99 cents or less — the gourmet section had dulled my skinflint edge. So I cast my eye across the 99-cent world to see what other delicious treasures lay out there.

Over the course of three days, I visited 21 more 99-cent stores in Manhattan, including 12 in Harlem and Washington Heights, 4 in Chinatown and 1 in Spanish Harlem. Though this Marco Polo unearthed some delightful surprises at his price point — star anise, cinnamon sticks, capers, pecans, white balsamic vinegar — I fell hardest for Goya’s delicate dulce de leche wafers and their golden, slightly salty caramel filling. I have shown Little Debbie the door; Dulce’s my girl now.

The four friends I served dinner to included two who had shopped for food at 99-cent stores and two who had not. Guests were met with an antipasto tray — pepperoncini, olives, artichoke hearts, crackers, very greasy salami and a hockey puck of Brie that I had softened by baking.

Disparate nibbling yielded several polite, neutral comments. My guests stared off into the mid-distance as if in the throes of Art Appreciation. But the compliments started flying when I served my chilled pear soup — nothing more than a mixture of Goya and Kern’s pear nectars that I served in beautiful Chinese bowls with star anise floating on top. (Mark: “I feel like I’m at a chic restaurant.” Heather: “I’ve cleaned my bowl.”)

Our entree of penne with peas and turkey bacon in a light cream sauce gave way to much conversation about frozen peas. I explained that food luminaries like Marcella Hazan and the Silver Palate women approve of them. Heather told us how she had used bags of frozen peas to help soothe her mother after her hip replacement surgery.

The flourless pecan torte that I served for dessert met with approval, but nothing like the semiriotous adulation inspired by my subsequent offering of a 3.5-oz. Toblerone bar. (Scott: “Wow!” Heather: “Nice!” Greg: “Airport candy!”)

What has been my experiment’s legacy?

I will continue to serve my “pear soup.” I will continue to worship at the altar of Goya’s dulce de leche wafers. I will continue to make my pea soup using frozen peas, particularly as the recipe I devised is so wonderfully easy. (Slice and sauté an onion. Add 3 cups chicken stock, a 1-pound bag of frozen peas, 1/3 cup oats, 1/8 teaspoon cardamom, some salt and pepper. Bring to boil. Purée in blender.)

But more important, I will continue to look for incredible value. As I’m sure the folks at Jack’s know, bargain-hunting can be addictive.

Consider the Web site for the national chain 99¢ Only Store, which proudly displays an Andreas Gursky photograph of endless rows of candy and canned goods called “99 Cents,” taken at a franchise in Hollywood. The Web site informs us, “This photograph recently sold for over $1,999,999!”

One man’s penny is another man’s dollar.

A Discount Store Jack’s 99¢ Stores

How It Works: When manufacturers and retailers want to ditch a large stock or some duds, they call Jack’s. While half of Jack’s products inherently cost around $1 (frozen food, Hawaiian Punch), dollar stores are also quietly fed products manufacturers want to expose to a more down-market demographic. “Companies figure that customers aren’t going to overlap from department stores to dollar stores, so they sell the same product at both,” says one analyst. Of course, Jack’s vice-president, Ira Steinberg, can’t tell you who these manufacturers are. “Part of my agreement with national brands is that I don’t admit that I carry their brands.” The week we went, Jack’s had Black & Decker coffeemakers, Hormel salami, and Hamilton Beach blenders.

Employees: 270.

Annual Revenue: $30 million ($6.9 million is profit) for its three stores.

Best Way to Make Money: It’s all about turnover. The store can sell a tractor-trailer of Mrs. Fields cookie packs in four days (that’s 162,000 cookies). Any item moves at the right price. “Lipstick that was a horror show at 99 cents, put it at ten for a dollar and you’ve got a crowd,” says Steinberg.

New Yorkonomics: The dense city’s crowds of customers mean that goods can turn over faster than anyplace else in America. Those crowds have made the city a remarkably cheap place to sell, because goods sit for so little time on the shelf that they end up using little space. Along with furious competition among stores, this makes the city an excellent place to shop for cheap goods, despite the high cost of land.

I don't shop too often at $.99 stores. I tend to go there once in a while when I'm bargain hunting, but I don't go regularly. I do shop for cleaning products there because I don't see any real reason to spend alot on cleaning products. I sometimes go to National Wholesale Liquidators if I can remember to go a little out of the way on the way home.

