From what I've heard from some folks, one of the biggest reasons why Bell's is so successful is a pretty straightforward concept - it's all about the $$$. After spending almost a half hour in there, I can honestly say the following:
From top to bottom, and if you don't mind some slightly bent products or slightly past date items (here's a video that can explain this more), and if brand names aren't necessarily a must for you, then Bell's can provide you the cheapest groceries in town, bar none. Not even Wal-Mart's got anything on this crowd in terms of bang for your buck.
Another reason I've heard that so many folks love this place is because the folks working there are very nice. Everyone was quite pleasant, and I saw the owner of this establishment working hard checking out customers herself. And it sure looks like quite the going concern as well! I counted three folks cashier clerking & at least four folks stock clerking. Lots of business. Customers coming in & going out the whole time I was there.
As I've also heard about for quite some time, both their meat & produce sections are pretty impressive. They had some real good looking meat at top-notch pricing.
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| Good Looking Meats |
With all of this said, this is not your typical grocery store. Things are...just a little different. For starters, not unlike an overstock or extra-lots store, you may not necessarily find everything you're looking for on any given day. Also, some of the stuff in there is...questionable. They had this big tub of non-packaged soap in which you just grabbed what you wanted & put it in a plastic bag. Again, the soap was unpackaged, you see? Just sittin' out there. But, I will say this - it was very cheap!
Also, and this is something I've definitely never seen at a retail business before, they have a prayer request box sitting right by the doors. So you can write down a quick word, thought or prayer for somebody & put it in there & I guess Bell's will pass it on for you, perhaps on the United Groceries of God's prayer list. Next time I'm in there I'm gonna write up prayer for ole AB, he probably needs it, you know.
However, I'll have to throw this out there as well: in a few spots around the store, I caught a a few whiffs of odd & different smells. But I'm kind of use to that, it's not unlike how the old Blackwell's in Mansfield used to be & the Mexican grocery on 278 is kind of the same way.
All in all I enjoyed my experience there, and I'll definitely be back. As an added bonus, I got two hefty plastic bags full of purchases for only $14.46 (I was seeing how much I could get for under $15). An amount, naturally, that I'll count as a business expense for tax purposes since I'm writing about it & all...
Okay for now, gang, 'til next time.
- MB McCart
