Recently, I’ve been asked a little bit more about the Sav Mor sales, and thought I’d answer the questions here. I’ve written about it elsewhere, but not on Saving in Greenville. I’ll copy what I wrote and update it to reflect what I know the be the current info:

For those of you who are in Greenville, the latest word on the sidewalk is that Sav Mor (click for directions) will be having their sidewalk sale this weekend, Saturday, June 13, at 9:00 a.m. Here are a few more details:

1. You will want to arrive before 9:00a.m. Once the moderator yells “go,” you don’t really have much of a chance to get in the action unless you’re on the “sidelines” when he makes the announcement. These sales generally take place every other Saturday, weather permitting. If you want to make sure, you can call the store ahead of time.

2. This takes place outdoors, so dress appropriately.

3. You will pay for your items in cash. ($7 per box)

4. Boxes must be as level on top as possible (they will let you know if it is not level enough).

5. It is helpful to go along with someone else (one of you can “guard” the boxes/sort through things).

If you fill a box to the top, you will most likely be able to get $100 to $200 worth of products. Keep in mind that many of these items are expired/scratched/dented.

Weather permitting, there will be a Sav More sale this Saturday at 9a.m., $7 per box. Several weeks ago, reader Lynette sent me this picture of her most recent Sav Mor finds–it was a great day for her!  O how I would have loved to find some of those tortillas!

The pictures shows her display of 3 boxes worth of food, which equals $21.  Great shopping, Lynette!

UPDATE: (June 2009): A reader has informed me that they are no longer doing this deal, but I have not yet confirmed it for myself.

Flowers Discount Bakery Store sells “day old” bread for $3 and $5 a cart (supposedly divided by the amount of bread in the cart)!  We estimated that at a low cost, it would be at least $100 worth of bread.  The bakery mentioned that the bread truck comes every day except Wednesday.  The types of bread will vary from day to day, but I have gotten some very nice bread, bagels, and buns this way.  You will not see the carts when you go into the store, so you will need to ask for them.  (Unless you have a lot of freezer space (and even if you do), you will definitely want to split a cart with someone!)

Directions:

8110 White Horse Rd, Greenville, SC 29617

(864) 246-1380

Going from the downtown Greenville area, take Cedar Lane/183 towards Pickens until it intersects with 25 (White Horse Road), and take a right.  Continue past the Hamricks/Save-More shopping area and it is on the right.

Other places to buy bread inexpensively in Greenville:

• Entenmann’s Bakery: You can almost always find bread quality for $1 or less.
• That’s a Dollar near Walmart on Wade Hampton (Taylors):
  • They sell day-old Pepperidge Farm breads for $1; the bread is delivered on Tuesdays and Fridays

Several weeks ago, I visited the Bargain Food Store in Pelzer, SC.

The Bargain Food Store was a lot larger than I was expecting.  Going inside was slightly reminiscent of a trip to Sams Club or another large warehouse.  (However, I also felt like I’d stepped into a different culture (though our living in our neighborhood is similar).)  It was relatively crowded for a weekday morning and noisy, and there was a lot of store to navigate. (I waited a while for everyone to get out of this picture!)

If you’re familiar with the Sav-Mor sidewalk sale, you will probably recognize a few of the items as things you’ve seen there.  I’m guessing that the Bargain Food Store gets a lot of their stock from dated items and items that don’t fare so well in normal grocery stores.

Best deals I got:

• Cheese: $4.99 for a 5lb. bag–that’s $1/lb!
• Yogurt: $3.00 for a case of 12 6oz. Yoplait cups ($.25 cents each)
  • Of course, it was probably so low because the flavors were guava or pineapple, but I absolutely loved the guava!
• TrueLime bottle for $.50 (I LOVE this stuff, and wish I’d gotten more)
• Bananas: over 3 lb. for 99 cents

Other deals I saw:

• Milk was $2.99/gallon
• lots of large bags of cake mixes for under $3.00
• meat in large bulk

I also noted:

• Produce did not seem to be an exceptional deal, except for bananas.

It is a good 30 minutes from downtown Greenville, but if you have a freezer and storage space it may be worth the drive.  You can get directions here.  If you’re in the main Greenville city area, I recommend going when there’s a sale on at Food Lion so you can combine trips.  I’m curious as to whether or not anyone else has been here?

Spotlight on Savings is a feature I hope to do that highlights potential savings at lesser known stores in the area.  Stay tuned for more!