Buying food? I'm not too sure about, but I do find some bargains that I'm a bit hesitant to pull the trigger. I don't think I'd have the balls to cook an entire meal let alone parts of a meal. But one never knows, mother necessity and all that.

[Willravel]

I shop at places that advertise with words like "organic", "imported", and "natural". I can't imagine finding much stuff like that in a 99¢ store.

[Speed_Gibson]

we get some cleaning and bath supplies from them frequently. Food is never - might get a bag of jerky or something similar at times (not any actual 'food' though).They are good options for christmas/easter/etc. especially with younger kids in the house.

Originally Posted by willravel

I shop at places that advertise with words like "organic", "imported", and "natural". I can't imagine finding much stuff like that in a 99¢ store.

those are all over the general Salem/Portland Area where I grew up (give or take 30 miles), and there are a good portion per capita in this out-in-the -sticks crazy mix of everything area where I live now.

[ngdawg]

I used to do quite a bit of grocery shopping at the dollar store because it sold things I use, national names. Now they don't for the most part, but the spouse loves to go there and buy snacks, like Little Debbie's or Tastykakes.
Gotta watch'em, though....a brand of shampoo(as an example) might sell for a dollar there and be on sale at Target or Walmart for 88c. And I find things like candy bars at 2 for a dollar are no bargain-they're tiny-I can get a giant one, 3 times the size for 99c at the drugstore.

[samcol]

Originally Posted by willravel

I shop at places that advertise with words like "organic", "imported", and "natural". I can't imagine finding much stuff like that in a 99¢ store.

Same with me, plus $.99 stores usually have foreign goods which I try not to support when possible.

[snowy]

Originally Posted by willravel

I shop at places that advertise with words like "organic", "imported", and "natural". I can't imagine finding much stuff like that in a 99¢ store.

The Grocery Outlet (http://www.groceryoutlets.com/) here gets quite a bit of stuff that is organic and natural--in fact, they are the only local store that sells Umpqua milk and dairy products, and Umpqua is one of the best local milk producers. They also carry Amy's products, Barbara's Bakery, Nature's Path, and other recognizable organic/natural brands for a lot cheaper than I can find them elsewhere. Of course, Grocery Outlet isn't a 99c store, but they do specialize in closing out overstock at deep discounts. I can also get salon hair products on closeout there for 75% off retail--L'anza, Paul Mitchell, Bedhead, etc.

We don't have a 99c store here, but we do have a dollar store, and I shop there for holiday decorations/holiday stuff/birthday stuff. It's good for that sort of thing. It really isn't good for much else, unfortunately.

[MSD]

Fun fact from a conversation with someone formerly involved with such things, so I can't cite a hard source, if you see a dollar store that never really gets any business and is in an area where they're unlikely to afford the rent on the amount of business they get, it's most likely a money laundering operation for organized crime. The biggest group that does this is the collection of Lebanese "mafia" families who move drugs (mostly ecstasy) into the US from the Middle East.

[SSJTWIZTA]

the 99¢ can be pretty great sometimes. i go there for juice, candy, and sometimes even cheese. yeah, were mac and cheese fiends here.

that place has saved my broke ass a number of times, especially on road trips gone bad.

now, if only they sold beer like "Save-A-Lot."

[newtx]

I did shop at one recently and bought a nice desk calculator for a buck. I must admit they are my main source for reading glasses. For the younger crowd...............reading glasses are what you will need in abundance from about the age of 40 and up. I tend to stay away from their food selections also.

[ShaniFaye]

I've never been to a 99 cent store, but here we have Dollar Tree, and yes I shop there lots.....its the best place to get batteries lol

[Fotzlid]

I bought a bunch of gift bags for Christmas. They cost over $2 each.
??
Thats about the only time I went into one.

[ColonelSpecial]

I have never really bought food from a dollar store but they have been a great source of decorations for the various holidays. It has also been a good source of items for decorating for my up-coming wedding reception (glass votives, candles, etc).

[Hain]

As I leave middle class, I find myself shopping at them more and more. However I think these stores are different than the garden variety Dollar General that I shop at as it has mostly off brand food.

Plus it is a great place to buy a lot of little cheap things to stock in a bag for Easter or Christmas.

[canuckguy]

How can you not love a good dollar store?!?! We have a ton of this types of places in my town... Dollar Town, Dollar-rama, A Buck or Two....

