Poll: Are You Loyal to Your Grocery Store?

The for a Bradshaw Road shopping center could be considered another volley in the growing battle for local grocery dollars.

There has been growth in the top end of the market, with chains like Whole Foods, and in the discount-oriented end, with Wal-Mart and Target. That leaves traditional grocery chains like Raley's and feeling the squeeze of new competition like Fresh & Easy, the Sacramento Bee reports.

"Making matters most challenging for Raley's, Safeway and Modesto-based Save Mart is they have unionized workforces and significantly higher labor costs than their nonunion competitors," the Bee wrote.

The Bee said new entrants into the market, which also include Sprouts Farmers Markets, can also take advantage of lower lease prices brought on by the recession.

Raley's is at the table with the Roseville-based United Food and Commercial Workers union to try to cut healthcare costs, according to the Bee. Those cuts and the elimination of some pay extras are essential to the company's survival, Raley's CEO Michael Teel told the Bee.

Rosemont, are traditional grocery stores right to worry, or are you a loyal customer? When Fresh & Easy opens nearby, are you likely to jump ship and start shopping there, or are you undecided about the new chains coming to the area? Let us know by taking our poll and leaving a comment below.

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Disclosure: Cody Kitaura is a former Raley's employee and former member of the United Food and Commercial Workers union.

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