Hey everyone!

I'm going into my 2nd year at Mac and this year I'll be living off-campus in Hamilton. I'm staying at West Village suites so I was wondering what people would recommend as the best place to buy groceries from in and around that general area...I'm curious about things like food quality and prices, what kind of sales they have etc...the only thing I've read once or twice is that Fortinos is a bit over priced but I'm not sure how accurate that is because I've never really bought anything from there I lived on res first year so I had my meal card whenever I needed it. Also, what kind of budget do you spend weekly/monthly on groceries?

Thanks a lot in advance for your help

Hey! im going to first year, and also be living at West Village suites!! This is a really good question, but i guess we have a metro near us, at university plaza. hopefully a 5-10 mins walk (Not sure, just checked google maps lol)

Fortinos is about 5 minutes from you and Metro is about 10 minutes from you. Both are fairly expensive. Fortinos is much bigger and therefor way more variety. Fortinos also has a few features that the Metro doesn't have (I know Metro has some of these but Fortinoes for sure has a hot deli, cold deli, bakery, flower shop, wine store, an ATM, a pizza bar, and an area that sells coffee and refreshments). Fortinos is probably the better option, even if it's just because it's closer.

I find the prices to be a bit better too at Fortinos, so that's where I usually shop. Just keep an eye on the flyers and you'll be fine -- I usually budget around $30 a week on food, but my roommate and I share groceries so it's a bit less.

You'll want to pay attention to flyers:

Fortinos: http://www.redflagdeals.com/in/ancas...ores/fortinos/
Metro: http://www.redflagdeals.com/in/ancas.../stores/metro/

The only page with worthwhile deals in the flyers is the first page (i.e. The 50%+ off deals) if you stick to those and buy in bulk when the things you want are on sale you should be fine. (Sales change on Friday, but the flyers for the next weeks sales come out on Thursday so if you are attentive you can pick up a pretty wide range of things on sale)

Also, check out: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Fidde...63828676991956

This place is about halfway between Metro and Fortinos and you can buy fresh produce there for about half the price Metro/Fortinos sells it. The place doesn't have a debit machine though, so make sure you bring cash.

dont worry about fortinos being a little more expensive. youre already getting ripped off at west village so 5 bucks more a week for groceries shouldnt hurt you.

You buy the stuff on special from metro/fortinos.

Else I would go to fresh nation food @jackson square or that chinese supermarket on cannon (alot cheaper). Further away but both aren't hard to get to with a bus pass.

It is preference really; fortinos has the deli which has some awesome meats/fish. It feels like their sales are better. Advantage with metro plaza is there is a shoppers, ebgames, homehardware and lcbo beside the metro so a lot of stuff in one place.

And welcome to West Village Suites!

Both Fortinos and Metro are mid-high range grocers. Their general quality is pretty good but prices are higher than what I'm used to. Metro has higher prices because it is 24 hours while fortinos was bought out by Loblaws (a higher end grocer)

I have shopped at Fortinos my whole life, so I'd say there. Great quality and less expensive than Metro.

I'm actually really surprised that there isnt like a Food Basics or No Frills near Mac...

@Tailsnake where is that wholesale foods place? I've heard people talk about it and tried to look for it but was unsuccessful...

A co-worker of mine told me about this new, small farmer's market next to the Fortinos on Main called Figs. I've never been there (I plan to soon) but she said the fruits and veggies were a lot cheaper there than Fortinos.

I'm going to ask her for an address tomorrow.

Unfortunately, it is not open on Sundays, when I typically do my grocery shopping :(

Originally Posted by Biochem47

@Tailsnake where is that wholesale foods place? I've heard people talk about it and tried to look for it but was unsuccessful...

https://www.google.ca/maps?ll=43.254....931245&dg=opt

^Does that link work?

Totally forgot. Hamilton jackson square also has a farmers market.

Originally Posted by Leeoku

Totally forgot. Hamilton jackson square also has a farmers market.

There's also a new grocery store that opened up, Nations Fresh supermarket, or something!

Originally Posted by ~*Sara*~

There's also a new grocery store that opened up, Nations Fresh supermarket, or something!

Nations opened up recently in the space formerly temporarily occupied by the Hamilton "farmers'" market. If you are bussing in, you'll want to know that the entrance is closer to Bay Street than James Street. Convenient underground parking (entrance from Bay Street), reimbursed with minimum purchase. Bring some coin! The buggies are chained together and will release with a $1 ransom, that the staff is not willing to front you.

It advertises itself as an internationally-focussed food store. Strong emphasis and support for Asian foods. Personally, I look for Eastern European oriented foods at Starsky's, which is much, much further to the east in Hamilton, but still on the bus route.