I rarely buy any food there as it all looks very suspect. Occasionally i'll get a name branded chocolate bar or bag of chips if they're clearly marked, dated...etc

Mostly i purchase things like, kitchen sponges, gift bags, hangers, candle holders...etc

All this dollar talk gives me a hankering for a trip to see what new stock they have in. not many places you can come out with 2 big bags of crap for only 5 bucks lol.

[Derwood]

my mom goes to dollar stores all the time, but never for anything important.

I go once a year to get stocking stuffers for the kids

[Redlemon]

I dunno, I have a fear of things like excessive lead levels from products in stores like this. I suspect that many of the products haven't been through particularly stringent testing or regulatory oversight. Of course, I can afford to buy elsewhere, so I'm probably not the target market.

[Psycho Dad]

My wife drags me along some times. I'll pick up rags for the garage and whatnot while there. Some of the crap though you really have to wonder about. Is anyone really looking for an "Oak Rdge Boys Christmas Album 1986" on cassette tape at even 99 cents?

There is also a place called Big Lots she looks for crap at some times. It isn't everything for 99 cents, but I've seen HDMI cables there for very low prices.

[ShaniFaye]

big lots is awesome for some things, picture frames - utensils - dishtowels etc

[thingstodo]

Originally Posted by willravel

I shop at places that advertise with words like "organic", "imported", and "natural". I can't imagine finding much stuff like that in a 99¢ store.

I tend to agree. I feel you get what you pay for. If I need a lot of inexpensive items I might go to a dollar store but so far I haven't. I think they kind of took the place of dime stores from when I was a kid but that was pre-Target and other stores like that. Now they all seem about the same (although Target is much more upscale than Wal-Mart) with dollar stores at the lowest end of the scale.

[girldetective]

I dont go to $.99 stores. Instead I like to splurge at the $1.00 Tree, and like others here buy trinkets and dishtowels and wrapping paper. I avoid buying the food.

[Halx]

There's a 99c store right next door to me and I'm just too embarassed to set foot in it. It read "mob" like everything else. I get the feeling most stores in my neighborhood are just mob fronts anyways. I mean, what kind of neighborhood survives with at LEAST 1 refrigerator store on each block, MAYBE a hair salon, and all other storefronts boarded up? There are more refrigerator stores within a 5 block radius of me than there are grocery/convenience stores.

[ConspiracyTheor]

Originally Posted by willravel

I shop at places that advertise with words like "organic", "imported", and "natural". I can't imagine finding much stuff like that in a 99¢ store.

Originally Posted by samcol

Same with me, plus $.99 stores usually have foreign goods which I try not to support when possible.

Huh?
Aren't most imported items foreign goods?

[Lasereth]

These stores are a big reason why America is so fat. You can get a 15-pack of snack cakes for $1. A box of pop tarts for $1. Hey it was only $1 so it must be a snack so I'll just eat the whole box. A whole back of chips or popcorn (family size) for $1. The most unhealthy food is the cheapest and places like this exemplify the problem. If I didn't care about my weight or health I would buy food there, it's a damn steal. You could buy $10 worth of food there that tastes delicious and is addicting and it would last a good while.

[Jinn]

I bought a 99c can of shaving cream at a dollar store and it lasted me three years shaving my face every 2 days. Amazing, considering the Wal-Mart kind lasted me like 3 months.

The can lasted so long it started to rust. I call that a "best buy".

[kutulu]

There are random things we get at $1 stores. The ones near us are large chains so I doubt they are mob fronts.

One thing that is cool from there: pregnancy tests. There is no functional difference between those and the $10/unit EPT or similar tests.

[Ustwo]

The problem I have with dollars stores is the eclectic nature means you don't know exactly what you find/need so its more of a 'oh I could use that' thing, than an I NEED thing.

As such I'd collect a lot of mostly junk for a dollar. I suppose if I browsed them regularly I'd be better at getting the need part down.

[Strange Famous]

most of the stores I know like that sell bankrupt stock (and more often stolen stuff). I have no problem shopping at them for stuff like socks or detergent or whatever... wouldnt buy a TV from one.

[Leto]

Originally Posted by canuckguy

How can you not love a good dollar store?!?! We have a ton of this types of places in my town... Dollar Town, Dollar-rama, A Buck or Two....

I rarely buy any food there as it all looks very suspect. Occasionally i'll get a name branded chocolate bar or bag of chips if they're clearly marked, dated...etc

Mostly i purchase things like, kitchen sponges, gift bags, hangers, candle holders...etc

All this dollar talk gives me a hankering for a trip to see what new stock they have in. not many places you can come out with 2 big bags of crap for only 5 bucks lol.

ditto. Dollar-rama is a big one. ideal place to buy brithday cards, wrapping paper & tissue paper, especially when you are just adding to the cost of a gift that is going to be given away. And the price of cards at Hallmark?? wow.

