The Unexpected Grocery Store Saving Shoppers Serious Money On Meat

With the rising cost of groceries, it might be time to start thinking outside of the box and shopping outside of your normal grocery store. Due to low supply, meat prices in particular have reached record highs in recent years — you might get serious sticker shock learning how much a pound of ground beef cost in 1970. Per NPR, its price has risen 51% since early 2020 alone. Savvy shoppers who want to save money on meat might consider shopping at the lesser-known grocery chain, US Foods Chef'Store. 

Not your typical grocery store, Chef'Store is a food service and restaurant supply store with locations in several states, mainly in the West and South. Fortunately for home cooks, the wholesale warehouse is not only open to restaurant owners but to anyone looking to save money on bulk grocery items. Chef'Store stocks a wide variety of foods and beverages including meat, produce, baking ingredients, seafood, dairy products, and coffee. Most items are sold in bulk (like your local Costco warehouse, which warrants innovative storage solutions), including its wide variety of meats like beef, poultry, pork, and processed meats. 

Unlike Costco, there is no membership requirement to shop at Chef'Store. There is also no minimum purchase required in-store, nor do you have to buy multiple items in order to receive the discounted prices. Besides the low prices on quality meat products, the chain features in-store specials and price reductions that are identified on their website or sent to shoppers who register with their email. The wholesale store offers a 100% satisfaction guarantee with a 30-day return policy. 

Chef'Store offers a wide variety of bulk meat products for low prices. For example, the restaurant supplier sells a box of Two Rivers Chophouse 27 6-ounce sirloins for about $102 (about $10 per pound) and 13 pounds of boneless New York strip for around $7 per pound ($90 total). For price comparison, Walmart sells top sirloin steak for around $12.44 per pound and New York strip for $14.97 per pound. 

Shoppers can purchase 10 pounds of 73% lean ground beef for 38.89, or $3.89 per pound. For comparison, 73% lean ground beef purchased at Walmart costs about $4.49 per pound on sale. As for poultry, Chef'Store sells a 40-pound unit of boneless chicken breasts for $62, or $1.55 per pound. This is quite the deal considering one of the least expensive boneless chicken breasts sold at Walmart costs $2.49 per pound for an 8-pound bag. 

Shoppers can save time by ordering their meat online and picking it up via Chef'Store's Click&Carry program. Simply select your items on the website, choose your preferred pick-up date and time, and an employee will professionally package your items and even help you load them into your car if you'd like. Some items are also available for delivery via Instacart.