July 2018 by Jason M.
We may have a Wal-Mart in Paw Paw now, but we'll always have the Family Fare to fall back on. We've been coming here since the days it used to be a Felpausch, and every time, we've always found most of what we were looking for, if not everything- in my case, that's microwavable soft pretzels, White Castle cheeseburgers, Powerade, and a sprinkle doughnut for my niece (of which she'll end up only eating the frosting and the sprinkles off of...), whenever we stop there. The store is well-organized and sorted- though if you've never been in, you might have a bit of trouble figuring out where everything is located. The bread and bakery is always full of fresh bread, cookies, cakes, and everything else- and we're especially a fan of the doughnuts. Jelly-filled, cream-filled, sugar twists, and, of course, the round cake doughnut with the frosting on it for my niece- a box of twelve for eight dollars is pretty much a steal, and they're all really yummy. The store also has a built-in Starbucks inside it- admittedly, the downside is there's no drive-through for it- but Starbucks is still Starbucks, and they have the same drinks that you'd find in any Starbucks out there. It's a nice thing to have available, but if you're just looking for quick coffee, there IS a Biggby's in town nowadays, and that has a drive through... but it's nice to have a good cup of Starbucks to sip to help take the edge off grocery shopping. To be honest, even though we do have a Wal-Mart in town now, we still keep coming back to the Family Fare because a) we know where everything in the store is, leading to quicker trips, and b) if we wander into Wal-Mart, we'll be there looking at everything and spend more time. We may buy a wider variety of stuff, but it takes a lot longer. There's also a little kiosk, near the bathroom, with free cold water, popcorn, and regular coffee. It's halfway decent popcorn, but it still gets a little stale from time to time. The coffee is, well... it's coffee. About the only downside to this place is the bottle return area... it doesn't really get the ventilation or the air conditioning the rest of the store does, and as a result, when the weather warms up, it can produce a rather, well... bad odor that might have you rushing to return your bottles and cans just to get a gasp of fresher, cleaner air. It also really suffers from the same thing any store has when faced against a place like Wal-Mart- while it may be easier to navigate, Family Fare just doesn't stock the variety of brands or sizes that Wal-Mart can afford to. There's also not really that many checkout lanes, and some of them are those self-checkout lanes- those are rather nice when you have a small order to check out, but if you have a big order, usually it's faster to get them checked out by someone, and they're usually swamped during peak hours. But on the bright side, the store is always clean and the aisles are mostly unobstructed, and the staff is really friendly, too! I also have to say, but the grocery club card is also a pretty decent pickup, too- you can get a card, take it to the kiosk, and pre-load coupons onto your account that are then automatically applied when you swipe your card at checkout- it makes it a lot easier to find them instead of having to dig through a purse or a pocket! There's also a large selection of organic and other types of foods, like gluten-free things and other foods for those who need them. All in all, I'd give this place a four- but they're holding their own WITH a Wal-Mart in town, and that says a lot about this place.