My mother buys all of her stocking stuffers at dollar-stores, which is just fine with me, because we get all kinds of stuff that we can sell at the annual garage/street sale in June.

My most recent purchase at a dollar store was a set of kitchen scissors for a buck. great stuff. During the World Cup, I managed to purchase a German flag for my car for a dollar, which was just about as much as I was willing to pay.

[MSD]

Oh, forgot to add, bags of army men from dollar stores are an awesome complement to my scoped .22

Set up little camps of army men in the backyard, grab a box of CB shorts (quieter than pellet guns and less lead residue on my hands) and I'm free of the artificial constraints of sniper-oriented video games, like not using a real gun.

Originally Posted by Halx

There's a 99c store right next door to me and I'm just too embarassed to set foot in it. It read "mob" like everything else.

Like I said, it's most likely a front and money laundering operation for the Lebanese mob's ecstasy smuggling.

[SSJTWIZTA]

oh man, you ruined dollar stores for me forever.
from now on when i step foot into one ill think of bodies and money laundering.

MSD, that army man thing isnt a bad idea at all, i might have a new way to pass the time.

[Xazy]

We get a few random things at there like gift bags sometimes. But never food.

Amazing savings while not 99 cent store, totally rocks (for those who live in NY).

[MSD]

Originally Posted by SSJTWIZTA

oh man, you ruined dollar stores for me forever.
from now on when i step foot into one ill think of bodies and money laundering.

No bodies, Middle Eastern mobs running operations in the US are not violence-prone unless someone tries to jack their shipments. It's not like The Godfather with warring families, it's a horizontal spread of power and more of a cooperative effort than a traditional mob.

[genuinegirly]

I frequent a store called "Dollar Tree" that is a few blocks away. It is always packed with shoppers.

I purposefully look at where products are manufactured. I only purchase items produced in USA or EU. This is exceptionally easy to do in Dollar Tree. I do not understand quite why they have so much, but I find wine glasses, toothpaste, cheese puffs, wicker baskets, willow wreaths (rabbit chew toy) toilet paper... honestly, everything I was looking for, made by no-name companies in countries I'm happy to support.

[777]

I love the 99cent store! Where else can I find olive oil for a dollar for my pasta? A pound of krab meat for a dollar? An asian bag of mixed sea food with octopi and squid for a buck? Note book paper and lead pencils and dice for my paper/pencil rpg? And some have cheap wine that's great for cooking recipies. Jones cream soda for when you want a non cola drink. A dozen eggs, english muffins, and corn beef hash for breakfast. A bag of potatos, some frozen veggies, and frozon fish fillets for dinner. And let's not forget Earl Grey Tea imported from England and Green tea with ginsing from China.

Sometimes, you can have quality And quantity too.

[ItWasMe]

I have never even seen a .99 store.

We have Dollar Stores, Dollar Trees, where I might buy a few stocking stuffers or easter basket goodies like small stuffed animals. But their food section is mostly high sugar/fast carb foods. We keep those to a minimum around here, since our diabetic daughter cannot eat them often.

[XtinaHollywood]

i shop at them for parties and stuff, not much else...although the ones out here sell groceries, i'm not sure i'd trust food that was only .99

[MSD]

Originally Posted by 777

I love the 99cent store! Where else can I find olive oil for a dollar for my pasta? A pound of krab meat for a dollar? An asian bag of mixed sea food with octopi and squid for a buck?

I've never seen crab meat at a dollar store that wasn't long expired. Be careful with that stuff.

[abaya]

Originally Posted by MSD

Fun fact from a conversation with someone formerly involved with such things, so I can't cite a hard source, if you see a dollar store that never really gets any business and is in an area where they're unlikely to afford the rent on the amount of business they get, it's most likely a money laundering operation for organized crime. The biggest group that does this is the collection of Lebanese "mafia" families who move drugs (mostly ecstasy) into the US from the Middle East.

Ah, Lebanese immigrants, always so innovative. Will have to get ktspktsp and dlish's opinion on this... I've never heard of it before (though I've heard about it with regards to Chinese mafia at certain Chinese restaurants around Seattle). Gotta love immigrants, always finding themselves a niche!

[jewels]

Same as most above.

Gift bags and balloons. Sudoku puzzle books. That's about it.