# What do you call "the food store"? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 20, 2014, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-the-food-store/696020 "2014-08-20T17:22:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2014, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-the-food-store/696020/1 "2014-08-20T17:22:42Z")
That big store where you buy food, the one with the produce department, the meat department, the deli counter, maybe even a pharmacy, and all the aisles of cans, jars, and dry foods in the middle. What do you generally call that store? The supermarket (“I’m going to _the supermarket_.”) “The market” (“I’m going to _the market_.”) The grocery store (“I’m going to _the grocery store_.”) “The store” (“I’m going to _the store_.”) Store’s proper name (“I’m going to _Safeway_.”) **The** store’s proper name (“I’m going to _the Safeway_.”) Something else Depends on… I don’t shop at that type of store I don’t know! ---
**Author:** ![Labrador\_Deceiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Labrador\_Deceiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labrador_Deceiver)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2014, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-the-food-store/696020/2 "2014-08-20T17:24:51Z")
“The grocery store” or maybe “the store”. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2014, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-the-food-store/696020/3 "2014-08-20T17:27:12Z")
Kroger (not Kroger’s) unless it’s Bi-Rite or one of the upscale places like Whole Foods or Fresh Market. ---
**Author:** ![Crotalus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crotalus/32/41_2.png) [@Crotalus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crotalus)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2014, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-the-food-store/696020/4 "2014-08-20T17:28:51Z")
Around my house it is “the grocery”. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2014, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-the-food-store/696020/5 "2014-08-20T17:47:06Z")
The local pack-your-own is “the store”. All the others go by name. ---
**Author:** ![PorchePine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/94ad74/32.png) [@PorchePine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PorchePine)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2014, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-the-food-store/696020/6 "2014-08-20T17:51:11Z")
Either “the grocery store”, or by name. ---
**Author:** ![Sir\_T-Cups](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ed655f/32.png) [@Sir\_T-Cups](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_T-Cups)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2014, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-the-food-store/696020/7 "2014-08-20T17:52:50Z")
Interesting that you used “food store” in your thread title, but it’s not an option in the poll That being said I said grocery store, but I had an ex who always said food store ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2014, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-the-food-store/696020/8 "2014-08-20T17:56:58Z")
Usually just “the store”, but if that’s not specific enough, “the grocery store”, or the actual store’s name. ---
**Author:** ![dracoi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/90db22/32.png) [@dracoi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dracoi)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2014, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-the-food-store/696020/9 "2014-08-20T17:59:01Z")
It depends. Most of the time, I use the store’s actual name. In my area, there are two big intersections about equidistant from me and each has two grocery stores, so saying “the grocery store” is pretty vague. (Plus, we do a lot of our shopping at one that’s a little further up.) If I use a generic, it’s generally “grocery store” but I’ll often use a variant of a the vendor’s full name. So there’s a little pop-up tent vegetable market during the summer. I can’t even remember the proper name, but it includes the word “market” so I would never call that the grocery store and usually call it the market. (Not only is it run by people who speak Spanish, half the signs are written in Spanish. If they’re not Mexicans and have some other country of origin, my apologies.) Likewise, I will sometimes shorten “Central Market” to “the market.” ---
**Author:** ![Kimballkid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b5a626/32.png) [@Kimballkid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimballkid)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2014, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-the-food-store/696020/10 "2014-08-20T18:08:09Z")
This should really be a multi-choice poll as I call it several things on that list. ---
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2014, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-the-food-store/696020/11 "2014-08-20T18:14:30Z")
In my experience, the Northeast (at least the NY/NJ area) calls them Supermarkets and the Midwest calls them Grocery stores. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2014, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-the-food-store/696020/12 "2014-08-20T18:20:37Z")
Either “grocery store” when I’m speaking generically or “the Pig” when talking about the three nearest such food stores proximate to my home. ---
**Author:** ![Missy2U](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3bc359/32.png) [@Missy2U](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Missy2U)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2014, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-the-food-store/696020/13 "2014-08-20T18:29:48Z")
Either the grocery store, or it’s actual name. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2014, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-the-food-store/696020/14 "2014-08-20T18:33:35Z")
Other: “The co-op.” ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2014, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-the-food-store/696020/15 "2014-08-20T18:42:10Z")
People n New York do not go to the grocery store or the supermarket, they go to Wegmans. And anyone who says otherwise is from out of state, because only heathens refuse to shop at Wegmans. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2014, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-the-food-store/696020/16 "2014-08-20T18:53:20Z")
In practice, mostly the store’s name (“I’m swinging by Aldi; do you need anything?”). This is relevant because not all stores carry the same things, and not all of them have the same prices: If I’m going to Giant Eagle, I might pick up Life cereal and herbal tea, because I can’t get either of those at Aldi, but I’m not going to get bananas, because they’ll cost twice as much at Giant Eagle. In situations where that doesn’t work (in an unfamiliar area and just need to grab something quick, say), it’s usually “Do you see a grocery store anywhere near here?”, or occasionally “supermarket”. ---
**Author:** ![Human\_Action](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ac91a4/32.png) [@Human\_Action](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Human_Action)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2014, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-the-food-store/696020/17 "2014-08-20T19:09:52Z")
“Grocery”, never “grocery store”, proper name only used when it’s necessary to specify which grocery in particular. ---
**Author:** ![obfusciatrist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/4af34b/32.png) [@obfusciatrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/obfusciatrist)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2014, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-the-food-store/696020/18 "2014-08-20T19:21:28Z")
Several of them. I might say any of these as I leave the house: “I’m going to Safeway/Lucky’s/Mi Pueblo/etc.” “I’m going to the grocery store” “I’m going to the store” I’m going to the store is probably the leader in the clubhouse and default. I never really intentionally go to any store that isn’t a grocery store (I hate shopping) but might say grocery store if there is some contextual possibility of confusion. Mentioning the specific store is more to give my wife context in case she might want to ask for something specific (seafood requests, for example, would never be made for our Safeway). I would never say the words “market” or “supermarket.” Also never just “grocery” or “grocer.” ---
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2014, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-the-food-store/696020/19 "2014-08-20T19:21:51Z")
Other. The corner store. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2014, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-the-food-store/696020/20 "2014-08-20T19:24:51Z")
The grocery store, or just “going for groceries” since I usually hit 3 or 4 stores at a time. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-the-food-store/696020.md?page=2)