Whenever I tell somebody that I buy a lot of the staples of my kitchen at Duchess Provisions, the response is usually the same. “Wow, that must be expensive!”
You could be forgiven for assuming that, given that paying a premium to support smaller, independent businesses is pretty much accepted at this point. But what if I told you that I didn’t think I was paying any premium over my local Safeway?
Now that Provisions has opened their much expanded new location (10934 119st), I thought I’d dig up all the things from Provisions that I currently have in my pantry and do a little price comparison for you.
Duchess Provisions
I found similar items at my local Safeway and compared them to the current prices at the new Duchess Provisions store. After accounting for the different quantity sizes of the items, I have highlighted the less expensive items in green. When determining the value, I did not account for the difference in quality (for example, the cocoa at Provisions is Valrhona). I’ll leave that up to you.
The above list is by no means a scientific comparison, but you can see that of the 10 items I already had in my pantry, Provisions was cheaper on 8 of them, and that’s before you take advantage of the extra 5% discount for joining their loyalty program.
The store can help you out with more than just basics, though, you can get harder to find items like whole vanilla beans, gelatin sheets, premium flavour extracts, and the famous Duchess Pie Dough, in frozen form of course.
In addition to surprisingly affordable pantry items, the new Provisions has a bounty of higher-end items that will lighten your wallet, including a full line of Staub cookware and top of the line bakeware, kitchen tools, and gadgets. Provisions also carries a much larger selection of cookbooks than the old location did.
So the next time your pantry is running low on flour or vanilla, it’s good to remember that there are exceptions to the “local/independent always costs more” rule.
This might be the best thing I’ve read all week.
Thanks for that, Darcy.
I am definitely going to go here, thanks for the info! FYI, I think that fewer and fewer people patronize Safeway these days…
I’m sure Safeway will take a hit in my area with the new Loblaws City Market just opening, but it’s still the closest for me to grab a few things. I definitely make the effort to get everything I can at Provisions instead though.
I was amazed when I checked out the new city market that it was just the most expensive not a sale item or grand opening prices parking outside the store was awful….I will never go here again 10 thumbs down for me
I LOVE price comparisons! Back in the day, an old guy named Max Satenove used to do a weekly comparison of a typical shopping basket at three or four local grocery stores for the Edmonton Examiner. Now I use the Flipp app and make Save-On, No Frills or Superstore meet the competitor’s price. I’m not surprised Safeway didn’t fare well in this comparison. There are things I always buy in Europe because, until Provisions, they were unavailable in Edmonton – and I have been pleasantly surprised at their prices. No need to import from the UK or France.
Hi Alison,
It’s so funny you mention Max’s shopping basket, as that was the exact inspiration I had when writing this!
“Like”
I love Duchess Provisions – always have and their staff are fantastic! I’m going to the new location tomorrow!
great post Phil! I am with you 100% – folks are always SURPRISED at just how competitive and sometimes downright cheaper stuff at smaller, independent purveyors can be.
i LOVE the products at Provisions – am looking forward to even more in the new, bigger place!
thanks again for this post – great info
Loblaws, Safeway, Sobeys…..all the same company. Id say support local small business even if it’s a bit higher in price.
The other thing that is way less expensive at Provisions is cloves
Provisions is the FIRST place in this city that I’ve ever found sheet gelatin. Which is so much better in every way than powder. And a 5kg bag of perfect flour was less than the far-less ideal Robin Hood at Loblaws.
Thanks for doing the comparison. I shop at Provisions but only for things that that I can’t get elsewhere or are extra special. Now I can feel good about expanding my shopping cart to more basics there!