If you are hoping to buy a bag or two of dog food at a discounted price, don’t stop by Schnucks on Perkins. There’s not a bag of dog food left on the shelf. I decided to check out the store after work Thursday for the final closeout sale. I found some surprises (holiday wrapping paper and Easter egg dye) but I did not find any fresh food. No bread, produce, meat, fish, eggs, deli meat, or birthday cakes. Remember the store’s lovely floral department? Gone, except for a few pathetic mums in front of the store.
Before I went inside, I sat in my car for a minute and told myself, “No impulse buying. Just go for the expensive canned tomatoes.” Apparently, plenty of other people wanted canned tomatoes too. The shelf was almost bare. There were other staples, including coffee, salad toppings, and condiments like capers and pickles, all discounted 30 percent.
Some items were discounted 50 percent, and I went for those, including pine nuts (I bought three bags), minced garlic (I got the last jar), pistachios (three bags), roasted almonds, pickling spices (only $1.15), Miller's blueberry jam (I resisted the cherry) and wild Norwegian salmon. I was hoping for a little high end ice cream, but there wasn't much left except for low-cal Dove bars. Eggos or frozen fish fillets, on the other hand? You're in luck.
I spent $48 and actually used three of the items (pasta, black olives, and that garlic) to cook dinner when I got home. My only impulse buy was a PayDay at the checkout line, discounted 30 percent.The place was a little depressing, and the empty cold cases made the store feel like it's suffering through a power outage. Employees were surprisingly upbeat, with one worker at the service counter suggesting, "You should probably come back tomorrow. We think the discounts will drop to 60 or 70 percent."
Unfortunately, she didn't know if the deep discounts would extend to premium beer, which on Thursday was only marked down 10 percent.The closeout sale at Schnucks continues today until 8 p.m., and on Saturday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday's hours: Closed for good.
