The BEST Grocery Store in America Has Only Three Idaho Locations

✅ The American Customer Service Satisfaction Index has compiled a ranking of grocery stores since 1994

✅ The top performer on their 2025 list only has two locations in Idaho

✅ Boise based Albertsons ranked "below average"

We don’t know about you, but we let out a sigh of relief when the Albertsons-Kroger merger fell through in December. That’s probably because our personal favorite grocery store the way we knew it would’ve vanished. 

READ MORE: How Expensive Are Eggs Now? We Checked 15 Popular Idaho Supermarkets

For the majority of our fifteen years in Boise, we lived directly across the street from the Parkcenter Albertsons. Even after we moved a few years ago, we still drive past it on the way home everyday and that’s why we don’t grocery shop like normal people. Rather than setting aside one day a week to do all of our grocery shopping at once, we’re in the store every day to grab what we need for dinner.

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The staff there is practically family. Any time a new Marvel or other superhero project is out, we can’t wait to discuss it with Nathan. I can always count on Dylan to pick on my husband. And some of the others are just shocked when my husband and I are in the store at the same time. It’s really the people, not the prices, that keep us coming back to that store. 

When Albertsons announced the 10 stores that they were planning to sell off to C&S Wholesale Grocers and we saw the Parkcenter location was on it, we were legitimately nervous we wouldn’t get to see our favorite people anymore. We’re happy that for now, nothing’s changing at our favorite grocery store. 

America Has a New Favorite Grocery Store and You Can Find it In Idaho

If we feel that sentimental about our neighborhood grocery store, we’re willing to bet you and every other American has a favorite too. The American Customer Service Satisfaction Index set out to find which grocery chain is the country’s favorite. Using a customer survey, they’ve been compiled a ranking of America’s favorite grocery chains based on factors like:

• Convenience of store hours
• Ease of pickup
• Convenience of store location
• Quality of the store’s mobile app 
• Layout and cleanliness of the store
• Variety and availability of merchandise
• Hospitality of the staff
• Accessible Pharmacy Hours 
• Sales and Promotions
• Speed of Checkout Process

…and about half a dozen more. In 2024, Costco found itself at the top of the list but when the rankings were released for this year? There was a two way tie for first place! Publix, which doesn’t have any locations in Idaho, tied with Trader Joe’s for the #1 spot with a satisfaction score of 84%.

Trader Joe’s only Idaho locations are in Downtown Boise, Meridian and Coeur d'Alene. That means many Idahoans aren't lucky enough to get to experience the unique and interesting products and everyday basics you’ll find as part of the Trader Joe’s label. 

How Did Other Idaho Grocery Stores Perform?

Whole Foods impressed with an 82%, which was good enough to tie Texas-based H-E-B for #5. 

Even though they were the top dog in 2024, Costco slid back to #7 and saw a 5% decrease in customer satisfaction. We can’t help but wonder if that had something to do with the warehouse clamping down on scanning membership cards at the door and verifying that identities matched at self checkout. However, their final score of 81% is still above average according to the American Customer Satisfaction Index. 

Fred Meyer itself doesn’t appear on the list, but we’re betting it’s rolled in under its parent company - Kroger. Kroger tied Hy-Vee and Ahold Delhaize for #13 in 2025. They saw a 1% gain in customer satisfaction, with a final score of 78%.

Albertsons slid backward to #17 with a 3% decrease in customer satisfaction. They had a final score of 76%. 

For the first time in 20 years, Walmart didn’t rank dead last! With a 1% increase in customer satisfaction and an overall score of 78%, they just beat out Pennsylvania-based Giant Eagle. We grew up where there were a lot of these. When we went back east to visit family two years ago, the Giant Eagle we used to shop at really is a shell of its former self. We’re not surprised. 

Winco’s not big enough to be on the list and likely got lumped in the “all others” category. 

Anything below 79% is considered below average, so many stores in our region have room for improvement.