It was welcome news when we found out that ALDI is making its way to downtown St. Paul. Our quieter downtown desperately needs a grocery store, and though I might have my own issues with ALDI, I think it’s great news for the area. But that got me and the team from City Cast Twin Cities talking about our favorite spots for groceries. We even took suggestions from our listeners. Liz said that she’d love to see the Southern chain H-E-B move into the area. But, short of corporate mergers bringing us grocery behemoths from other regions, I wanted to zone in on our top five list of the Twin Cities grocery stores! I navigated the conversation with City Cast Contributor Denzel Belin and Pioneer Press Food Editor Jess Fleming.
Before you start questioning our choices, I wanted to tell you what metrics we used to judge.
Full Shopability - Based on offerings, price, and convenience, can you get your whole shop done here? This is where Costco might lose points, as there’s certain stuff you just don’t need a pallet of. The bounty of great Asian grocers in the Twin Cities, such as Shuang Hur, United Noodle, and Ha Tien, might lose some points here, too. The unique offerings are world-class, but many can’t get everything on their list at an Asian grocer. My kids want Crispix.
Experience - Maybe you can get your full shop done here. But was it easy? Was it overcrowded? Was it hard to park? Was the bathroom gross?
Quality Draw - Do they have something special that you really want? Do they do something better than anyone else? Is there an item, or offering, or special that makes you really want to go there, even if there are some negatives? For me, this is the Trader Joe’s conundrum. I don’t love doing a full shop at TJ’s, but I love their whole wheat bread so much that I sometimes grit my teeth, park in the basement, and practice what I’m going to say when the clerk asks, “Any plans for the rest of the day?”
Drum roll, please!
5 - Cub
A view from the parking lot at Cub Hopkins. (Sean McPherson / City Cast)
Do I have some problems with Cub? Yes! Do I blame them for creating a food desert in St. Paul? I sure do! But I do enjoy a shop at Cub. I get to Cub Eagan every other week, and they have free fruit for your kids to eat while you shop, most everything is in stock, and I think they do a hell of a job with baked goods. I think of Cub as a reasonable starting point for most grocery store runs. If you need to get to one place to get ice, ribs, toilet paper, a bag of rice, a rotisserie chicken, and ricotta cheese, you know you’ll be able to do it in record time without much difficulty.
4 - Costco
A very normal-sized rug at Costco. (Anna Weggel / City Cast)
Denzel Belin describes himself as a “Costco apologist”. Given that Denzel is a proud user of Metro Transit, I was surprised to hear that he embraces such a car-dependent shopping option. But he finds that a bi-weekly trip out to Costco with his SUV-owning partner fits his needs just fine. From the $1.50 hot dog to the ungodly huge jars of garlic salt, Denzel is all in. He even enjoys the barely-contained chaos of the St. Louis Park Costco parking lot, since he “loves spectacle.” Okey-doke. But honestly, if you can limit your shopping to every other week, there are some clear financial and efficiency benefits to Costco.
3 - The Wedge
A view from across the street at the Wedge. (Tiffany Bui / City Cast)
The Wedge Co-op is one of the most revered co-ops in the country. Its roots go back to an apartment on Franklin Ave. in 1974, and today it is a bustling grocer that takes up about half a city block at Lyndale and Franklin. The Wedge has an elite deli section and coffee shop with delicious pre-made salads and fresh, on-demand sandwiches. They also offer a diverse array of fresh produce, coupled with the slightly hippy dippy packaged foods you expect out of a co-op. If you have never shopped at a co-op before, there are some serious benefits! The Wedge is owned by its customers, and they reinvest surplus into the business and directly out to the owner/customers.
2 - Lunds & Byerlys
Lunds & Byerlys is a Twin Cities powerhouse in high-end groceries. There are deals to be found from time to time at Lunds, but the average cost is a little high compared to other shops. That being said, it’s a joy to shop there. It has a strong bakery, a fancy olive bar (don’t you just love a fancy olive bar?), and provides niche items that can be hard to find at other grocers. My family visits before Passover every year to stock up on matzo.
1 - Eastside Co-Op
Eastside Food Co-op. (Adam Sage / City Cast)
The praise my friends have for the Eastside Food Co-op can border on the poetic. It is one of the only grocery stores I know of that people will go out of their way to get to. I know folks who come in from Roseville, Columbia Heights, and even deep St. Paul to do their shopping there. Since they opened their doors in 2003, the co-op has had its ups and downs, including a terrible round of vandalism in 2025 that caused over $100,000 in damage. But through it all, Eastside has stayed positive and beloved in Northeast. The store has a relatively small footprint, just a block off of Central and Lowry, but it is definitely possible to get a full shop done there, and the meat department in particular gets praise for its selection and knowledgeable staff. It is one of the few grocery stores I know that has near-universal approval. I’ve always been able to get everything I need there, plus a couple of impulse buys.
