A Quality Shopping Experience

On a recent trip with my family I had the pleasurable experience of checking out a QFC store in Seattle’s University District. It was the sign for Murray’s Cheese that caught my eye before I even realized I was standing in front of a supermarket. Any place that stocks Murray’s cheeses is a winner in my book, so clearly I had to check it out. As I stepped inside I was completely distracted from my original mission for a cheese-curd fix by a mini-garden with twinkling fairy lights fluttering from the ceiling above. Bright blooms are one of Seattle’s specialties. But I had felt more like I walked into a upscale private florist than a supermarket.

Remembering my mission I turned around and wandered right into a piece of cheesy heaven. The cheese case included everything I would expect to see in Murray’s Flagship location in Greenwich Village, NYC.

English cheddars, Italian Parmigiano’s, creamy French Brie’s. Popular imports, California’s Artisans, Wisconsin’s finest. You name it, it was there. And the upscale store-within-a-store fit in with the rest of the supermarket. The QFC store maintains a high quality atmosphere throughout the entire supermarket. The bakery case behind the cheese featured an endless offering of sweet treats and the produce was shining bright under LED lighting. The quality of the fresh food stood out with bright red slabs of meat and fresh fish.

Each aisle looked more delicious than the next, complete with a grain bar and full-packed wine department, featuring hundreds of local wines and microbrews.

As a GHQ editor I’m always intrigued to check out new supermarkets, and more often than not I find something that intrigues me about a new chain. This time, however, almost everything impressed me. It was clear the store was kept to a high standard across the board – food quality, customer service and cleanliness. There was even outdoor seating for shoppers to enjoy their prepared food selections. And the best part was I got to walk through the fairy-lit florist department on the way back out.

QFC stands up to its name, Quality Food Centers. With more than 75 stores, the shoppers in the Puget Sound region of Washington and Portland, Oregon, area are lucky consumers. And I got my cheese curds. Beecher’s Cheese Curds to be exact. And they were even more delicious than they looked under the perfect lighting in the Mini-Murray’s Cheese shop.