We live on Mt Soledad and this is our closest grocery store. I can be there in about 2 minutes if I run out of milk or something like that. It's very convenient.

This Albertsons is was just renovated and is now going through some other kind of upgrade. The renovation made it way less dumpy. It's not a big store and it doesn't have everything. Like I couldn't find marshmellows there once which I thought was odd. It has a small section of organics.

The clientele always either seems to be on their way to the beach or from the senior center across the street. The staff is nice though sometimes they look at me like I'm insane for bringing my own bag. Price wise, they do have crazy deals in the meat department though I prefer to buy organics, which they don't have.

Bottom line, I would be upset if this store closed but it's not my first choice.

<b> Overall:</b> I'm usually a Von's gal, but I thought I'd try something new...never again! This Albertson's is tiny! The selection is limited and everything is crammed together. Even the parking lot is tiny. I guess you can find the bare necessities here, but we're talking just the basics.<br /><br /><b>Value:</b> You'd think that they had GREAT prices or something, to make up for their lack of selection...not so much. Prices were comparable to the competitors - Ralph's, Von's, etc.<br /><br /><b>Service:</b> Asked the guy at the deli counter if they made sandwiches. He looked at me like are I was stupid, rolled his eyes and pointed me to some prepackaged sandwiches and said, "We don't do individual orders." Geez, it was just a question...no need to be so rude!<br /><br /><b>Quality:</b> Tiny store, tiny parking, tiny selection...I've seen better!<br />

When I grew up here in the 1980s and 1990s, my firends and I jokingly called this place "scary" because it was old and dirty, dimly-lit and seemed to attract more than it's fair share of vagrants and shifty, dirty-faced customers.

But I was pleasantly surprised when I went back there a few years ago for the first time in over 15 years. The store had been renovated and entirely cleaned up. All new lighting had been installed. There were also many fewer street people lingering inside and outside.

Fewer. But not zero. The proximity to Tourmaline and PB may make this a problem that is impossible for Albertsons to "solve'' entirely. And as a prior reviewer noted, the place is really tiny by the standards of modern grocery stores. But contrary to her experience, I always seem to find what I am looking for here, despite the fact that it's so small. And in my experience their meat department has excellent specials almost every week on steaks, pork and fish, and even lobster tails and jumbo shrimp. (But for some reason, rarely chicken.) I also like their range of organic products, including milk and pasta and apple juice for my young daughter, all of which seem to be very reasonably priced to me.

I've also found the check-out clerks to be pretty friendly, albeit with a couple of notable exceptions.

It's currently underwhelming to shop here. However, I am encouraged because they are currently remodeling. The store manager told me they are going green. They are planning solar panels, skylights, LED lighting and EV charging station for electric cars. They are also aware of demand from customers for more organic meats and produce. So I am optimistic the new version (Aug 2010) will be the store we all will want to frequent.