Ken's Your Independent Grocer Sarnia - Sarnia, Ontario

Lou C.

Good selection of meat, store baked bread, and deli items....however I would not recommend shopping there when shelves are being restocked...which I believe is on Fridays..at least that's when I observed it. Aisles are packed with boxes, there is little or no room to pass and it appeared every employee in the store was running around. The service desk had to be opened to accomodate customers who were waiting in line for a cashier.
Could the shelves not be restocked at night when less busy?

Karen F.

This grocery is our go-to to run in and get a couple of items. They have great specials on meat and excellent cuts. Ribs are my favourite there. The produce is very good and wide selection for a smaller store. I bought a small basket of tomatoes that were pretty ripe and were so tasty. They stayed good for a long time versus many where they go bad before you can finish. The staff is always friendly and helpful.

Manuela I.

Independent offers a good selection of products. I have been shopping at different Loblaws food stores for 40 years. I have been shopping more frequently at Independent as I live close by.

u8y2eg7i9dgg76

Ok place to shop but they are always running out of certain items. Not a fan of the person who changed the closing time from 9pm to 8pm

Shanaye J.

Very intimate grocery store, offers PC optimum. Great place for a quick grocery run.

John K.

Great local store. Convenient hours. Nice deli. Staff are pleasant.

Fruits / oranges / fresh produce are not the greatest in my experience. Oranges / mandarin’s look good but are dry and poor tasting. Unfortunately not a one off with purchases I’ve made here.

Roy I. (.

Very upsetting experience today. The staff were very rude. I have a service dog and I brought my letter from my healthcare provider to show that he was my service dog. They started to ask for a paper from my vet (what? that is not legally required although I have brought him into the vet to be checked out). Not only did they do this, they seemed to enjoy ignoring that I am a guy calling me "ma'am" even after I corrected them and told my name. It is hard enough for me to do simple tasks like get groceries and to have staff harass me makes for a horrible experience.

I ended up calling back on the advise of my service animal group. Got the manager who was one of the ladies that confronted me. She claimed that other dog owners gave her some misinformation. (Guidelines in Quebec require a vet thing, not here in Ontario so that maybe where it came from). I told her she should check the government website directly instead of relying on people's testimony. Service dogs can act like...dogs sometimes. They are not robots and can be new to it. It can sometimes take a bit for a handler and SA to "mesh".

She did apologize but it really did not take the sting out. I did try to explain that I am self-training. (which is legal here) I am lucky to have a dog from someone a breeder that trains service dogs, not everyone on disability can afford a fully trained dog off of the get-go. One of the things he does is to remind me of the things I am supposed to pick up from the store, one of them being bread. (He was indicating the bread and was trying to show where the bread was. I also forgot to tell him the "good" word since I was being confronted. )

As for the LGBT+ thing she said she was "sorry that I was offended" and that she is "old-school". She did say that she will inform the staff of my proper pronouns and kept insisting she was not discriminating. It is possible she did not hear my corrections since I have trouble speaking when pressured.

I will be returning as it is a smaller grocery store that is close to me which makes it convenient. A lot of grocery stores constantly move things around which makes it difficult for me to locate the items I need.

Leaving this up because I want people to understand the struggle. If a service dog is doing things that seem like a dog, that does not mean he is not a service dog and confronting people is very harmful.

Debi S.

I have been shopping here for almost 30 yrs. They have a terrific staff. With an in-store bakery and on-site butcher, you know the food is fresh.