Always open
Posted by: Portland Place Reviews | From: March 20, 2007
I was curious to find out about places that are open 24 hours a day, specifically what they are like in the middle of the night. I was wondering what kind of people worked and shopped while the rest of us are sleeping. I visited all of these always open establishments between the hours of 12 am and 5 am.
Walgreens
SE 39th and Belmont
Notable features: 24 hour 1 hour photo lab, 24 hour pharmacy (fully staffed).
My favorite things about Walgreens are all the ridiculous novelty items (motion activated chirping plastic birds, generic plush dolls) and brick-a-brack (things "as seen on tv," 2 for $10 sweat pants). I spent at least 30 minutes wandering around and looking at all the weird, silly, and completely unnecessary items that Walgreens offers. So, if you need to be entertained at a store in the middle of the night rather than actually shop, I would suggest going to Walgreens and wandering around for a little while. Also a good place to go to develop film in 1 hour, pick up prescriptions, or buy a single roll of toilet paper any time of day.
QFC
SE 55th & Burnside
Notable features: Specialty foods, a loud and annoying doorbell.
I guess I would really only go to QFC any time of day if I felt like I needed to buy overpriced food. I found the atmosphere of the store to be kind of stuffy and uptight. However, the employees that I spoke with were friendly and seemed to welcome the interruption their quite graveyard routines. They said that they liked to work the graveyard shift because the time goes by quickly and they get a pay bonus for working such late hours. I feel bad for them because they have to listen to that horrible doorbell all nite. It was driving me crazy after being in there only 5 minutes. Overall I would not suggest this store for any time of the day, but I hear they have good deli sandwiches. But the deli is only open during the day, of course.
Food 4 Less
SE 82nd & Burnside
Notable features: Lots of great ethnic foods (Mexican, Asian, and Russian), bad satellite radio.
By the appearance of this warehouse style grocery store, you might think that the prices at Food 4 Less would be dirt cheap. On the contrary, I found them to be not much better than Safeway (which is a bit too pricy in this reviewers opinion). Included is a picture of the empty store with all of the boxes of products to be stocked in the middle of the nite.
I talked to a very nice man who happened to be the manager. When I asked him about the late nite customers, he said that they tend to take longer to shop and are more laid back. He also said that the employees are able to give better customer service in the middle of the night because the store is not so busy and rushed. So, if you want better customer service, do your grocery shopping after midnight!
WinCo
SE 82nd & Luther Rd
Notable features: Great prices, good selection of ethnic foods, AWESOME BULK FOODS!!!
WinCo is one of my favorite grocery stores, and I have defiantly frequented it in the middle of the nite. It’s always open! The prices are really good here and you can find really great deals. You can get everything in the bulk section from ingredients to make healthy meals from scratch to the nastiest and yummiest terrible for your body snacks (pork rinds, candy, candy, CANDY). They always have cool seasonal candy in the bulk section, like those mint taffies with the tree or heart in the middle, depending on the holiday. I like to get wasabi peas and sesame crackers for a slightly healthful yet still very salty snack. I talked to a couple of workers. One told us that the employees were not allowed to listen to headphones while they worked stocking the shelves. This must make for long nights because there is no music played in the store, not even bad satellite radio. This same worker also talked about how angry shoplifters make him, and that a lot of nurses, strippers, and tweakers come to the store in the middle of the nite. The only negative thing I learned about WinCo was from another employee who was working at the register. He told us that the company, while worker-owned, was non-union and very conservative. He had longer hair and wore nail polish, and for work he had to tie his hair up and wear gloves to cover his nails in order to look more “cleaned-up.” This particular man was very friendly and helpful. He told us that he used to work the day shift and that he missed having lots of interaction with customers, as there are few during the graveyard shift. WinCo is my #1 pick for 24 hour shopping.
Plaid Pantry
SE 50th & Division
Notable features: One-stop for Slurpees, beef jerky, cigarettes, and beer.
I don’t smoke and I try not eat processed food if I can help it, so I guess I wouldn’t really find myself here in the middle of the nite unless I REALLY needed some beer, which is pretty much never. As with all the other stores, the employee told us that the busiest part of the nite is around 2 or 3 when all the bars close. He also told us that the late nite hours were very relaxed and that he could pretty much take as many smoke breaks as he wanted. Also, sometimes there are interesting people that smoke with him outside the store, and he has some pretty good conversations with them.
Post a comment:
Food 4 Less is not on Burnside and 82nd it is on Powell and 82nd
Posted by: 7artani at November 12, 2007 3:21 PM