Which Grocery Stores South Dakotans Wish Would Move To State

From the “well, duh” department, grocery prices continue to be nuttier than squirrel turds these days.

And it's not just a South Dakota problem. Pretty much everywhere you go in America, shoppers are feeling the pain at the checkout counter. That $100 grocery run that used to fill the cart seems to equate to about three bags these days.

As a result, shoppers are getting creative. They're scouring weekly ads, clipping coupons, hunting for clearance items, buying store brands, and doing just about anything possible to knock a few bucks off their weekly grocery bill.

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Here in Sioux Falls and throughout South Dakota, shoppers have plenty of popular options, including Hy-Vee, Aldi, Fareway, Walmart, Sam's Club, Costco, Sunshine Foods, and Safeway.

All of these stores do a fine job of playing the savings game in a highly competitive grocery store market. But let's be honest: even with weekly specials, digital coupons, loyalty deals, and other promotions, many South Dakotans still end up asking for more.

According to a recent report from Dakota News Now, a survey conducted by LensPricer.com found that several South Dakotans in search of even bigger, better deals are hoping another well-known grocery store chain sets up shop in the 605 sometime soon.

The retailer that sits high atop many South Dakotans grocery store wish lists is none other than the Grocery Outlet Bargain Market.

Grocery Outlet Bargain Market has built its reputation around selling name-brand groceries at discounted prices. The company often gets its inventory through surplus products, discontinued items, packaging changes, and other deals, which means the selection can change constantly.

It's essentially the grocery-shopping equivalent of digging through a treasure chest. You might walk in looking for cereal and leave with 14 cans of something you didn't know existed because, well, it was a really good deal.

Grocery Outlet Bargain Market is headquartered in Emeryville, California, and has roughly 480 stores across the country. Unfortunately for bargain-hunting South Dakotans, there currently aren't any locations particularly close to us at the moment.

That hasn't stopped residents from wishing one would eventually make its way to the Mount Rushmore State.

According to the survey, WinCo Foods and Meijer finished second and third among the grocery chains South Dakotans would most like to see come to the state.

I'm actually a little surprised Trader Joe's didn't rank higher. That always seems to be a pretty popular wish among Midwestern shoppers.

Personally, I'm holding out hope that Ralphs eventually decides to venture out of Southern California and make its way to South Dakota.

Not necessarily because I feel we need another grocery store.

I just want to see how many Sioux Falls shoppers would channel their inner Dude from The Big Lebowski and make a quick trip to Ralphs wearing nothing but a bathrobe, pajama pants, and clear plastic jelly sandals.